Most business people would love to tell you that they act logically, when it comes to buying products and services in the course of their job. They would love to tell you that and it would not be true. Common sense and logic are two of the least used components anyone including executives use in making a decision to buy. Virtually everyone buys from emotional stimuli.

The doubt a buyer feels after making a purchase is fueled by emotions. The relief a buyer feels after making a purchase is fueled by emotions. Logic would not stimulate any of these or other emotions more than a slight sense of completion. And even then if sense of completion felt too good it would be an emotional uplift proving the purchase was fraught with more than just achieving a natural conclusion.

Bringing this to light is not going to change how anyone buys. Logic will always take a back seat to emotion in the purchasing process. Frankly, logic is just too boring in the sexy world of sales. It does not provide enough reward for decisions that are filled with stress. When exchanging currency of established value for products and/or services of subjective value, stress is a natural reaction.

The uncertainty of getting your money’s worth is always stressful on the front end which is why decisions are not made logically. The subjective nature of product/service value mandate that more than logic is needed to break the negative momentum and create a transaction. You must be convinced that the product/service will improve your life by eliminating a problem or providing an advantage.

Is logic important to a purchase decision? Yes. But only to the extent that we use logic to explain what our emotions have compelled us to do.

Even though it is true, we seldom admit we bought a product or service because it made us feel better or because we wanted it. We almost invariably talk about the cost savings, the benefits, the increased efficiency or any of the logical reasons we should have bought the product. We often quote the sales professional who sold to our emotions needs but was smart enough to give us sound bytes of logic and common sense that we could use justify our actions.

Buying emotionally is self-indulgent. Very few people are confident enough to admit they made a purchase decision because they “wanted to.” So smart sales professionals provide “logical” reasons why a purchase should be made. These reasons are more often than not parroted verbatim by the customer to colleagues and others to explain their purchase actions.

If it is true that you buy emotionally and justify logically, why is it important to understand it? Knowing that you are buying based upon emotions will allow you to become more decisive making your purchase. You will know that is okay to want something and allow it to guide a decision because everyone does and will always buy that way. It will also allow you to focus upon getting one or two facts that you can store and repeat confidently as your “reasons” for making the purchase.

The logic is easier to listen to, if you know why you need to hear it. When you listen to logic as a reason to buy, it just gets mentally mixed-up with the “I want to,” conversation going on in your mind. Sometimes the logic and the “I want to” are out of balance creating a sense of guilt in the prospective buyer. This sense of unease is caused by “wanting” a product emotionally when you have yet to be given enough “reasons” to buy. This confusion slows down the purchase process at best and prevents at its worst.

Not to worry, understanding how you decide to buy will generate exactly the same results you currently get. However, you will suffer far less indecision about the purchase, suffer less buyer remorse after the fact and gain more time to focus on other things, once you realize that everyone buys emotionally and justifies logically.