Week before last, we talked about the sales secret that can explode your business – value selling. Today, we’ll dive deeper into the advice I gave you, which is to focus on benefits rather than price.

Often, when I advise new clients to focus on benefits, they fall into a common trap.

If your prospects cut you off part way through your sales pitch, or your conversion rate is declining, you may fall into this trap as well.

Here’s the problem… Too many sales professionals and business owners make the mistake of simply laying out the features of the product or service they’re offering. Unfortunately, this technical approach doesn’t yield the best conversion rate.

If you’re searching for ways to increase the effectiveness of your sales presentation, consider the following: What’s the one question that every prospect asks themselves when they’re being sold something?

“What’s in it for me?”

Naturally, when people are being sold, they have their own best interests in mind. To improve the likelihood that you’ll hear a “yes” or at least a “tell me more,” switch your focus from selling your prospects features to selling them benefits.

What exactly is the difference?

Features are practical, technical facts about the product or service you’re offering. It’s important to keep in mind that, on their own, features don’t tell your prospects how exactly they’ll benefit from what you’re selling. When it comes to our own products and services, it’s easy to get the two confused.

Here’s an example. If an entrepreneur was presenting the features of a fitness training program, he might note the length of the training course, the class size, and the types of cardio and muscle training being featured. While informative, these features don’t in and of themselves articulate how the prospect would benefit from the fitness program. And that’s a problem.

The consummate sales professional frames their presentation in a way that highlights the benefits of the product or service. When you sell the benefits, you set yourself up to yield a much higher conversion rate of prospects into customers.

Now let’s replace that features-based fitness program presentation with one focused on selling real benefits.

In order to sell benefits, you have to ask your prospect the right questions. What are your prospect’s health, fitness, and weight loss goals? If your prospect is a new mom, you can bet that she’ll want a cardio and toning program that will accelerate the loss of her post-pregnancy baby weight. If your prospect is a competitive athlete interested in building strength and body mass, you’ll want to speak about the benefits of an entirely different group of advanced exercises offered in your training program.

When you show your prospect these benefits, you’re effectively speaking their language and sharing how the product or service will enable them to reach their goals.

The benefits that you relay should be tailored to your unique prospect. Once again, asking the right questions will get you the information you need to customize your presentation. The more information you have about your prospect’s lifestyle, preferences, wants, needs, likes, and dislikes, the better!

Another strategy you can use to improve your benefits-based presentation is to share more stories. Describe real-life situations in which the product or service you’re selling will benefit your prospect. If you really listen to your prospect’s needs, you’ll be better able to tell a story that will touch the emotions of your prospect, thereby increasing the likelihood of piquing their interest.

To further strengthen your presentation, use pictures, charts, or other visuals when relevant in order to present your selling points. Visual tools help make ideas easier to grasp and ultimately more compelling.

At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I work one-on-one with entrepreneurs and sales professionals to develop the daily habits that will generate the RESULTS they seek. If your sales numbers are lackluster, let’s work together to figure out why and turn your results around this year.

Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlus^TM” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.

To learn more about Celeste, click here.

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At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I work with each client to implement the strategies they’ve been missing that will enable them to break through barriers preventing them from the success they know they are capable of. Contact me today to find your future clients who just don’t know what they’re missing.