Although the internet is a ‘cold’ way of doing business compared to face to face business, you should remember that you are still dealing with people. The computer has changed the way we do business, but it did not change human behavior.

Since human behavior remains unchanged it is a good idea to use that to your advantage for your website. If you want to better your chances of your prospects buying your product, you need to show how your product can help you prospect to avoid pain and gain pleasure.

Now don’t torture your prospects by inflicting too much emotional pain on your site because they will associate your product to pain and click off your site. But use pain to emphasize a solution your product can give them.

Since our society is based on instant gratification, selling through the use of prevention is not as effective as an instant solution. Let’s say that you smoke regularly, you can buy a complex step-by-step system that instructs you on how to prevent cancer.

Since you don’t have already have cancer, it’s harder to sell to you (and the market) this prevention. However, if you have already have cancer, and I tell you that this pill I have in my hand will kill all the cancer in your body, it will be a much easier sell.

If you have cancer, wouldn’t you want to get rid of it the easiest way possible? It doesn’t matter if it costs $1000 per pill, you are going to buy it!

That’s a reason why the pharmaceutical companies sell so much; most people have a perception that they can buy health in a pill. Again, that’s instant gratification and you can see why prevention is a much harder sell than an instant solution.

Here is why prevention in this example is hard to sell:

1. The problem (cancer) isn’t immediately noticeable, therefore the pain isn’t immediate.

2. Most people are lazy and would procrastinate till the last minute.

As a general rule, pain is a better motivator than pleasure. Using this rule to your advantage, create pain in a good way in your prospects! You can intensify their pain by asking them how they felt in the past, present, and future. For example if you are promoting dating products:

“Remember back in high school, when that girl/guy laughed in your face…”

“How do you feel now that you’re lonely and not with your dream girl/guy…”

“Imagine five years from now, will you able to find the love that you want…”

You get the picture. And remember; don’t make pain the main theme of your website because nobody likes to feel bad. Give them some hope and assure them that it’s not their fault for their situation.

Now here is the next step. Present the solution that will solve that problem. That one solution you have that will give them the pleasure. Remember that your solution provides your prospects the pleasure for their pain.

You can again ask powerful questions:

“Imagine next time when you are at a bar and you knowing that you can pick up any guy or girl of your dreams.”

“Picture how happy you will feel once you have your dream lover…”

Since your prospects feel pain and dissatisfaction about their current situation, they need a solution. And in order for your prospects to feel good about themselves and their situation right now, they will have to associate your solution (your product) with the pleasure they will gain.

So remember when selling your products over the internet, you are still dealing with real people with real feelings. Start using the pain/pleasure principle in your website today (if you haven’t done so already) and watch your sales rise!