Communicating benefits, not features

By Andrea Hill

When I walked past an Estée Lauder counter recently, the woman working behind it queried, “Excuse me, ma’am, would you like a free makeover today? I have some terrific products that can really highlight the glow of that suntan you’re sporting.” What a great line! Of course I was intrigued. I responded that I didn’t need a makeover, but I’d like to hear about the products.

My favorite luxury product category to study is makeup, because the cosmetics industry is genius at taking very low-cost materials and turning them into high-priced, almost-never-discounted luxury products. Why am I telling you this? Because if you want to study terrific sales and marketing techniques, you would be wise to take a close look at the beauty industry. Cosmetic companies don’t focus on selling makeup—they focus on selling the benefits that makeup provides.

If the next thing the saleswoman said was something about a super-hydrating moisturizer, I probably would have wandered off. But that’s not what she offered me. She said, “This moisturizer neutralizes more than 90 percent of the effects of sun and pollution exposure. Why does this matter to you? Because sunlight, smoke, pollution—even stress—exaggerate every fine line on your face. You think these fine lines are the natural process of aging, but the natural process should be much slower! Much of that aging process can be slowed with this moisturizer by reducing unnatural damage.”

I have to admit, $55 later I was headed home with my new cosmetics miracle—something that never would have happened if she had simply tried to sell me on the product features.

Focusing on Benefits

One of the most common forms of business miscommunication occurs when a salesperson pushes the features and functions of a product or service instead of translating them into customer benefits. When you know the features and functions of your product well, it is easy to believe the benefits are obvious to your potential customer. But benefits that are quite obvious to you are not always obvious to the uninitiated. Even if you are fully committed to benefits-selling, it can still be easy to forget. Over the years I have learned a technique used by effective salespeople that helps me to remember to return the conversation to saleable benefits every time. Like many aspects of great communication, it involves asking questions.

In his book Presenting to Win, Jerry Weissman categorized the most common of these useful selling questions as What’s-in-it-for-You (WIIFY) Triggers. This list of five simple questions can transform your customer conversations into benefits-rich motivators to buy your products. Weissman’s list of triggers includes:

• Why is this important? (It’s important to you because…)

• What does this mean to you?

• Why am I telling you this?

• Who cares? (You should care, because…)

• So what? (Here’s what…)

How to Use the Triggers

We all know the challenge of being approached by a ready-to-propose 28- to 34-year-old male who has become a lay expert on diamonds. Doing what guys do so well, he has researched all the technical features of the desired item and compared those features across competitive sellers to determine the best deal. The stress most retail salespeople face at this point is the stress of losing half of their selling conversation. They wonder, What do I tell this guy now that he already knows about the features and all he wants to discuss is price?

Chances are, he probably doesn’t know about the benefits of each feature (almost certainly not from his girlfriend’s perspective). Knowing that the last thing he wants to do is make a mistake, it is the ultimate kindness for you to take each of his feature points and turn them into benefits. You start with, “OK, you want a round, ideal cut, G or higher, VS1 or VS2 diamond. Can you tell me what this means to you?” With the aid of this conversation starter you can dip into those WIIFY Triggers as often as the opportunity presents itself to nudge him toward awareness, and acceptance, of the benefits you can provide.

Anyone who has ever done a sales presentation knows that moment of panic when you realize that your audience’s eyes are glazing over. Nothing is more painful for everyone involved than pitching to the unengaged. Pepper your sales presentation with interjections from the WIIFY Triggers and make it more relevant—and therefore more meaningful.

If you are a manufacturer working with retailers, consider the difference between the following two statements:

• We are buying all of our gold from certified green gold vendors, and we follow the Kimberley Process.

• We buy our gold from certified green gold vendors and pay close attention to diamond provenance. Why is this important? Well, clearly, with your store so close to a major university campus, you are likely attracting a clientele that is among the 15 percent of consumers who rate at the high end of environmentally motivated buyers. This is an important selling point for you to attract new customers to your store.

By offering one of the WIIFY Triggers, you have made an important selling point for your line into an important selling point for your customer’s store. A bit of research prior to every sales call or visit will provide you with tremendous insight regarding which benefits are most likely to matter to your customers.

Of course, the ultimate benefit of using the WIIFY Triggers is how much more comfortable you will become when engaged in selling conversations. Unless you are a natural salesperson, chances are you feel uncomfortable when promoting yourself or your company. None of us wants to be perceived as a huckster, but we are more than willing to provide someone else with help. Each time you insert a relevant benefits statement, you are providing your counterpart with meaningful, useful information. Because trust me, when a woman behind a counter offers to make you look five years younger in one week or less, it really does feel like a favor.