Best salesmen don’t sell to our logic, and idea of "the best deal". They sell to our irrational selves.
What’s “the best" deal anyway in today’s world?
I’ve been diving into Alex Hormozi’s Money Models book, podcast and video course, which, if you strip it down, is really a masterclass in how to work with the irrational side of the human brain.
A few examples:
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Don’t ask, “What do you want?” Ask, “Do you want A or B?”
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Don’t price where you think they’ll buy. Start with a premium offer to ⚓ anchor the brain high first, then slide in your original price. Suddenly, it feels like a bargain. (Even though it's higher than what people expected)
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Don’t tell people what they should buy. Tell them all the things they shouldn’t first. What’s left will look like the obvious choice - because it is.
It sounds manipulative, right? Except - it works, and when know your customer's needs, it's best for them too. That’s how Hormozi built empires and left customers feeling like they won.
What isn't manipulative?
You are always influencing people.
And if you genuinely believe what you’re offering will help, isn’t it your responsibility to make it easier for people to say yes? Change is uncomfortable. People resist. People don't like to decide. A good coach, leader, or entrepreneur doesn’t just share knowledge - they remove the friction and add "grease" to slide people into action.
Yesterday I came across a term in the article by Scott Young that speaks to that well: Behaviorally-Informed Executive.
A leader who understands people don’t make decisions like rational robots, but like messy, distracted, emotional humans.
If you live, work, or do business with other people - this matters. You can fight reality and stay frustrated when you expectations and strategies fall flat. Or you can learn how humans actually are and design around that for more positive impact and change in the world.
PS Here’s the article by Scott Young about Behaviorally-Informed leadership in real life (banking), and a crash course on selling to humans by Alex Hormozi (on his podcast, free as well).
