8d • Marketing and Sales
Pain motivates purchases
I’m copying and pasting this from Alex Hormozi’s email newsletter this morning. I thought it was really insightful and works for every industry. Here’s the email:
Pain motivates purchases better than pressure.
Mozi Minute: Pulling Teeth
If you’re struggling to create urgency in the sale, it’s because you’re missing a key step in discovery: pulling teeth.
Pain motivates. And pain only occurs in the specific, not the vague.
Most sales reps lose deals in the first five minutes. Not because they pitch wrong.
Because they accept vague answers and move on.
The prospect says something like "marketing isn't working" and the rep nods along like that means something. It doesn't.
This is Step 5 of the 9-step discovery process I use with my team.
And it's where most sales die.
Here's how to fix it:
The Problem: Prospects give you three types of bad answers:
- Vague - "Things aren't going well"
- Confusing - "We tried some stuff but the ROI wasn't there"
- Incomplete - "Lead gen"
All three are useless.
You can't sell to vague problems. You need specific, painful details.
That's where Pulling Teeth comes in.
The Solution:
No matter what type of bad answer you get, you respond the same way. Two questions. Every time.
Question 1:
"Can you tell me more about that?"
Question 2:
"Can you give me an example?"
That's it. Don't overcomplicate it. Don't get cute.
Just ask them to tell you more, then ask for an example.
Why This Works:
Asking for more information forces them to dig deeper.
Asking for examples connects it to real life experiences.
That's when the pain becomes real.
Real Example:
Bad sales rep:
Prospect: "Marketing isn't working."
Rep: "Got it. So you need help with marketing. Let me show you our platform..." [Lost sale]
Good sales rep:
Prospect: "Marketing isn't working."
Rep: "Can you tell me more about that?"
Prospect: "We're spending money but not seeing results."
Rep: "Can you give me an example?"
Prospect: "We spent $15k on Facebook ads last month and got 3 leads. One was a competitor spying on us. The other two were tire kickers who never showed up to calls." [Now we're getting somewhere]
See what happened?
The first rep heard "marketing isn't working" and pitched. The second rep pulled teeth and discovered:
- They spent $15k
- They got 3 leads
- None converted
- They're bleeding $5k per lead
- They're frustrated and desperate
Same prospect. Same problem. One rep has nothing to work with. The other has five painful details to connect the offer to.
The Method:
When you get a vague, confusing, or incomplete answer:
- Say "Can you tell me more about that?"
- Wait for their answer
- Say "Can you give me an example?"
- Wait for their answer
- If still vague, repeat steps 1-4
Keep pulling teeth until you get specific, painful details. Most sales reps quit after one question. Winners keep going until they hit bone.
What You're Looking For:
- Specific numbers (revenue, costs, timelines)
- Emotional pain (frustration, fear, embarrassment)
- Failed attempts (what they tried that didn't work)
- Consequences (what happens if they don't fix this)
The more specific the pain, the easier the close. Pain motivates action.
Bottom Line:
You can't sell to vague problems. Pull teeth until you get specific, painful details. Then sell the solution to those specific problems.
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Pain motivates purchases
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