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.
To learn more about this author, visit Michael Shays's Website.
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Michael Shays
(Visit Michael's Website)
Michael Shays is a senior management
consultant, public speaker, facilitator
and mediator. He has coached executives in
24 countries in six continents to resolve
conflict, manage transitions, and develop
breakthrough solutions to tough problems.
He has helped over 500 clients, including
AT&T, IBM, KPMG and, Hewlett-Packard, and
the CEOs of smaller companies.
After seven years with the operations
improvement firm, Bruce Payne &
Associates, he passed examination as a
Certified Management Consultant and was
recruited by Coopers & Lybrand as a direct
entry Partner. BDO Seidman recruited
Michael 14 years later to be the National
Director of Management Consulting and
Chairman of BDO’s International Management
Consulting Committee. He left BDO in 1990
to open his own firm, EMS Network
International, with strategic partners in
four continents. See www.emsnetwork
.com.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of
Management Consultants USA and a recipient
of their Lifetime Achievement Award. He
has served as Chairman of IMC USA, the
International Council of Management
Consulting Institutes, and the Journal of
Management Consulting. He an active member
of the Center for Breakthrough Thinking.
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