Page 90 - Hypnotic Writing - How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words

Two Ways to Cause Action
Most psychologists, direct marketers, and anyone who per- suades for a living will tell you there are only two basic motiva- tors: pain or pleasure. You either go toward what you want or away from what you don’t want.
The standard argument is that pain is more powerful. I’ve tended to agree but also have stated I would not focus on pain for idealistic reasons. I simply don’t want to spread pain in the world. Focusing on it causes you to feel it. I don’t want to con- tribute to the misery many feel. So my stance has been to fo- cus on pleasure as a motivator in my sales letters and web sites.
Most marketing experts agree that pain is the best trigger to focus on in any ad or sales campaign.
They love to find a prospect’s basic problem and then rub their noses in it. They figure the pain would make the person buy or change.
The most common example they give is the insurance sales- person who tries to sell you home coverage. If he focuses on pleasure, you will put off buying. If he tells you your house is on fire, you will buy. Pain causes immediate action.
So, like everyone else, I “knew” pain was the greater motiva- tor. I simply focused on pleasure because it is a more noble route.
But then I saw Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in their new movie and suddenly I felt awakened, energized, and vali- dated.
Here’s the film’s plot in a nutshell:
Adam is in love with a woman who can’t remember anything from the day before, due to a head injury in an auto accident the year before. Every day is a new day. And every day Adam has to win her over again. Every date is new. Hence the title 50 First Dates.
At one point in it, as Adam is again wooing Drew, I suddenly realized what I was really seeing.
I saw that pleasure was the greatest motivator of all.
Adam is pursuing Drew every day, despite the pain and the
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