Tweet

Sell Benefits, Not Advantages

Written by: Michael Shays

Article Overview: Sellers are often too enamored with the advantages they have over their competition, but the customer is less impressed. They want to know “What are you going to do for me?” and even more important, “What will that do for my bottom line?” Here is a test to see if you are selling advantages, products or benefits.

Sell Benefits, Not Advantages

Sell Benefits, Not Advantages
E. Michael Shays CMC

Here are three statements. Which do you think would have the greatest impact on a customer?
a. You will have a design that will track ship¬ments by parcel.
b. Our methodology has been proven to be successful in over 100 applications of this type.
c. You will always know where each parcel is at any given moment.

Most customers are more motivated by Statement “c”. They are least interested in Statement “b”. Why is that?
Statement “a” describes the product of the seller—a feature of the assignment. This is what the seller will leave with the customer at the end of the engagement.
Statement “b” describes an advantage that the seller perceives he holds over competition—what the seller believes will make his firm more attractive to the decision maker.
Statement “c” describes the benefit of the assignment—the value the customer will derive from the product. It is the reason for engaging the seller in the first place.

The strongest selling point is always the benefit statement, yet more paper is devoted in proposals to advantages, the least engaging selling point of the three types of statements. In addition, sellers often mistake products for benefits. Products are not benefits. The benefit is what each product enables the customer to accomplish.

Here is a test. Identify whether these statements are an (a) advantage, (p) product, or (b) benefit.
1. We are a local firm.
2. We will deliver a plan for the next five years.
3. All the members of our team have over ten years’ experience.
4. You will have a system that is fully interactive.
5. The system will eliminate or significantly reduce stock-outs.
6. We will leave you a complete handbook of the new system.
7. We have offices all around the world.
8. You can operate the system with 10% fewer staff.

ANSWERS: 1a, 2p, 3a, 4p, 5b, 6p, 7a, 8b

One way to stay focused on benefits is to focus on the customer, not on your firm. A colleague was invited to bid on a major assignment in an industry where his firm had only indirect experience. Nevertheless, the he felt his firm had a strong proposal. In the oral presentation they talked about their approach, how they proposed to work with the customer, the schedule, and the perceived benefits. After 45 minutes the customer interrupted and asked my colleague to tell something about themselves, which they did for the next 10 minutes.

My colleague was awarded the sale, but afterward he discovered that they had been competing against one of the premier firms in that industry. When they asked why they had been selected over the apparently more qualified firm, my colleague was told that in their presentation they had talked for 45 minutes about the project and had to be asked about themselves. The other firm had talked for 45 minutes about their qualifications and had to be asked what they would be doing for the customer.

What the seller will do on the engagement is more important to the customer than the advantages one firm has over its com¬petition. What the seller will produce is more important than how he produced it. And the value the customer will derive from what the seller produces is more important than the end product. All four—advantages, approach, product, benefits—are important, but benefits sell.


* * *
E. MICHAEL SHAYS CMC (ems@emsnetwork.com) is President of EMS Network, International, an association of senior sellers helping customers faced with conflict, transition, stagnation, and management dilemmas.

Related Articles
  Here's What I Got...
  Entrepreneurs – Selling The Benefits Of Your Products To Your Wholesalers
  The Advantage of Lease Financing When You Have the Right Equipment financing Company As A Partner
  Why Affiliate Marketing Businesses Are So Easy to Start?
  Why to outsource chat support facilities to India?

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Your advantage over others - Sell using your USP - unique selling proposition. Why should people buy from you, instead of your competitors? Think about it, why are you so great? It may be a hard question, but finding the answer can multiply the effectiveness of any advertising or marketing activities you undertake.
Re: When do entrepreneurs retire, if ever? - Why would you ever retire when you love what you are doing? Sell the business and start another one maybe - but retire - NEVER! You should all read, The 4 Hour Work Week - By Timothy Ferris. He talks about building your business so that you can take mini 'retirement's throughout your life, instead of saving it all up for when you are old. Great concept - what do you think??
Re: SES Toronto - Day 1! - ...oh and even though it's 21 secrets, why do you have [quote:1gz722fe]Tip #22: Use Your Thank You Page to Sell[/quote:1gz722fe] on your blog? Are you holding out on secrets or are you adding your own? Hope to see you at the next conference!
Some online business suggstions debunked - 2. Sell photos on stock photography sites --- I tried this, couldn't even get in the front door. But then, I'm apparently a lousy photographer... However, if you do get in, I think you only get something like 25 cents a download... 8. Build services atop Amazon Web Services ---I've been an Amazon associate for a loooong time, selling books, and business has been lousy since the beginning. Nobody reads anymore...I do get a few DVD sales every now and again... but frankly I make much more money though Google Ads on my site. It took several months for that to build up, but now as my website has more readers those ads are starting to pay off, whereas there's been no corresponding jump from Amazon ads on the same pages...
Should i get a patent? - Deciding whether to apply for a patent involves weighing up a number of advantages and disadvantages. Advantages You get protection for a pre-determined period, allowing you to keep competitors at bay. You can then exploit your invention yourself. Alternatively, you can license your patent for others to exploit it, or sell it, as with any asset. This can provide an important source of revenue for your business. Indeed, some businesses exist solely to collect the royalties from a patent they've licensed - perhaps in combination with a registered design and trade mark. See the page in this guide on how to license your patent. Disadvantages Your patent application means making certain technical information about your invention publicly available. It might be that keeping the details of your invention secret will keep competitors at bay more effectively. You'll need to be prepared to defend your patent. Taking action against an infringer can be very expensive. On the other hand, a patent can act as a deterrent, making defence unnecessary. See the page in this guide on how to defend your patent.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Are You Too Good for Your Job?

The Right Job - Part Five 'Compensation'

Ways to Improve Your Landing Page Conversions

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.