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The language of benefits in sales
Sales trainings by Sales Power School®
What is the language of benefits?
Benefits language is a sales technique consisting in replacing the features and advantages of the product offered with potential benefits for the buyer.
In our opinion, at the root of this sales method lies the understanding of our customer's mindset. Most often, our interlocutors are not interested in our company, our person, our products, but the benefits that they will be taken due to their purchasing decision. Many sellers forget about this fact and try to convince customers to buy in different ways. Let's look at the figure reflecting the mindset of our customers:
Figure 1. The way of customers thinking
The way our customers thinking is kind of a constant search for answers to the question: "What am I going to have from this?" This forces the seller to formulate his message in the direction of continuously accentuating the potential benefits for the customer.
In practice, this very effective method of communication with the customer can be used with regard to the specific characteristics:
- our product,
- our range of goods,
- our person,
After all, working with our person can bring many benefits to new partners. This is particularly important in all b2b-based business activities,
- companies,
Based on the different elements of market advantage, the seller tries to highlight the most important benefits for the customer in relation to the specific advantages of the unique offer of the company,
- the specific characteristics of the service offered,
The professional seller tries to emphasize the specific properties of the service, not just the product itself. Sometimes for our customers, a greater purchasing stimulus will be a concrete benefit resulting from the specific characteristics and advantages of a particular service. For example, these properties may be related to the way services are delivered, the warranty and its execution speed,
- commercial correspondence,
A seller using a daily benefit language tries to systematically increase the list of feature, advantages and benefits of specific products and properties. The information collected in this way can be used to prepare appropriate advertising materials aimed at demonstrating all commercial benefits. The marketing form can take the form of bulk tables of specific properties, comparisons of our products to competing, different statements that can be used in commercial correspondence.
Thus, the language of benefit is a particular form of conversation between the seller and the customer, consisting in creating positive and concrete sales messages. This skill results in a continuous focus on the positive properties of their sales offer.
The results of the daily use of this method are primarily:
-Increase faith in sold products and services.
By constantly searching for the features, advantages and benefits, the seller systematically builds a belief in the high value of its sales offer. This is extremely important if we take into account the typical attitude of our customers, who very often try to weaken our message. The calculated merchant knows how to reduce our confidence, hence very often he likes to show numerous minuses of our proposal.
-Use an understandable commercial language
The overarching goal of using language-speaking benefit technique is to make the seller learn to communicate with the customer in an easy-to-understand way. In practice, however, many traders use a very complicated language. Another anti-commercial competence is the abuse of technical terms and incomprehensible industry vocabulary.
"Speaking the language of the benefits
makes our message of information
very clear and concrete for the customer.
By eliminating various unnecessary and time-consuming statements,
the seller saves a lot of time
by speaking very clear and convincing messages"
- Easier designing of open questions.
A salesperson prepares his sales materials in the form of combinations of features, advantages and benefits is much easier to master the techniques of needs analysis.
A feature is any specific property of a product or service, e.g.:
- Size
- Form of execution
- Color
- Taste
- Quality
- Specific technical parameter of the product
- Terms of sale
- Payment
- Terms of delivery
- Price
- Service
- Utility
- Apply
- Customer service
- Packing form.
The advantage is the property of the functioning of the product or service. These are issues: how can a product and services be useful to the customer? What are they applicable? In other words, it is the positive value of a product, functionality, use, e.g.:
- Fastest car in its class,
- Best-selling product on the market,
- The most cost-effective petrol engine,
- The best looking car in its class,
- Can be used in many product solutions,
- Use able without additional software,
- Multiple apps ability to be used at the same time,
- Can be used without additional tooling,
- Best-selling product on the market.
The benefit from a product or service is the result obtained by the purchaser, thanks to a certain summer which can satisfy the need for the buyer. The key question here is: What will I as a customer have from this?, e.g.:
- Time gain, or time savings
- More money
- Higher financial returns
- More savings
- Damage protection
- Reducing risk
- Avoiding errors
- Increasing family safety
- A sense of luxury
- Belonging to a certain social group
- Higher sales revenue.
- Impact on your money
- Higher net margins
- A sense of security
- Earnings on reducing additional expenditure
- Prestige
|
Feature |
Advantage |
Benefit |
|
Modern and comfortable driver's seat
|
Adjust memory settings to record three user default settings
Adjusting the seat headrest in multiple planes
Full lumbar section adjustment range
Heated habitat with massage function
|
Comfort while driving
Possibility to make longer journeys without the need to stop – less tiredness during long journeys
Resolution of seat setting problems
Health effects on the spine
|
Table 1. Using the benefit language on the example of the selected feature: modern and comfortable driver seat
In the above case (Table 1), we can see that a specific feature: a modern and comfortable driver's seat, after deeper thought, can mean many advantages for our client, while the specific benefits are their development. If, for example, our sales message were to end only on the administration of this characteristic, we certainly could not present our product in such an attractive way.
In order to be able to use the benefit language in practice, a thorough analysis of the product offered is necessary taking into account all the positive aspects resulting from its use. This requires us to work our own. It seems obvious that the more we find the characteristics of a given product, the more we will be able to present the advantages. And in the end, the more we will present the benefits. Finding the trait itself is usually not difficult, but finding the advantages and benefits of us is causing us a lot of difficulties. At first glance,
|
'In order to be able to use the benefit language in practice, it is necessary to think deeply about the product offered in the category of all the positive aspects resulting from its use'
|
It may seem to us that a specific feature: a modern and comfortable driver's seat, in itself should provide our interlocutors with information about the advantages and benefits of the product. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Our customers are very often unaware of all the positive properties of a particular product solution.
