What is it that gives business life and vitality? Yes, sales. Without sales, our businesses will dry up and die. On the other hand, a healthy growth in sales means an increase in profits. Yeah, we business owners spend a lot of time watching for signs of growth, and plotting to make it happen. Here are 5 sure-fire ways to get customers to shell out the bucks before they leave your place of business.

1. Tantalize Their Emotions
When was the last time you bought a candy bar? Exactly what is it about chocolate that makes us waste perfectly good money on something that lasts less than five minutes? Yep, it’s the feeling of satisfaction we feel after we’ve eaten the sweet morsels.

Everything consumers purchase is for one purpose… to satisfy some emotional feeling they are looking for. Don’t believe it? Why do we buy cars? …security, to show off, personal satisfaction? Sure, we all want to look good and know that we’ll be able to get where we’re going safely.

Take advantage of the emotional pull purchases have on your customers, and dramatize. Paint word pictures that will enhance to pleasant feelings that come with the purchase you are trying to get them to make.

2. Scare The Heck Out of Them
What are your customers going to lose if they don’t buy your product? No, we don’t always have to stick with the pretty pictures that leave us all warm and fuzzy. Fear is as effective of a motivor as pleasure… sometimes greater.

Wooing customers is a little bit like dating. No, you can’t present the engagement ring on your first date! There’s a two-way relationship that grows one step at a time before it leads to the church doors. You can’t rush it… you can’t skip it… if you’re looking for the satisfaction of a life-long commitment.

Getting to know your date, or getting to know your customer takes a little time and effort. The personality, likes and dislikes of each date are different, but customers share some commonalities that you, the marketer, can grab onto. Give them what they want, and they’ll become the loyal, life-time customers that make your business prosper.

1. Forget About Selling… Put The Emphasis On Buying
People like to think that all of their buying decisions were reached due to their own great ideas and skillful shopping. Hey, no one is fond of a pushy salesman. A salesman who “HELPS” them discover the best buy for their buck on the other hand, is a hero.

Really, when a person walks into your place of business, they are most likely thinking of making a purchase before they get there. You don’t have to persuade them to buy. You can take it easy, and simply help them decide what the best purchase is.

Keep your focus on the customer and his needs. Think… what benefits would he be most interested in? What is the price range he can afford? Basically, keep in mind that you are there to serve his needs, not persuade him. Ah, the pressure’s off!