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I was at a business networking function this week and in a light-hearted conversation amongst a mainly female group of attendees, the subject tuned to endorphins.

One of the group, Sally Symonds who is a healthy life mentor (www.sallysymonds.com), commented that chocolate is an aphrodisiac and that the same endorphins were found in bananas. Sally added that laughter stimulated endorphins and suggested laughter was also an aphrodisiac (which probably explains why women say they like men who make them laugh…). A female colleague says, “Serve me bananas with chocolate and champagne and watch out any sexy men nearby”.

Being truly masculine, I wanted my two-bob’s worth and added a typically inane male comment about how men were far more easily read than women. (You do know that men find women quite difficult to read, don’t you?) I said that men were asleep, drunk or thinking about sex so were universally predictable. As you would imagine, the barbs started to fly and I was duly condemned for my cynicism. It did serve to keep the conversation flowing though…

In jest, I challenged Sally to write a blog article about the subject and in thinking about how to write it, I decided to look a little deeper into human behaviours and our fundamental motivations.

I will always remember a conversation with my late father who, until late in his career when he switched professions and started a successful mail order book business distributing political and economic titles, was a G.P. He said his reason for retiring from medicine was that he just couldn’t help the majority of patients he saw in his surgery.

He said patients fell into two categories, those he could help medically, and those he couldn’t. Of those he could help medically, half presented with cases that would go away even if left untreated. Aliments like the common cold for which he could prescribe antibiotics so it would go away in a week; or, if left alone, would go away in seven days.

Those he couldn’t help either had problems relating to money, or problems relation to relationships with others. Most he said, were suffering from a lack of physical intimacy with their partners. Invariably that problem was caused by tension about money. Boiled down, they had issues with sex and money.

As a professional marketer, I well understand that people react far more quickly, and spend money more readily, to overcome problems than they do on things that provide pleasure.

To quickly illustrate my point, in one of my workshops I ask if, given the choice, people would spend their very last $1,000 fixing their car’s gearbox so they can get to work, or on a short holiday. The vast majority (over 80%) say they would fix the gearbox and save again for the holiday.

I know from my readings and own tests that the three most profitable market niches are health, relationships (invariably sex again) and success (almost always translated as make more money).

From a Sally’s perspective, it’s about endorphins and how to be happy and fulfilled. From a doctor, it’ about sex and money. From a marketer, it’ about health, relationships and success.

I’d say they’re all pretty much the same things!

This conclusion begs the questions: Which are YOU selling, and how can you profit from this?

Two-thirds (65%) of retailers currently lack fully automated loyalty tools at the point-of-sale, and both card and non-card loyalty programmes need to be simplified for retail employees, according to a survey of 165 retailers by Aberdeen Group*.

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Why do people continue with high-cost, high-risk lead generation when there is a better way?

Let me ask you a simple yet profound question: If I banned you, effective from today, from making another cold call, would your business survive?

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