Sell the Benefits!
Are you tired of salespeople who don’t know how to sell the benefits of their products or services? It’s not just you. I’ve found myself in similar situations and i’m frustrated with salespeople who forget that customers are not buying a product or service; they’re buying the benefits that come with it. In this article you will learn how to maximize your sales by selling the benefits of your product.
I recently visited a car dealership with my partner Kris, looking to buy a car. However, the salesperson was not able to communicate or sell the benefits of the vehicle to us effectively. For instance, the salesman claimed that the car had seven coats of paint, but when Kris asked what that meant, he had no answer. The benefit was that minor scratches and stone damage would be less visible, and the car would stay looking good. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, and too many salespeople make the same mistake. It’s time to learn how to maximize your sales.
Selling the Benefits – What’s in it for ME?
As a sales professional, it’s your job to ensure that you are always selling the benefit. Yes, you heard that right! The benefit! You see, it’s not enough to just talk about the features of your product or service. You have to be able to connect those features to the benefits that they provide to your prospects.
But unfortunately, not enough salespeople are making sense of their products. Too many salespeople don’t really understand the benefits of their products or services. They confuse features with benefits and end up giving the prospect a fact followed by another fact instead of a benefit.
How to Maximize your sales – Ask Yourself, “So What?”
Let me explain what I mean. After you mention a fact about your product or service, ask yourself, “So what?” and then answer that question out loud for your prospect. If you can’t come up with an answer, then you probably shouldn’t have brought up that fact in the first place.
How to Maximize your sales – Use Bridges
Now, one way to train yourself to sell benefits is to use bridges. Bridges are transitional phrases such as “which means… therefore… so that.” They bridge from the fact to the benefit. Let me give you an example. If you say, “This car has air conditioning,” and then add the bridge “which means,” you are forced to add a benefit. If you don’t, you end up saying, “This car has air conditioning which means…” and you’ll look silly. Instead, you should say something like, “This car has air conditioning which means that on those hot, humid summer days, you’ll arrive at your sales calls looking and feeling your best!” Now that’s a benefit!
How to Maximize your sales – Practice Makes Perfect
Here’s an exercise you can do to make sure you’re selling benefits instead of features. Take a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle, and write “facts” at the top of one column and “benefits” on the other. Then, jot down a basic fact about your product or service and write down as many benefits as you can think of for that one fact. But here’s a tip: “it will save money” is not a benefit. Instead, think about what the prospect can do with the saved money. That’s the benefit!
Believe me, this exercise is not as easy as it looks. But when we do this as a group exercise with our clients, it often takes a fair amount of time until the staff understands what it is they are really selling. Too often they confuse benefits with facts and end up giving the prospect a fact followed by another fact instead of a benefit.
Summing it All Up
So how can you enhance your professionalism as a salesperson and increase your sales? Well, there are three things you can do.
- Make sure you are really familiar with the benefits of your product or service.
- After every fact you give your prospect, add a verbal bridge.
- Answer the question: “So what?”
So there you have it, my friend! That is how to maximize your sales by selling the benefits. Now go out there and start selling those benefits like a pro! Remember, it’s not about the features of your product or service, it’s about the benefits that they provide to your prospects. And if you follow these simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to increasing your sales and enhancing your professionalism as a salesperson!
Looking to up your sales game? Try How to Make Sales Look Easy By Setting Expectations.
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