Features, Benefits and Solutions
Features, Benefits and Solutions
If you don't have a problem, you don't need a solution. Elementary? Sure, but it's amazing how often it's forgotten by salespeople intent on pushing their products. Major sales are lost every day by amateurish attempts to resolve nonexistent problems.
Actually, a better word than nonexistent would be unperceived. When a salesperson's solution fails to connect with a customer, it's usually because that customer has not perceived that he or she has a problem, and therefore feels no urgency about "resolving" it. This is true, of course, even when the problem is blatantly obvious to the salesperson, and it's why they so often are frustrated in attempting to demonstrate to prospects that their perceptions are wrong and they're actually in trouble. Think of how difficult it is to sell life insurance to people in their twenties: If you're still convinced of your own immortality, what problem is there to solve?
The unperceived issue is related to the old distinction between features and benefits. In order to sell a feature, you've got to show it has a benefit, that it has some value to the prospect or customer. No value, no benefit, no sale. Pushing a feature on a customer for whom it has no benefit is equivalent to pushing a solution for an unperceived problem.
In his book Solution Selling, Michael T. Bosworth adds a useful nuance to this old distinction by introducing an intermediary term: advantage. If a feature is something that exists in the product or service itself and a benefit is the value that a customer sees in that feature, an advantage is the feature's potential value -- an inherent value that may or may not be seen as such by a given customer.
Bosworth gives the example of a coffee cup. The handle of the cup is an existing feature. Its advantage is that it enables you to drink coffee without burning your fingers. Its benefit is that it prevents something you had wanted to avoid; it anticipates and provides a solution to a potential problem. But the handle is only a benefit to a coffee fancier. If you don't drink coffee (or some other hot drink), the handle feature is merely an advantage, not a benefit.
For a more sophisticated example, consider the caller ID feature than many telecommunications companies now offer their customers. It's certainly an advantage in that it enables customers who want to screen their callers. Is it a benefit? Only to customers who perceive value in that advantage. Is it a solution? Only to customers who believe that they have a problem -- in this case, a surplus of incoming calls that they don't want to deal with. If you're not bothered by such calls, if the tracing potential of this technology makes you uneasy, or if for any other reason you don't see a problem in unscreened calls, then by definition this feature has no benefit for you, and the salesperson who provides you this "solution" probably will get nowhere.
Effective selling always starts in the customer's mind, with some discrepancy to be resolved or some problem overcome. If the customer perceives there's no problem, you've got no solution
Features Benefits and Solutions - To learn more about this author, visit Colly Graham's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
A solution is, by definition, the resolution of a problem.
If you don't have a problem, you don't need a solution. Elementary? Sure, but it's amazing how often it's forgotten by salespeople intent on pushing their products. Major sales are lost every day by amateurish attempts to resolve nonexistent problems.
Actually, a better word than nonexistent would be unperceived. When a salesperson's solution fails to connect with a customer, it's usually because that customer has not perceived that he or she has a problem, and therefore feels no urgency about "resolving" it. This is true, of course, even when the problem is blatantly obvious to the salesperson, and it's why they so often are frustrated in attempting to demonstrate to prospects that their perceptions are wrong and they're actually in trouble. Think of how difficult it is to sell life insurance to people in their twenties: If you're still convinced of your own immortality, what problem is there to solve?
The unperceived issue is related to the old distinction between features and benefits. In order to sell a feature, you've got to show it has a benefit, that it has some value to the prospect or customer. No value, no benefit, no sale. Pushing a feature on a customer for whom it has no benefit is equivalent to pushing a solution for an unperceived problem.
In his book Solution Selling, Michael T. Bosworth adds a useful nuance to this old distinction by introducing an intermediary term: advantage. If a feature is something that exists in the product or service itself and a benefit is the value that a customer sees in that feature, an advantage is the feature's potential value -- an inherent value that may or may not be seen as such by a given customer.
Bosworth gives the example of a coffee cup. The handle of the cup is an existing feature. Its advantage is that it enables you to drink coffee without burning your fingers. Its benefit is that it prevents something you had wanted to avoid; it anticipates and provides a solution to a potential problem. But the handle is only a benefit to a coffee fancier. If you don't drink coffee (or some other hot drink), the handle feature is merely an advantage, not a benefit.
For a more sophisticated example, consider the caller ID feature than many telecommunications companies now offer their customers. It's certainly an advantage in that it enables customers who want to screen their callers. Is it a benefit? Only to customers who perceive value in that advantage. Is it a solution? Only to customers who believe that they have a problem -- in this case, a surplus of incoming calls that they don't want to deal with. If you're not bothered by such calls, if the tracing potential of this technology makes you uneasy, or if for any other reason you don't see a problem in unscreened calls, then by definition this feature has no benefit for you, and the salesperson who provides you this "solution" probably will get nowhere.
Effective selling always starts in the customer's mind, with some discrepancy to be resolved or some problem overcome. If the customer perceives there's no problem, you've got no solution
Features Benefits and Solutions - To learn more about this author, visit Colly Graham's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Colly's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 |
|
Colly Graham Video - Colly Graham discusses Creating Customers on the Telephone -The importance of the telephone in selling is now well documented. This training DVD focuses on getting in front of more prospects by teaching the skill of telephone appointment setting. The workshop demonstrates the connection between daily activities, the sales cycle, and the number of sales necessary for a consistent flow of qualified appointments. Based on practical skills that get results fill your diary with qualified appointments.
|
|
|
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Speed Business Networking Business / Personal Plan Recession Proof Non Disclosure Agreement Leadership 2.0 |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs | |
 |
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2007
Top SEO Posts of the Year | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
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 and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||