Fear is a potent emotion that influences behavior and is often used by businesses to drive sales, but this approach can dilute the intended message. Instead of relying on fear tactics, companies should focus on providing solutions to customer needs to build trust and relationships. By understanding customer pain points and offering assistance, businesses can effectively support their clients and encourage sales without resorting to fear.

1. Combat Fear With Solutions
By Brian Datu
Fear is a powerful raw emotion that directly influences our behaviors. Fear is the reason behind
our fight or flight response. Humans in general don’t like being scared, so it is only natural that
we do almost anything just so we can avoid it.
Most businesses try to inject fear in order to increase their sales. When a company tries to scare
their customers into buying, they have to create drama. They have to present big, over-the-top
scenarios in order to scare their customers. Apparently, this method of using fear and
exaggeration reduces the persuasive force of the real message they really wanted to convey.
Employing fear in communicating doesn’t really work. Smoking causes cancer; drugs fry your
brain; drinking and driving could kill you. But still people continue to smoke, drink, and use
drugs. These outcomes could happen, but because the language used was fear, people will
mostly believe it won’t happen to them.

2. Give Solutions
Get to the substance and stop scaring your customers into buying or selling to their needs.
Instead of developing fearful scenarios, focus on the solution. What services do you provide?
Why do you provide them? How do they work? What can customers expect? How will you
support them?
Here are some tips on how you can provide solutions to your customers:
1. Understand their point of view and know their pain and fear
You need to listen actively to understand the problem and find a way you can help. It’s your job
to know the main reason why that customer reached out to you in the first place.
Sometimes customers are not able to clearly explain what they want. It’s your job to guide them
so they know that your intention is to help them. This way, they will learn to trust and believe
you and eventually will make selling easier for you.
2. Find a solution
Providing solutions to your customers’ dilemma is the best way to build trust and create a
relationship that is healthy for your business. Establishing a deep connection of trust with your
customers is one way for you to grow your network and gain more referrals.
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Help your customers solve problems. You don’t need to scare them. They will scare themselves.
If they are compelled to buy, they already have a pain and they need a solution.