It very often seems to us that if we say some feature our customer will guess all benefits. Nothing more wrong. Our role is to present features, highlight the advantages and systematically emphasize the benefits. However, in order to be able to develop such a habit of speaking, it is first necessary to develop a list of feature, advantages and benefits for a particular product or service. In turn, we must learn practically by heart of all properties, in order to speak freely about them during real conversations. I also recommend that you draw up tables containing all the most important properties of our offer and use them during conversations. This will increase our faith in the product and recall all the arguments we intend to highlight. So let's look at examples of applying the ability to speak a language of benefits.
Using the language of benefits,
it is worth using certain word phrases to increase personal efficiency.
We recommend that you use the following phrases:
Therefore, it can very often turn out that using the technique of speaking language benefits gives a completely uninterested customer such a positive impression that he decides to buy a product. Note that the preparation of the characteristics, advantages and benefits should therefore precede our trade meeting. Therefore, in the previous chapters, dedicated to preparation techniques, I have paid very much attention to this skill.
|
Feature |
Advantage |
Benefit |
|
Attractive appearance
|
Modern body design
Business and sports line combination
Attractive and unusual coloring that allows you to choose the color you like for more
The best looking car in its class according to the opinion of many internet users |
Impression on others
Highlighting from the crowd
Wellbeing
|
Table 2. Using the benefit language on the example of the selected feature: the attractive appearance of the car
In Table 2 we try to develop a feature: the attractive appearance. Apparently, it may seem to us that this feature itself will associate the customer with the many advantages and benefits of it. Nevertheless, it is still worth highlighting all the characteristics of the product related to this characteristics in the way I present to cause positive reactions of our customer. It is not uncommon to even smile on his face.
Speaking of language benefits is a very effective sales technique that works well in many technical industries. The products offered by the sellers of this sector of the economy have a lot of specific technical characteristics, which directly and indirectly determine a number of advantages and benefits for buyers. Therefore, employees of the commercial departments of companies producing technical products and advanced technologies should have adequate technical knowledge, allowing them to look for specific advantages arising from the relevant characteristics of the product.
In sales practice, this means that the technical and commercial advisor should know his assortment offer well in terms of benefits for buyers. Sometimes one technical parameter can cause interest to our interlocutors. Even if it seems to us that customers do not listen to us, then in the end they decide to choose our product. Very good sales effects can also give us the printing of a technical product card, which usually contains the most important features bold in bold font. On this basis, we can proceed to formulating the advantages and, above all, the benefits. This action pays off at our trade meeting, as we are able to communicate with customers in a very effective way.
In sales practice, this means that the technical and commercial advisor should know his assortment offer well in terms of benefits for buyers. Sometimes one technical parameter can cause interest to our interlocutors. Even if it seems to us that customers do not listen to us, then in the end they decide to choose our product. Very good sales effects can also give us the printing of a technical product card, which usually contains the most important features bold in bold font. On this basis, we can proceed to formulating the advantages and, above all, the benefits. This action pays off at our trade meeting, as we are able to communicate with customers in a very effective way.
Let's look at examples showing how to use language benefits in practice:
"Thanks to our many years of experience(feature),we give you a guarantee of quality (benefit),because as some of the few we constantly train product in the field of new technologies (advantage). From what you have said, the guarantee of quality of workmanship is one of the key elements for you?"
"Our products have the following best parameters of thermal and acoustic insulation (advantage), thermal resistance of them are (feature). This gives you the opportunity to earn money on heating costs. You told me that the reduction in energy consumption costs was a key factor for you. With these products, you will earn on heating costs (benefit)”.
The seller is therefore free to the order
in which the various phrases are present as a whole meaning and intonating.
In one case, it starts by giving a feature, in another from the advantages,
but sometimes it can start – as below – with the benefit:
You will get high margins (advantage)by ensuring that our pricing policy for distributors includes high discounts (feature) that allow you to achieve 40% retail margins(advantage)”.
"You will acquire new customers (benefit), because our products are branded (feature) and according to marketing research, the name of our products is the most searched word phrase by internet users (advantage)”.
In sales practice, however, there is a problem that is worth discussing. At the cost-making stage, sellers very often use negative messages that may give customers unwanted purchase associations to loss. Let's see this in examples:
"You will avoid losses (benefit) due to the fact that our products have the highest warranty period on the market (feature), the advantage of this solution will be that for a period of 10 years from purchase all warranty repairs will be performed at our expense (advantage)".
"You will avoid many mistakes(benefit)because you can test our products by purchasing (feature). Our proposal for new customers gives you the opportunity to use our products free of charge for a period of 14 days, where you will have a technical advice center (advantage)”.
We may note that both the message "You will avoid losses" and "You will avoid many mistakes" can lead our interlocutors' thoughts to the negative aspects of purchasing new products. Hence – even if we try to emphasize in our statements both the feature, advantages and benefits – the effect may be different from the intended one. And yet buying is most often associated with a positive experience. Of course, I am ignoring the behaviour of the so-called disgusted sellers who immediately welcome us in such a way that we do not feel too much about talking.
More information about language of benefits in sales you will find in book:"The art of selling in practice: practical training guidebook" was written by Krzysztof Czupryński
