The 3 Human Brains
Did you know that humans have three brains? Yup, we are “triune-brained” creatures. This is important because the different “brains” impact customers’ buying habits. They also impact entrepreneurs’ business habits. Everything we do in business and in life is determined by the parts of our brain.
The reptilian brain is the oldest part of the brain. This part of the brain is found in all animals,including reptiles. It is the part of the brain that is instinctual and responsible for assessing danger. It is the fight or flight aspect that ensures our survival. It is also the primary centre for decision making.
The limbic brain is present in all mammals. This part of the brain is the emotional centre and responsible for how we feel. The limbic system is where value judgments are made—mostly unconsciously—and strongly impacts our behaviour.
The neocortex brain is the brain that is distinctly human. This is the part of the brain that “thinks”. It is responsible for creativity, complex thinking, logic, and our ability to analyze.
Misconceptions about the Triune Brain
As humans, we like to think we are rational, logical beings. In business, we are taught to “think”, analyze, and make rational decisions. We often perceive ourselves as acting from logic. We think we are making decisions from our logic centres. However, research shows that human beings actually make decisions emotionally and then justify them rationally. The limbic or “middle” brain processes the emotions, and the final decisions are made by the reptilian (old) brain. Decision making is, at its core, a survival mechanism. This decision -making process in the reptilian brain is the foundation of much success and many woes in business and life.
It is also one of the reasons that, once we make a decision, we often fight hard to keep it. As previously noted, part of the function of the reptilian brain is to ensure survival. In order to do that, the reptilian brain must process information quickly and make instant decisions. Think back to our more primitive beginnings. When the saber-toothed tiger was descending upon someone, wanting lunch, there was no time for the neocortex to perform a thorough analytical exploration of the situation. Survival depended on making the “right” decision, and making it fast. So fast, in fact, that the process usually occurs outside conscious awareness.
The reptilian brain must be “right” if we are going to survive. Our survival is linked to being right and then to making ourselves feel good about it. After we make ourselves feel good about the decision, we rationalize and justify it.
Think back to the last time you made a purely rational decision, a decision made purely on facts and numbers. How good did you feel about the decision? If you didn’t have a “safe” feeling about the decision you made, then you probably agonized over it for a long time. When you “listened to your gut (or heart)”, you felt better about your decision. That is because you began listening to the reptilian brain. Once you followed the decision made by the reptilian brain, rather than the neocortex, your reptilian brain believed your survival was ensured, and it relaxed. This same process is happening for every customer and potential customer you have. It’s also happening to you every time you make a business decision!
Avoiding the Biggest Business Mistake
One of the biggest business mistakes people make is appealing to the neocortex—the new brain. Appealing to reason has never won an election or swayed an audience. Appealing to emotions and survival does. Dr. Joseph LeDoux, in his book Emotional Brain, says that the amygdala—part of the reptilian brain—“has greater influence on the cortex than the cortex has on the amygdala, allowing emotional arousal to dominate and control thinking. From here, the reptilian brain makes the decision most likely to ensure survival. This is why there is often a sense of fear or anger (fight or flight) present when we make decisions.
If you have ever attended any kind of sales training, presenters probably told you to “stay with emotions”. Whenever the potential client strays to the rational side of the discussion, your task as a salesperson is to bring him, or her, back to the emotional side of the equation. This is only partially correct. Your task is actually to get him or her to the “survival side of the equation”. Of course, successful selling depends on how well you did proving to the reptilian brain that your product or service will ensure its survival (a topic for a future article). In the hypnosis field, we often say, “sell to the unconscious mind.” What we are saying is, “sell to the old brain.” Make sure you are connecting with the survival mechanism.
6 Tips for Selling to the Old Brain
1. The old brain is self-focused. Survival is a selfish instinct. It only cares about itself. Make sure your meeting is mostly about your client, not your product or service. Only discuss the product or service in the context of how it supports the client.
2. The old brain likes contrast. Without contrast, the old brain cannot make decisions. With contrast, it can make decisions faster and more effectively. Be sure your presentation includes examples of before/after, risky/safe, with/without, and fast/slow.
3. The old brain likes it simple and real. Think of reptiles. How well do they think about concepts like “flexible solution” or “integrated approach”? The old brain appreciates easy and simple- to- grasp solutions. It wants concrete ideas, such as: “more money”, “unbreakable”, and “next-day delivery”.
4. The old brain remembers beginnings and endings, but forgets middles. Place the most important information or concepts at the beginning and end of presentations/meetings.
5. The old brain is visual. Remember the old saying, “a picture says a thousand words.” Use pictures, drawings and images. (Anyone who has ever asked me about hypnosis will know at some point I will draw a map of the mind.)
6. The old brain is triggered by emotions (the limbic system). Every time we think, we release chemicals called neurotransmitters into the body. Happy thoughts equal happy chemicals. Negative thoughts equal negative chemicals. People buy what makes them feel good. Make sure your client feels good about you as much as s/he feels good about your product or service.
Understanding the role each part of the brain plays in decision making impacts the quality of those decisions. It also determines our success at attracting clients and new business.
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