New Neuroscience Research Challenges Decades-Old Theory Behind Technology Sales Messaging

Groundbreaking study from Allego and cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Carmen Simon finds sales messages that remind buyers they can control an outcome boost attention and recall by 31%

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For nearly 50 years, marketers and sellers have been taught that fear of loss is the most powerful way to motivate a buyer. New neuroscience research from Allego, Inc., the leader in AI-powered revenue enablement, suggests that advice is incomplete when applied to B2B technology buyers. The study reveals messages that show those buyers a better outcome and remind them they have the power to get there are more engaging, memorable, and persuasive than messages built on loss alone.

The finding challenges how Prospect Theory, the influential 1979 model developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, has been applied to B2B technology sales. The theory holds that people are more motivated by fear of losing something than by gaining it. Kahneman was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in part for his work on this theory.

Allego's study, conducted in partnership with cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Carmen Simon, founder of Enhancive, included 102 participants working in sales, marketing, and customer success. Each person read a marketing email and watched a product demonstration promoting a coaching solution, with researchers using biometric technology to track attention, eye movement, and emotional response, then testing recall 48 hours later.

Participants were randomly assigned one of four message types, with everything else held constant so that framing was the only variable. The four message types were Loss/Passive (e.g., "Opportunities are being missed"), Loss/Active (e.g., "You miss opportunities"), Gain/Passive (e.g., "Opportunities are moved forward"), or Gain/Active (e.g., "You move opportunities forward").

Allego's new report, The Psychology of Persuasive Messaging, found:

• Gain/Active messaging performed best overall, holding attention 31% longer than Loss/Passive messaging and producing 31% better recall two days later than Loss/Active messaging.
• A single word made an outsized difference. Adding "you" to a message (shifting the subject from the product to the buyer) lifted engagement 12% in gain-framed messaging but increased only 4% in a loss-framed one.
• Loss/Active messaging was the least effective approach. Two-thirds of participants who saw Loss/Active messaging (67%) flagged it as a marketing tactic (the highest of any group), suggesting they felt they were being blamed and causing them to stop engaging.
• Loss/Passive messaging still captured attention the fastest and had the second-highest memory score, but it didn't translate into deeper engagement or lasting behavior change.
• Priming shaped how buyers interpret what comes next. The messaging people encountered before a product demo influenced how they processed it.
• Framing has a ceiling. Messages that looked and sounded like typical B2B marketing were forgotten regardless of their frame. Distinctiveness mattered as much as framing.

"For years, the advice to marketers and sellers has been simple: Focus on what buyers stand to lose," said Yuchun Lee, CEO and co-founder of Allego. "This research shows that's not the whole story. Buyers, especially technology buyers who tend to lean more innovative and visionary, respond when they can see a better outcome and believe they have a hand in getting there. That's the kind of insight that should change how every go-to-market team writes an email, builds a slide deck, or begins a sales call."

Agency, Not Just Framing, Drive Persuasion

The reason Gain/Active messaging outperformed the rest comes down to agency, which is the sense that buyers have control over the outcome, not just a stake in it. Unlike the other message types, Gain/Active framing told readers they had the power to influence the outcome. That phrasing choice put them into a more exploratory mindset, rather than a defensive or passive one.

According to the research, that mindset showed up in their behavior. Participants in this group returned more often to the sections that matter: the problem, the solution, and the benefits, suggesting they were actively working to understand the offer rather than just registering.

Dr. Simon says agency matters more than ever as AI takes on a growing share of the buying and selling process, and buyers look for reassurance that they still have a say in the outcome.

"Just because AI tools are gaining in agency, it doesn't mean humans have to lose theirs," Dr. Simon says. "A memorable message gives people two things: a positive outcome to pursue and a meaningful role in achieving it."

Loss-Based Messaging Still Has a Role, But It Isn't Enough on Its Own

That doesn't mean loss-based messaging is obsolete. Loss/Passive messages, which are framed around what buyers stand to lose without assigning blame, grabbed attention faster than the other approaches and produced the second-highest memory score. But attention isn't the same as persuasion. Loss/Passive messages created urgency without encouraging buyers to engage deeply with the broader message, meaning it can capture a buyer's attention without moving them to act.

"As sales enablement professionals, we spend a lot of time thinking about the best ways to prepare reps for customer conversations, but not always enough time considering why certain messages stick and others don't," said Kyle Paruszkiewicz, Senior Manager, Sales Enablement at Clarivate, who participated in the study. "This research makes it clear that buyers respond when they can picture a better outcome and feel like they have a hand in reaching it. That's a gamechanger for how we coach our teams to communicate. It's not just about getting noticed but about being remembered and prompting buyers to act."

These findings suggest that the most effective sales and marketing messages do two things: They highlight a problem or promise a better outcome, and they remind buyers the outcome is within their control. For go-to-market teams, that means moving beyond messaging written solely around urgency and fear and instead helping buyers see what is possible and believe they have the power to get there.

The full report, The Psychology of Persuasive Messaging, is available now at allego.com.

About Allego

Allego is a market-leading revenue enablement platform that sales, marketing, and enablement teams love, trust, and recommend. Across the customer lifecycle, Allego helps teams close deals, hit revenue goals, and stay aligned through change by making the next best action clear.

Allego brings learning, content, coaching, digital selling, and secure, practical AI directly into everyday workflows, helping teams act consistently and deliver results in complex selling environments. Customers report measurable impact, including up to 50% shorter sales cycles, 45% higher win rates, and significant reductions in software spend.

Allego is a Leader in the Gartner^® Magic Quadrant™ for Revenue Enablement Platforms and ranks number one on G2 for Ease of Use and Customer Satisfaction. Ninety percent of customers recommend Allego on Gartner Peer Insights, backed by a world-class NPS score and exceptional customer loyalty. An award-winning customer success team reinforces that loyalty through long-term partnership and accountability. Learn more at www.allego.com.

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"Allego" is a registered trademark of Allego, Inc.

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SOURCE Allego