I was paying bills today and my wife texted me asking what I was doing.
When I told her she jokingly said, “That sounds like fun.” It reminded me
of something I learned in Persuasion Class back in college. It is the one
appeal that is stronger in advertising than any other. I am referring to
the fear appeal. It has a stronger draw than sex, desire for gain and
basic need combined! I noticed it as I was paying the bills. I
wasn’t paying because I wanted to give my money away. I wasn’t
paying out of a need to make to payee happy. I wasn’t paying because doing
so is something basic humans need to do. And I certainly wasn’t doing it
because it made me feel good about myself. I was paying bills because of
that fear deep down inside. You know that fear. “What if I forget to
pay this and they start calling me! Or maybe it will end up on my credit
score! We can’t be having that now, can we? So even though they
weren’t due for another week or so, I paid them now so I wouldn’t have to worry
about it in the future. The fear of the consequences made me pay the
bills. Advertisers have been tapping into this for years. It works
so well on us because it strikes that common human trait…fear. I love life
insurance salesmen. Their opening line is always, “If something happened
to you, is there enough insurance on you to take care of your family for the
rest of their lives? No one is actually going to say “Yes” in their heads
because you never will feel like you have enough insurance to take care of your
family. Then you start to worry about all the horrible things that could
happen to your family if something happened to you. Once the fear is
there, the salesman or commercial as it may be shows you how “affordable caring
for your loved ones can be.” Kind of evil…isn’t it? Even if you buy
the policy, you still will worry that it won’t be enough. I have mentioned
this before in blogs but car repair places are the same way. They tell you
“It doesn’t have to be fixed now but I would do it soon or it could cause an
accident.” My favorite, of course is, “You need to have this done to make
it safe to drive.” When you hear that you immediately start imagining all
the horrible things that could happen to your family in the car. If you
have the means, 9 times out of 10 you have the repairs done. Again, you
don’t do it to feel good. You do it so you won’t worry when your
family is in the car. Isn’t it funny how advertisers and salesmen like to
stress the fear of loss to someone close to you? In general, people will
forgo what could be called luxury expenses for themselves. When it comes
to those you love, however, the checkbook is open. Let’s face it.
The insurance salesman doesn’t say, “Hey, if you die without enough insurance I
bet you’ll feel stupid.” Actually you won’t feel anything. You’ll be
dead! Now the ones you leave behind, that’s where the fear strikes.
I wish this method was not so effective but it is. In fact I just
remembered another bill I need to pay. I better do that quick!
When I told her she jokingly said, “That sounds like fun.” It reminded me
of something I learned in Persuasion Class back in college. It is the one
appeal that is stronger in advertising than any other. I am referring to
the fear appeal. It has a stronger draw than sex, desire for gain and
basic need combined! I noticed it as I was paying the bills. I
wasn’t paying because I wanted to give my money away. I wasn’t
paying out of a need to make to payee happy. I wasn’t paying because doing
so is something basic humans need to do. And I certainly wasn’t doing it
because it made me feel good about myself. I was paying bills because of
that fear deep down inside. You know that fear. “What if I forget to
pay this and they start calling me! Or maybe it will end up on my credit
score! We can’t be having that now, can we? So even though they
weren’t due for another week or so, I paid them now so I wouldn’t have to worry
about it in the future. The fear of the consequences made me pay the
bills. Advertisers have been tapping into this for years. It works
so well on us because it strikes that common human trait…fear. I love life
insurance salesmen. Their opening line is always, “If something happened
to you, is there enough insurance on you to take care of your family for the
rest of their lives? No one is actually going to say “Yes” in their heads
because you never will feel like you have enough insurance to take care of your
family. Then you start to worry about all the horrible things that could
happen to your family if something happened to you. Once the fear is
there, the salesman or commercial as it may be shows you how “affordable caring
for your loved ones can be.” Kind of evil…isn’t it? Even if you buy
the policy, you still will worry that it won’t be enough. I have mentioned
this before in blogs but car repair places are the same way. They tell you
“It doesn’t have to be fixed now but I would do it soon or it could cause an
accident.” My favorite, of course is, “You need to have this done to make
it safe to drive.” When you hear that you immediately start imagining all
the horrible things that could happen to your family in the car. If you
have the means, 9 times out of 10 you have the repairs done. Again, you
don’t do it to feel good. You do it so you won’t worry when your
family is in the car. Isn’t it funny how advertisers and salesmen like to
stress the fear of loss to someone close to you? In general, people will
forgo what could be called luxury expenses for themselves. When it comes
to those you love, however, the checkbook is open. Let’s face it.
The insurance salesman doesn’t say, “Hey, if you die without enough insurance I
bet you’ll feel stupid.” Actually you won’t feel anything. You’ll be
dead! Now the ones you leave behind, that’s where the fear strikes.
I wish this method was not so effective but it is. In fact I just
remembered another bill I need to pay. I better do that quick!
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