Maximise your sales success by understanding the forces involved in a sales situation. There are two; desire to purchase and reluctance to spending money. Whichever is the stronger will determine the outcome.

For a sale to occur the buyer has to have a more powerful desire to buy than he or she has reluctance to spending their money.

The salesperson therefore must present arguments that increase the customer's desire and reduce their reluctance to spend.

To increase desire, you can draw inspiration from the seven deadly sins; Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed and Sloth

1. Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities.

2. Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.

3. Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.

4. Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.

5. Anger is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage.

6. Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain - also called Avarice or Covetousness.

7. Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work

Wow, there is an infinity of possibilities with that collection. You can see the connection between items in the list and most consumer adverts.

So if you wish to persuade, make the promise in your message take its power from one of the 7 deadly sins.

Addressing the other side of the equation, to reduce resistance to spending money.

• Show how the purchase will make or save money.

• Give reassurance by showing that your offering is 'what everybody is choosing'.

• Show testimonials from happy customers.

• Provide a guarantee - 'satisfaction or your money back'.

• Minimise the 'commitment threshold', offer a 'free trial'.

• Make it easy to proceed - 'We'll take care of all of the details for you'.

Selling is like a seesaw or teeter-totter, on one side there is a substantial weight, representing the reluctance to take a decision and spend money. On the other side you have to pile the arguments which make purchasing attractive. When the attraction is greater than the resistance a sale will occur.