The power of that statement is also the insight into the selling process. For the last 120 years, salespeople have been taught how to sell. This is the least powerful way of completing a transaction.

Salespeople learn techniques, they learn “closes” and they learn systems of selling. None of that is more powerful than someone who wants to buy.

In fact, all of them are useless if someone doesn’t want to buy, or is afraid to buy, or just doesn’t like the person he or she is buying from.

Rather than selling, take a look at buying. Would you rather know how to sell or would you rather know why people buy? Aha! Why people buy, of course. Why then Mr. Sales-maven, are you still trying to master how to sell?

You can argue that relationship building, questioning skills, networking and presentation skills are all part of the “selling process.” I agree with that. I stand firm, however, in believing that buying motives are one million times more powerful than selling skills.

Let me help you with buying motives for a moment. A buying motive may be how much money a customer has or how much of a risk the product is to purchase. Will it work when I get it home? Will this produce for me in my office environment? Will it increase productivity in my factory?

Think of buying motives in terms of yourself. You decide in your mind you are going to get something. You justify the need for it and you literally go in search of it. You set out on a Saturday afternoon to go spend money. You may shop around or you may go directly to the place that has it. Either way, your motive is clear. You want ownership as soon as possible. If your buying motive is strong enough, spouses, children, parents, and especially salespeople can’t keep you from getting what you want.

Oh sure, someone may steer you to a different model, or you may make a compromise. But whatever “it” is, by the end of the day you are going to make a heroic effort to own it. And by the way, that need is defined as an emotion, not logic. One of the primary motives to buying is an emotional one. And in an emotional state, people will overpay to get what they want.

People buy things with their emotion and justify the purchase using logicy. I like to think of it as the head being attached to the price while the heart is attached to the wallet. If I pull on the heart string, the wallet will pop out of the back pocket. The only thing that can stop it is the logic of the mind.

Have you identified what moves your customer to a purchase? “But Jeffrey,” you whine, “how do you find out why they buy?” It’s really easy. Ask customers why they buy. It never ceases to amaze me how complex the selling situations become because they are driven by their training, rather than being driven by their customers.

For many of you, this is a brand new thought. And as with all brand new thoughts, there’s hesitancy based on lack of experience or success. My two words of advice are: Try it.

Get a half-a-dozen of your customers. Bring them to a buffet lunch and a small seminar to help them build their business. Start out by asking them why they buy from you.

I know it sounds too simple. But it’s true. And the information that you get will lead you to a lifetime of sales. The important thing to understand is that the old way of selling, which ties persuasiveness to techniques, is nowhere near as powerful as the person with the motive who wants to buy.

Your biggest job in sales is to uncover that motive, or lose to someone who does.

GitBit: Want the three prime motivating factors of buying? Go to www.gitomer.com. Register if you’re a first time user and enter the word MOTIVE in the GitBox.

President of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer, Jeffrey Gitomer gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service. He can be reached at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com.