Creating Value with a Feature–Benefit Strategy
6.6 Explain how to add value with a feature–benefit strategy
Frederick W. Smith, founder of Federal Express, first proposed the concept of overnight delivery in a paper that he wrote as an undergraduate at Yale University. The now-famous paper was given a “C” by his professor. Many years later, Smith said, “I don’t think that we understood our real goal when we first started Federal Express. We thought that we were selling the transportation of goods; in fact, we were selling peace of mind.”41
Throughout this chapter, we emphasize the importance of acquiring information on the features of your product, company, and competition. Now it is important to point out that successful sales presentations create value by translating product features into benefits that meet a specific need expressed by the customer. The “peace of mind” that Frederick W. Smith mentioned is a good example of a buyer benefit. When a product feature is converted to a buyer benefit, “you are talking the customer’s talk” with solution-oriented statements that make an impact on the customer.
Distinguish between Features and Benefits
To be sure we understand the difference between a product feature and a benefit, let us define these two terms.
A feature is data, facts, or characteristics of your product or service. Features often relate to craftsmanship, design, durability, and economy of operation. They may reveal how the product was developed, processed, or manufactured. Product features often are described in the technical section of the written sales proposal and in the literature provided by the manufacturer. Salespeople new to selling and unfamiliar with the importance of benefits have a tendency to throw out information about a product or service without tying that information to the essential needs of the client. In general, a person might do a feature dump, talking about all the great things product X or service Y has without enabling a customer to see what it means to him or her. Ultimately, prospects and existing clients consistently want to know, “What’s in it for me?”42
A benefit is whatever provides the customer with a personal advantage or gain. It answers the question, “How will I benefit from owning or using the product?” If you mention to a prospect “We have one of the most extensive fiber networks in the city with direct connection to your office park,” you are talking about a product feature. If you go on to point out “This means that your wait time is decreased drastically and your employees will be able to be more productive and 60% faster than by working with your traditional telecommunications provider,” you are pointing out benefits.
General Versus Specific Benefits
Neil Rackham, author of The SPIN Selling Fieldbook, says that a statement can only be a benefit if it meets a specific need expressed by the buyer. When you link a benefit to a buyer’s expressed need, you demonstrate that you can help solve a problem that has been described by the customer. A general benefit shows how a feature can be helpful to a buyer, but it does not relate to a specific need expressed by the buyer. Here are two examples of specific benefits:
“Our water purification system meets the exact specifications you have given us for EPA compliance.”
“Our XP400 model meets the safety criteria you’ve spelled out.”
Rackham says that benefit statements linked to the customer’s expressed need (key benefits) are especially effective in large or complex sales.43
Incorporating Advantage Statements
Some sales training programs suggest that salespeople need to include advantages in the sales presentation. Advantages are characteristics of the product (features) that can be used or will help the buyer. Consider the following statement:
“Prior to shipping, all of our containers are double wrapped. This means that our product is completely free of contamination when it arrives at your hospital.”
Some salespeople develop an advantage statement for each important product feature. Unfortunately, these advantages are often included in the sales presentation even when the buyer has not expressed a need for this information. When this happens, the advantage can be described as a general benefit.
Successful salespeople focus on specific benefits that relate to an explicit need expressed by the customer. Less successful salespeople take the position that the best way to create value is to present as many benefits as possible, also known as a “benefit dump.” They use a “shotgun” approach to benefits, assuming that more benefits create higher volume. Today’s customer measures value by how well your product’s benefits fit their specific needs. High-performance salespeople work hard to discover which benefits the customer really cares about.44