How Memory and Imagination Inspire Your Prospect to Make a Buying Decision

Let me ask you a brain teaser question:

Do your customers make buying decisions from their memory or from their imagination?

I submit that the answer here is “both.”

Now that may sound obvious on the face. But what you might find surprising is just how closely related these two filters really are.

MRI imaging shows that the act of both remembering and imagining sends blood flows to identical parts of the brain. In other words, we are using the same brain part in exercising both mental functions.

So, how does that help us move our customer through the buying cycle. Let’s take a closer look…

Understanding The Two Filters

Every customer evaluates a sales presentation through two mental filters. The first filter (Memory) asks the question, “Is this information consistent with my past experiences and biases”?

Everything you say in the sales presentation is subconsciously tested against the customer’s memories. When they become disconnected with those memories, the sales presentation loses credibility.

Suppose I am in the process of purchasing a car and the salesperson suggests that I will appreciate the vehicle’s reliability.

But let’s also assume that I’ve owned a car by the same manufacturer in the past and that I was less-than-thrilled with the constant breakdowns. The sales pitch loses all credibility, right?

The second filter (Imagination) asks the question, “Can I apply this information to my future”?

In this case, the customer assesses the mental ease in trying on the concept for size. Is it an easy process for them to accept this potential new reality?

In this car buying case study, it is probably very difficult for the customer to reconcile his own memories of past breakdowns and begin imagining a high level of reliability in this car. And, at that point, there’s a good chance the buyer moves on.

That “easy factor” is critical because the brain takes a mental shortcut when making decisions: easy = right. When it becomes difficult to reconcile memory and imagination, the decision gets deferred.

So the experiences of our past give structure to our memory. And the memories of our past give structure to our future.

Here’s a quick case study on how all this fits together. Think of a time you vacationed in the same place more than once.

As you traveled back to the destination a second time, your brain replayed the positive experiences of your previous visit and then your imagination allowed you to envision yourself enjoying a wonderful experience ahead.

So as you take the vacation the second time, you carry both the memories and the positive emotions connected to your first vacation as you head into the second vacation.

Don’t miss that point. Your brain is not simply providing you data from the memory. It is providing you with emotion from the memory.

The great salesperson will leverage this concept by using the customer’s memories to build positive emotions into the customer’s imagination.

Figure out the memories to unlock the imagination…and you can change your customer’s world.