Why People Buy: Understanding The 2 Core Reasons Why Anybody Buys Anything

I've been in sales now for over 10 years and hit the coveted Presidents Club (top 10%) for a Fortune 500 company for 9 of those 10 years, but I've done it without being 'sales-ey', high pressure or sleazy. Sales is simple if you understand what it is that causes people to take action and you can do it in an ethical and inspiring way when you know what motivates people at their core.

In this article I'll cover:

• The 2 core reasons why anybody does anything (takes action, or doesn't take action). 
• The 3 biggest mistakes that most people make (and how to avoid them) 
• How I use the 2 core reasons why people buy in my sales and marketing process for my online business. 

Back in the late 90's I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and he was telling a story about how he got a job in sales for Xerox and went to sell to executives of large companies. He said that he thought everyone should get into sales at some point because of the personal growth that comes from it. I remember I was horrified thinking about doing that and thought to myself 'that's the ONE THING that I'm not going to ever do.

Yet here I am, with 10 successful years under my belt and having more fun (and more money) than ever before because I learned that you don't need to be like Jordan Belfort of the Wolf Of Wall Street to make deals happen. You can be low key, you can be inspiring and you can serve your clients on a higher level when you are not being sales-ey or sleazy. 

Photo below: enjoying Presidents Club in Vancouver 2023 with my wife. 

The 2 core reasons why anyone does anything: 

It helps to understand the psychology of sales and why people buy but there are two things that cause people to take action at the most basic level. I remember Tony Robbins used to talk about this in his book Awaken The Giant Withing, he is such a master of psychology and human behavior. 

He used to say that the 2 reasons why anybody does anything is to either 1) move away from some type of pain, and 2) move towards some type of pleasure or desired outcome. Now we've all heard this in sales or marketing: find their pain point and help them achieve a desired outcome 

If it wasn't clear before, it is now, at the most basic level people take action (or don't take action) because they want to move a way from pain and/or move towards pleasure.

The 3 biggest mistakes that people make in sales: 

I hate to say it but there are so many people that suck at sales and you can instantly get better by just NOT making some of these same mistakes as most people. 

1. Stop pitching right off the bat. You need to build the 'know, like and trust' factor with your potential clients before pitching them. If not, they will experience 'sales resistance' and run the other way. We have a natural aversion to being pitched because it pushes us out of our comfort zone. Think about how often you go to a store and someone comes up to help you and you try to avoid them, even though you are there and want to buy something. Most sales people are way too direct and try to enter a conversation by talking about them or their offers. 
2. Stop focusing on the features and benefits. No one cares. People buy because of emotion and you've got to sell the 'transformation' and not the bells and whistles. Think about a vacation, would I want to sell the person on the number of seats an airplane has and the amenities of the hotel; or sell them on what its like to walk down that beautiful beach at sunset with their significant other with that balmy breeze, the sound of the waves crashing in the back ground, the warm sand underneath their bare feet. 
3. Stop talking so much and start asking better questions. Sales reps are horrible with talking too much and not asking the right questions that help people come to the decisions they need to on their own. Hold space for your clients and allow them to tell you exactly what they need. 

How to weave in the 2 core motivators into your online sales and marketing process: 

When it comes to your marketing and helping your clients move from pain towards pleasure, a lot of false gurus will talk about 'twisting the knife in the wound' which in my opinion is a horrible sales tactic. Yes it will cause some people to take action but I want to do it in an ethical and inspiring way so I avoid trying to agitate the paint in this way. 

Use testimonials, case studies, client success stories and your own personal stories to help your clients see what other peoples problems were and how they solved them, with you as the person who helped make this happen. This keeps you from 'pointing your finger at them' and instead you can give them relatable examples of what others have done which helps the 'light bulb' moment come on, the epiphany. 

Many of you won't have your own case studies or testimonials if you are just starting out but your own personal examples and stories should be used in your content, your marketing and on sales calls. 

When it comes to actual sales calls where you are wanting to close the deal, the best thing you can do is ask your clients 'what they want' and 'why is that important', and when you know that, you can prescribe the strategy to them. I call this the 'what, why, how' method and it works so smoothly. 

For example on a call, I'll warm up the conversation then move into a question like this: "If I were to meet up with you one year from now and I saw you, and everything over this year went exactly perfect and you were just beaming with excitement, what would you tell me happened"? Then they would describe their desired state (and this can be very emotional depending on how deep you go). 

After that, I'll start to peel back the layers with better questions like 'why is that important to you' and start to find out more about their internal motivations. One I know 'what' is important to them, and 'why' its important to them, then I can give them my solution. 

I hope you've enjoyed this article and I'd like to invite you to join my free Digital Entrepreneur Newsletter for weekly behind the scenes value driven content for those of you who want to build an online business that gives you the flexibility and freedom you desire. 

I'd also love for you to check out the huge library of High Value Skills Podcast episodes where you can binge content on sales, digital marketing and online business while on the go! You can subscribe on Apple and Spotify!