Emotions Sell: How to Use Emotional Connections to Close More Deals In Home Sales
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It’s emotions that sell not logic. When you are selling home improvements the logic helps justify the cost of what they are getting. The titanium dioxide ingredient in windows or siding, the thermofoil construction on cabinet doors, and the variable speed furnace are all logical things that build value and help justify the costs in the customer's mind.
However the emotions of knowing your windows will never fade and look nice forever, the peace of mind of a lifetime warranty how easy to clean the cabinet doors are and how nice your home will feel with the new HVAC system are why they buy. So what’s funny is that even though you go through the details and features to build value the reality is that two weeks after you leave the customer won’t remember that your windows have fuse-welded corners, aluminum-clad capping or half of all the features you told them about your product. However, they will remember that it has a lifetime warranty and would save you money on your fuel bills. Always remember that buying is an emotional decision, not a logical one.
The Role of Emotions in In Home Sales Techniques
There are three main places in the sales presentation that emotions help. During the needs assessment, selling the product and in the close. Please listen to all three to make sure you are making all the money you deserve.
1. Using Emotions During the Needs Assessment
The first stage where in home sales techniques benefit from emotional connections is during the needs assessment. This is where you uncover the “why” behind the purchase.
Ask specific questions: For example, “What is the main reason you’re considering replacing your windows?” When the customer answers, dig deeper to find the emotional pain point.
Amplify the pain: Follow up with questions like, “How does that affect you?” If they say, “We put plastic up every winter, but we’re still freezing in the living room”, you’ve tapped into a powerful emotional need.
The emotional hook: When customers articulate their frustrations, you can position your product as the solution that not only fixes the problem but improves their lives.
2. Highlight Emotional Benefits When Selling the Product
The first place you should be using emotions is in the information-gathering stage. All sale presentations if done correctly have some type of needs analysis where you determine what the customer wants and why. A lot of people do it in the warm-up…How long have you been thinking about getting new windows or in the physical inspection…like when you are looking at their furnace…”how much are your fuel bills by the way?” I personally think the best way to do this is to actually have a part of your sales call where you ask preset questions in a methodical and professional way such as how your lawyer or an accountant would ask you questions when they first meet you. However, you do it the point is that you be sure to get emotions especially when they tell you the pain points. Emotions will amplify the pain and make them want the solution more.
Make Benefits Emotional
For example, what is the main reason you are thinking about replacing your windows? They’re old and leaking air. When you dig deeper and get the emotions such as “well how does that affect you using your windows?’ and they reply with it’s horrible we have to put plastic up every year and we still have to bundle up with blankets in our own living room. Plus the gas bills are killing us in the winter time. The need is amplified exponentially and makes it easier to sell your product. Always try to get emotions when they are describing their pain point. One good question I use to dig deeper is after they tell me the problem I always say” how does that affect you? This helps me get the pain to an emotional level.
2. Use Emotional Words
The second place that emotions need to be used is when you are selling the product and/or the installation process. Most people know that features don’t sell but the benefits do. Features are what it is and benefits are what it means to the customer. The feature is fuse welded corners on the window but the benefit is that it lasts a lot longer and will never separate or leak which is why the window has a lifetime warranty.
Features usually are more logical and help justify the price but the benefits or what it means to the customer are really what the customer is buying.. Keep in mind that buying is more of an emotional decision. So when you can make the benefit an emotional one it is twice as effective.. Try and tie in the emotional component into everything. What sounds better a lifetime warranty or to say with the lifetime warranty you will never have to worry about your siding or painting your house again for the rest of your life?” Or take it a step further and get them to give you the emotion. What would that feel like to know that you’ll never have to worry about painting this house again as long you live here? “Well, that would feel great!”
In general, the features tend to be logical and if you do it right the benefits are emotional.
3. Bringing Emotion Back into the Close
Plus the way you say things and the words you use to build emotions is very important. There is a big difference between saying this is going to look nice vs this is going to look phenomenal. So it’s not only the words but the way you say them. Great salespeople have a list of what I call emotional words. Always be on the lookout and collect and use the best ones. Beautiful, gorgeous, unbelievable, sharp, and depending on the customer sick or awesome as well. As you can tell one of my favorites is “phenomenal” Never forget that one time I was at a restaurant and asked for the check and the waitress asked if I wanted dessert. I said no and was ready to leave. She said the reason she asked is that today they had key lime pie and “it was phenomenal”. You know what happened next. I still remember on my drive home what had happened and how powerful the word phenomenal was. To this day I can’t tell you how many things I have sold from kitchens and HVAC to baths using that word. Your kitchen is going to look phenomenal, this HVAC system is phenomenal in how much money it will save you and how much nicer your home will feel in the summer and winter. The bathroom is going to look and feel phenomenal. Also don’t forget that you have to say the emotional words with emotion. Here’s an example of how I use emotions when selling a kitchen.
How do you think this new kitchen would look would look? Oh, I think it would look nice. I don’t mean to be rude but that would be an understatement. It’s going to look phenomenal. With the new color and design it’s going to look like a brand new room. And since the kitchen is the heart of the home it’s almost like upgrading your whole house. You told me that your family always comes over for Christmas. If you redo your kitchen do you think you would tell them or just let them be surprised when they come over? Oh, I would probably surprise them. What do you think they would say? They would be shocked. And when you see them smile here you’ll see the power of using emotions to sell. When you learn to get good at selling with emotion you can almost crank up their desire for the product at will. When somebody wants something that bad cost is secondary. One important point here is that you have to believe in the product or you can’t sell it with emotion. Selling in a way is just a transfer of emotions and if you don’t have the emotions to transfer to begin with it won’t work.
Final Thoughts on Emotional In Home Sales Techniques
The final section is that sometimes people forget to bring up emotions in the close. Sometimes when you are in the close and you are working payments or buying options you get caught up in the logical side more. Do you know the example where your pricing sheet looks like the formula for a space rocket? You have been in the closet for 20 minutes. You can’t forget to bring back the emotion into it because again buying is emotional, not logical.
Working the price and payments for that long is pulling them away from the emotional side and more into the logical side. For example, you are explaining the different payment options and the customer is starting to get into that “ I just don’t know look” and you feel you are losing them emotionally. I always try to bring the emotions back into it by saying “but don’t forget how beautiful your new bathroom is going to be” or “but won’t it finally be nice to get that new air conditioner so your summer days and nights will be so much more pleasant when you are at home and you can stay cool?”
