The 6 P’s of a decision

I was recently sitting at a restaurant speaking to a few friends of mine about why and how people decide to buy a certain product or service and it made me think, “Why do people decide to buy?”  One of my friends claimed that he doesn’t make any decisions based on emotion but rather he avoids any wasteful spending choices by making all his decisions with logic.  His claim of having all decisions being made by logic made me remember a professor I once had and the 6 P’s involved in any decision.  Even though logic can be a part of a decision, it still boils down to these 6 P’s or needs being satisfied in the decision process. 

The 6 P’s are pleasure, peace of mind, profit, prestige, pain avoidance and power.  Every buying decision we make revolves around one of these P’s, or needs being met.  Think about the last buying decision you made and I can guarantee one of these needs is being met.  The advantage of knowing these needs in a person’s buying decision allows you as a business and as a sales person to find creative ways to address the needs of potential customers and encourage buying decisions.  These 6 intrinsic needs being met are the “So What’s in it for me” in the buying decision of the customer. 

I used these 6 P’s as a way to justify a question I had.  Recently  I was watching the Presidential debate.  I said to myself, “Who would want to be President at this point in history when the world seems to be a chaotic mess?”  Well, I decided to think about the 6 P’s and it became clear as to why someone would want to be President.  At the top of the list, the need of Power is being met.  After all, there is no more of a powerful person in the world once you become President.  The second P on the list that motivates someone to want to be President is Prestige.  The historical significance of becoming President of The United States is obvious.  You will be remembered in history until the end of days and the prestige or status associated with being President of the United States is unmatched.  Finally, there is a need that I wish wasn’t becoming so prevalent in the decision to become President, Profit.  According to a CNN analysis of 12 years of federal financial records, former President Bill Clinton had his most active and profitable year on the lecture circuit in 2012, delivering 73 speeches for $17 million from mid-January 2012 through mid-January 2013. That brought his total haul in speaking fees since leaving the White House to $106 million.  Bill Clinton is profiting from being President.

When you are selling your product or service to potential buyers, remember the 6 P’s and how those P’s impact why a customer buys.  If you can understand that, you will achieve all 6 P’s or needs being met for your business and for yourself.