Benefits are what people buy, not features. Yet, too many salespeople talk about features. HSN, Home Shopping Network, knows the difference between a feature and a benefit. In the July, 2008, issue of INC magazine, there’s a great article that talks about how they do it. I suggest you read it and then do something I thought I’d never tell anyone: watch HSN and these experts in action.
I won’t say anything else about this, but the real kicker to the INC magazine article is that on the following page, it talks about the challenges of selling grilling planks. The problem? It’s being sold on price alone and it’s not going well. The reason? Simple. Do you you know what a grilling plank is or how to use one? Probably not, so the lack of sales is because people don’t understand the benefit of using one.
Read the two articles and then take a step back to think about your own selling situation. Are you more like the folks trying to sell grilling planks or are you more like the pros on HSN? I suspect one of the key reasons the grilling plank people are having trouble is that they’re too close to their product. They know its benefits and value, and because they know it, they think everyone else does too.
