There's a statistic that says that 80% of our buying decisions are made emotionally (from the heart). Only 20% of the decision is made by our heads - that's when we rationalize what we already decided emotionally.

I don't know where those figures came from but they've been around a long time. Based on watching my own behavior and from observing successful marketing and advertising campaigns, I have no reason to doubt them.

What does buying look like when it's driven by the heart?

Some years ago there was a commercial on TV for a jeep.

The jeep roars up a mountainside on an unpaved road, steep slope on one side, a sheer drop over a cliff on the other.

The wheels spin in the dirt.

The jeep threatens to slide off the road.

It gathers speed.

It bounces across the rough terrain easily overcoming every physical obstacle in its way.

Then you see a sharp curve coming up.

It looks as if the jeep is going too fast to make it around the curve.

You're sure it'll go over the cliff.

You hold your breath.

You wait for the disaster to happen.

Then the jeep comes to a stop with the front wheels hanging over the edge of the cliff.

You breathe out.

The driver's door opens slowly and out steps a burly, muscular fellow, dressed in rugged but trendy clothes, looking for all the world as if he just came from the gym. Not a trace of panic on his face. No sense that he survived a potential disaster. Instead he looks as if he just conquered the world.

What does that message say to a man who's thinking of buying an jeep?

To me it says that this jeep make him look strong, masculine, even macho, able to handle anything that comes his way. You can depend on him because no obstacles are too great to handle.

Notice that the commercial never once talks about what's under the hood, or the great technology that makes the jeep function.

That's emotional selling that appeals to the heart. It speaks to the emotions that people want to feel when they experience your product or service.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Basic needs like food and shelter MAY be less driven by emotion. For me at least, there's no great emotional pull when I go to the store and buy broccoli or eggs.

That being said, imagine you're in the grocery with a young child and you're walking down the cereal aisle. The child wants the cereal with the cute picture that elicits some kind of emotion in them. And of course the cereal packagers deliberately appeal to children that way and the child makes such a fuss that mama has to buy.

When I walk to the liquor store in the evening to buy chocolate, it's not because I know that chocolate has anti-oxidants and they're good for my health.

That would be too rational!

No, it's because I want that warm, gooey, maybe even comforting feeling that I get when the chocolate melts in my mouth.

That's driven by my heart, not reasoned out by my head.

There are endless examples of this in action. Watch yourself next time you buy something. Notice that first impulse that gets you interested. You may discover that most of the time it's emotional.

What emotion do your clients want to feel when they use your service? Address that in your marketing and watch your responses improve!

Copyright 2016 Maggie Dennison