Every sale is powered by the fuel of emotion. By a complex mix of beliefs, feelings and desires that mesh together to become the Core Buying Emotion the feeling that compels us to break out our wallets.

Your job as a marketer is to trigger that emotion in your prospect and get it worked up to the point that she buys what youre selling.

So how, exactly, are you supposed to do that?

Know Where Youre Going

Stimulating the wrong emotion is just as bad as not stimulating any at all. So the first thing you have to do is know your prospect. Know how shes already feeling about the problems your offer will solve.

In other words, you have to identify her Core Buying Emotion before you can even dream of triggering it.

Start The Ignition

Look beyond your product or service. Look beyond the benefits it offers. Think about where your prospect is emotionally, and where shell be after she takes you up on your generous offer.

Now youve got to show her how your product will get her from where she is to where she wants to go.

There are as many different ways of triggering emotions as there are emotions to trigger and then some. But here are some ideas to get you started:

• Tell a story. Let it read like a novel, with quotations and all. Let your prospect get involved briefly with a character that shares her problem and then watch as your product solves that problem. Stories not only evoke intense emotion, theyre remembered longer than any other pitch you can make.
• Paint a vivid picture with your words. Use details to stimulate as many of her senses as possible. Smells are especially tied to memory and emotion. If youre trying to make her feel nostalgic, mention the smell of Grandmas fresh baked bread, or of the grass she played in as a child.
• Feel the emotion as you write. Let your words be saturated with it to the point that it seeps into your entire copy. If you want your prospect to be angry, then be fighting mad while you write.

Channeling The Energy

Once youve ignited the fuel of your prospects emotion, youve got to channel it. Just getting angry or nostalgic isnt good enough it has to produce action. So be sure you give your prospect something to do with her feelings, like calling your 1-800 number, filling out your handy order form, or clicking your "Buy It Now!" Button.

Emotion is a powerful fuel. Use it wisely, and your marketing can power your business for a long time to come.