One of the most effective ways to gain a prospect’s attention is to immediately point out benefits of purchasing your solution or value proposition. As noted in Chapter 7, the benefit could focus on either the product, company, or salesperson. Begin with the most important issue (or problem) facing the client. When using this approach, the most important buyer’s benefit is included in the initial statement. For example, the salesperson selling a portable Sony projector might open with this product benefit statement:

The Sony VPL-CS4 lightweight projector strikes a balance between cost, size, brightness, and convenience. It’s a good choice for a quick business trip or for a work-at-home presentation.

A company benefit example taken from the financial services field is:

When you meet with a Charles Schwab investment specialist, you can obtain advice on over 1,200 no-load, no-transaction-fee mutual funds.

The customer benefit approach is also used with what is sometimes referred to as the “elevator speech.” The elevator speech focuses on the benefit of working with the salesperson and is used to open the door and establish credibility to meet a need. It is about offering to take excellent care of the prospect. The elevator speech should be short, prepared well in advance, and extensively rehearsed before it is used. It is used most appropriately in the initial call on a prospect where the prequalifying research indicates the buyer is more interested in the benefits of working with a highly qualified salesperson than finding a new product solution or supplier. Here is an employment services example of a salesperson benefit statement using the elevator speech approach:

Hello, I’m Chad Leffler. I partner with companies like yours that need to find talented people to help their business grow and become more profitable.

As noted, the key to achieving success with the customer benefit approach is advance preparation. Customers are annoyed when a salesperson cannot quickly communicate the benefits of meeting with them. Bruce Klassen, sales manager for Do All Industrial Supply, says, “Our salespeople begin the sales process by researching the prospect and the company. We need to be sure that our sales calls are going to benefit that prospect before we make even an initial sales approach.”28