Saturday, February 11, 2012

Benefit Selling

I like going to car dealerships and looking at new cars. Cars have always been my passion. I would normally talk to sales agents about certain features of the car and how it can benefit me, as a car enthusiast. Unfortunately, I get disappointed most of the time.

While the sales agents or marketing professional can discuss the car's features and some facts about the car; they are very hard put how to translate the features into benefits. When you are trying to sell people something, you must be able to tell what's in it for them, or how will they benefit from what you are selling.

A typical car buyer goes into a dealership looking for a car to use. In most cases, he has two or three choices in mind. In most instances, a good marketing professional can upgrade a sale because he understands what the customer wants - earning him more commissions. He knows how to translate a car's features to benefits that the client will surely enjoy and love.

image from http://en.wikipedia.org/
Let me illustrate.

Everyone that knows me can tell you that Subaru Impreza WRX STI is my favorite car. I like the 2006-2007 model than the newer generation of STI's. I will use this as an example to highlight the differences of features and benefits. 

A marketing professional will tell you these things about the car:

All Subaru cars have a boxer engine; this is different from the traditional in-line or V configuration engines. A boxer engine can have a lower center of gravity.
What does that mean? If you were the buyer will you understand what was said?

Now try this one out;
A Subaru car has a boxer engine, which has a lower center of gravity. A lower of center of gravity can make your car more stable during cornering and high-speeds. It is safer compared to the other types of engine configuration.
Is it clear how can a boxer engine benefit the buyer? To convince the buyer, you can also add figures and statistics supporting your claim.

How about this one:
All Subaru cars use a four-wheel drive system. A four-wheel drive system engages all the four wheels of a car.
How do you think a customer will benefit from a four-wheel or all-wheel drive system? What can you say about the revised sales pitch below?
This Subaru STI has an all-wheel drive capability that delivers excellent traction and control on whatever road condition or weather you are in. You feel safer and secured than in a conventional front-wheel system.
When you are selling products, it matters to the customer how it will benefit him. Even if all the features of your products are great but you are not able to translate it to what's in it for your customer, you might lose the sale.