So far, every sin we’ve talked about has been psychological – the way you think about selling. What’s interesting about this, is that simply becoming aware of what you’re doing is enough to affect the way you do it. (Which I hope is what’s happening for you if you’ve committed these sins.)

Today however, with Sin #5 we’re going to start digging deep into some techniques of selling.

Sin #5: You’re selling your product based on its features, not its benefits.

To give you an example, let’s say you’re selling a nail. (It’s silly, I know. Just listen.)

The features of that nail are:

  • It’s 2 inches long
  • It’s made of steel
  • It has a big flat head

While these features are great, think about how it’s going to impact the person who’s using it. To understand what the benefits are, you need to know your prospect’s problems, challenges, and what they’re looking for.

Your job in selling is to ask those questions, and use the features of your product, to benefit your prospect.

Feature – It’s 2 inches long

Benefit – It’s perfect for thicker projects that need the length to hold it together

Feature – It’s made of steel

Benefit – Steel is great for outside projects. It handles the weather and remains strong and sturdy

Feature – It has a big flat head

Benefit – If your aim isn’t great, this makes the nail easier to hit, and gives more surface area to help keep you from bending it

Talking about benefits makes it much easier to sell, because you’re not guessing that person’s needs, or asking them to figure out why they should want it. Like we’ve talked about before…

  1. Building a relationship teaches you about the person.
  2. Learning about that person lets you ask questions to find their problems.
  3. Knowing their problems means you can connect the features with their problem, which gives them the benefits.

If you’ve been selling your product or service using the features, take a minute to reflect on how you can fix that. Build relationships with people, do your best to help them, and show them how your product can fill their needs. That’s how you become successful in selling.

 

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