Marketing and sales are about making emotional connections. Ultimately, people select products and services based not only on the business at hand but also on their emotional needs. Great salespeople are masters at tuning into their buyers' life issues and helping them focus upon several key elements:

• Listening — You need to listen intently for emotional hints on what is really "keeping buyers up at night."

• Action — Once they identify a need (say a client is searching for a good college for her son), they concentrate on finding something to address the emotional issue (perhaps a book or an article off the Internet).

• Response — Great salespeople respond immediately, while the issue, and the emotion, is hot.

• More — Finally, great salespeople never stop the process of "giving." They touch their clients constantly and relentlessly.

In a world of increasing globalization, commoditization, and technology, the only differentiation is often the service provider himself. Ultimately, all other things being equal, we buy from people we like -- people who stir us emotionally.

Richard Abraham
Author
Mr. Shmooze: The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships
Oak Brook, Ill.