Any superior salesperson will tell you that, while a rational sales pitch is important, the sale is actually made by understanding and appealing to the buyer’s emotions. It is an important lesson that leaders must understand.

Neuroscience tells us that the emotional brain overpowers the rational brain. The emotional brain, centered in the amygdala in the limbic system, is powerful in its ability to “click on”, classify others as foes, tell false stories and drain the brain of its limited cognitive resources. The following story, which is 100% factual, illustrates this point effectively. The names and places have been changed to respect confidentiality.

John runs a small business in Montreal and is excited by a new product offered by a company based in London, England. The British company is run by two partners, Tom and Edna. The latter two individuals take an interest in John and his vast experience and knowledge in a certain segment of the market of which they have limited exposure. This segment offers significant business potential and so Tom and Edna invite John to London for a week to discuss revising the company’s business plan. The week flies by and the two British partners make John an offer to join the company as an investor and working partner. The three business people verbally reach an agreement and John asks Tom and Edna for a shareholder’s agreement.

It takes a few weeks but the agreement is finally sent to John in Montreal. John immediately sends the agreement to two business lawyers and his business adviser. All three professionals get back to him quickly and tell him that this is the worst business deal that they have ever reviewed. It was designed to scoop up John’s investment and make it impossible for him to ever get it back. The three professionals advise John to back away from the deal and not, under any circumstances, invest money in this company.

John explains the situation to Tom and Edna who immediately blame their lawyer. Tom and Edna are not willing to invest more funds to re-draft the agreement so John suggests an alternate agreement that doesn’t involve any exchange of funds. This is a Win/Win situation and both parties agree to the new arrangement. Over the course of the ensuing year, John doesn’t hear from Tom and Edna and it is clear that they are upset by the fact that he did not invest funds in their company. To soothe things over, John decides to attend a trade show at which Tom and Edna have a booth – to try to put the past behind and work together to build the business. John makes important contacts at the show that represent significant business potential for Tom and Edna. The latter two individuals completely ignore John, never follow up on these promising contacts and refuse to have anything to do with him. The loss in potential business to Tom and Edna is substantial.

Neuroscience explains exactly what happened in the minds of the two British partners. They expected John to invest in their company and, when he pulled out, he became a foe. Their limbic systems in their brains kicked in and classified John as a threat to them. Rationally, this makes no sense because, not only did John have good reason to withdraw from the deal but, moreso, Tom and Edna could still benefit financially from John’s contacts and clients. But, as stated above, the emotional brain overpowers the rational brain. As a result, John is an enemy to Tom and Edna and the latter’s brains will continue to look for clues to back up their judgments.

The above is a true story. How often does a scenario like this play out in your organization? How fascinating it is that the human brain often works against our best interests. Indeed, you are NOT your brain!