When talking to prospects about your offer, which should ideally come after you have gotten to know their needs and goals, the language you use can make all the difference.
Gone are the days when door-to-door salesmen would go to houses listing off the cutting-edge features of their newest vacuum. These days, people only want to hear what’s in it for them. In other words, people don’t want to be sold a vacuum, they just want a clean floor.
This is the difference between selling features and selling benefits. Features are attributes of your product or service; benefits are the end results, or value added, for that particular prospect.
Whether your company is product-based or service-based, you should be emphasizing benefits instead of features. Keep in mind that most businesses are interested in three things: saving time, saving money, or increasing revenue. Illustrate for prospects how your offering will do one or more of these things, and support your claim with concrete examples or quantitative figures.
In summary, think of this framework when talking to a prospect: “We will assist you in achieving these results so you can meet your objectives.” If you take this strategy and adapt it to each prospect’s specific needs, challenges, and goals, then your sales efforts will be much more effective.
