We often hear that business decisions are made on logic while in reality, emotion is the accelerator. Buyers may validate with facts and figures, but the decision to move forward almost always begins with a feeling.
Companies don’t buy things—people do.
In sales, your “buyer” might be a procurement manager, a department head, or a frontline user. Each comes to the table with unique pain points, and all of them are influenced by emotion—whether they show it or not. The key is uncovering those emotions in a way that builds trust, not resistance.
Pain Moves the Needle Faster Than Logic
If you’re not the lowest-cost solution in your market, emotion is your greatest differentiator. Frustration with a current vendor, fear of a project failing, impatience over slow data, or even the desire to look good to their peers—these are the motivators that push buyers past hesitation. When you uncover these emotional drivers, you expand your buyer’s money tolerance and shorten deal cycles.
The Doctor’s Approach
Think like a doctor: diagnose before you prescribe. A physician starts with, “What’s bothering you?” before offering treatment. In sales, that means building enough rapport and credibility to ask questions that get to the personal impact behind the problem, not just the surface symptoms.
Your Emotional Presence Matters
We all “get something for free” in terms of how we emotionally show up—enthusiasm, calm, concern, or urgency. The problem is, how we think we show up and how others experience us can be very different. Tracking and adjusting your default emotional state allows you to create the chemistry needed for buyers to open up.
Practical Steps to Access Emotion in Sales
Pre-Call Intentionality: Go in with a plan. Know what you want to accomplish, what emotional state you want to convey, and what emotions you hope to uncover.
Dig Deeper on Pain: Move beyond symptoms to uncover the reasons and the personal impact behind them.
Match and Lead Emotion: Meet your prospect where they are emotionally, then guide them to the state where action feels natural.
Debrief with Purpose: After every call, reflect on what you wish you had said, what emotional cues you caught, and how you can build on them next time.
Buyers are savvy, but they’re still human. Mastering the emotional side of sales is not squishy—it’s a measurable advantage that can transform how quickly and confidently deals close.
