Rai Cornell: The Psychology of a Savvy Buyer

Empathy is the key to effective marketing. You've heard that here before. But what is really going on in the brains of savvy buyers, and how can we tap into that - not to manipulate, but to connect and engage with what they need and who they want to be?

Today, Rai Cornell shares her unique journey, including being a psychologist in the prison system. We discuss how to appeal to today's savvy buyers and why everyone is a skeptical buyer. We talk about the mistakes companies make when they "pitch” and why 70% of the sales process is actually done before the salesperson does that pitch. And some examples of effective tactics and campaigns we've both seen. And a real treat today: you know the old marketing adage of helping prospects know, like, and trust you? Rai breaks down HOW to achieve each of those steps by taking about the brain's neurotransmitters and the chemicals activated at each stage, so you can best engage your audience at each step.  And we discuss the ethics of empathetic marketing and how to avoid manipulation or coercion at all costs, as well as the importance of internal feedback loops to consistently practice empathy with your customers.

To access the episode transcript, please search for the episode at TheEmpathyEdge.com.

Key Takeaways:

• Prioritize understanding the gatekeeper, not just the final buyer, especially in B2B sales situations.
• Everyone you are selling to is a human. They will have both logic drivers and emotional drivers.
• If you want to be efficient with your marketing dollars - spending less, doing more, and getting more ROI - empathy is the way to do it because you have to slow down and understand who the other person is.
• Utilize the power of neurotransmitters - dopamine and oxytocin - to maximize know, like, and trust.

"Be altruistic. Understand the situation. This is where empathy comes in. You have to understand the situation that they're in before they want to buy your solution." —  Rai Cornell

Episode References:

• Nike, If You Let Me Play Ad Campaign
• Subaru crashed car ad, They Lived

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About Rai Cornell, CEO, Cornell Content Marketing:

Rai Cornell is the CEO and Strategic Marketing Consultant of Cornell Content Marketing. Rai helps B2B businesses become thought leaders by creating long-term demand-generation strategies and eliminating costly and unnecessary short-term, manipulative tactics like ads. Rai's marketing approach is psychology-driven to ensure businesses attract pre-qualified, emotionally engaged buyers.

Connect with Rai:

Email: rairose@cornellcontentmarketing.com

Cornell Content Marketing: cornellcontentmarketing.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raicornell

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books on empathy: Red-Slice.com/books

Learn more about Maria's work: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with Empathy

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Threads: @redslicemaria