The Power of Logical Sales

In a recent blog post, I posed a question that pitted emotional sales against logical sales and sales based on scarcity and urgency. These are three key sales tactics that marketing people use to spur customers into making a purchase. What’s more, they are key in not just creating a single sale to a customer, but in inspiring recurring sales with the same customer over time.

If you haven’t read the post, you can find it here. I also looked at emotional sales and how they work in a subsequent post here. In this post, I’m going to examine the second form of sales, logical sales.

What is logical selling?

Logical selling is based on logic. The idea that a purchase makes sense either mathematically, scientifically, or factually. It’s the concept that a purchase must be made because it makes logical sense.

How does logical selling work?

When it comes to “logical sense”, a salesperson can attack the issue in a few ways.

This product is the only one that…

You can market your product or service as the “only one that…”. For example, “Purchase this car because it’s the only one that has achieved top marks in IIHS safety testing.” Or, “Hire me to manage your marketing team, I’m the only one who has worked on successful campaigns for Amazon, Google, and Apple.”

You are appealing to a customer’s logic by saying it only makes sense that you choose the best, the brightest, the most successful, or the one that offers you the most benefit.

This product fits my needs exactly.

You can also appeal to a customer’s logic by fitting his or her needs exactly. A customer may say, “I will buy this one because it has everything that I’m looking for.” Maybe the one small thing that differentiates your product from the other ones on the market is the exact thing that customer needs.

This product is a great value.

Another way to make logical sales work for you is to offer great value. Your product may be the best one on the market at your price point. For example, you offer the safest, fastest, best-looking car for under $20,000. If a person is shopping with a specific budget in mind, then it would make sense for them to purchase the best item they can for that price point.

There is a 100% guarantee.

Even after appealing to all of these logical reasons, one of the best ways to make a logical sale work is to offer a guarantee. As the site Copyblogger states, “Offer a strong guarantee and a great service promise. Remember, if it can go wrong, it will go wrong. Make yourself very clear: If things don’t work smoothly for the customer, you’ll make it right.”

In other words, take away the fear by promising that your customer will be satisfied. That helps the customer allow the logic of the sale to run its course.

What are the positives and negatives of logical sales?

Like all selling techniques, there are positives and negatives.

It’s Hard to Dispute Logic

One of the biggest benefits is that when done right, a purchase makes sense. If the numbers prove that sales increase by 1000% when a customer uses your service or product, then it’s hard for a customer to say that they would be better off without your product.

Logic, when done correctly, sells itself.

Flawed Logic

Of course, the flip side of that is flawed logic can kill a sale. Logical sales rely on Point A connecting to Point B connecting to Point C connecting to a sale. If a customer cannot get from Point A to Point B or gets lost on the way to Point C, then your logic has failed.

If they cannot see the logic, then they will not make the purchase.

Logical and Emotional Sales Go Hand in Hand

While you may choose to use logical sales or emotional sales, many marketers find that the two go hand in hand. A product may appeal to a person emotionally, but they justify the purchase of the item with logic.

Yes, I do want that Porsche 911 Turbo, but I don’t really need it.

However, that tricked out Ford F-450 with the crew cab can take my whole family camping in the summer and we can take it to the mountains for skiing and snowboarding in the winter. It can be a family truck that we use to haul the Christmas tree home in. Buying the Ford F-450 is more expensive than the F-250 or F-150, but it will be worth it over the next five to ten years.

Emotionally, I want the higher end truck. I justify that emotion with logic.

Written by Erika Towne