CHAPTER 1
You Are Selling More Than
Just Features and Benefits
Carlos was confident. He had been in this position before, and he was on a roll. He stood at 142 percent of his quota YTD, and if he closed this deal, it would make his year, with three months to go.
āDo you think we have covered everything?ā his manager, Jeanne, asked. āThis looks good, but are you sure about tomorrowās meeting with the COO and CEO? This seems quite technical to me.ā
āItās good, Jeanne. Theyāre both very technical people. The manager who they are relying on told me what to say. Weāve only got thirty minutes to explain to them why we are the best solution. Iāve cut out all the fluff and will present just the essentials on who we are, why we are uniquely qualified, and when this solution can be fully implemented.ā āOkay, Iām trusting you. What role do you want me to play?ā
āJust answer any questions they have. Letās work together on closing this deal tomorrow. I donāt think they are going to ask for more than 15 percent off, and weāre okay with that, right?ā
āThatās more than we like to give, you know that. Letās just see how this plays out.ā
Carlos did not get the sale. He was overly technical and did not address what the C-levels wanted. Relying on his User Buyerās information and guidance, he focused on features and benefits, and that was just not good enough for the executive suite. They wanted to hear numbers; how much time this was going to save on their current initiatives, how much cost or risk was going to be reduced. Right level, wrong language. Brought a knife to a gunfight.
Stories like this play out over and over again.
THE NEUROSCIENCE OF SELLING: ITāS ALL ABOUT US
The thoughts are familiar. Youāve played them over and over in your head countless times.
āIf I can just get them to see our value proposition. ā
āIf the prospect could just see it how we see it, they would make a decision for us in a heartbeat. ā
āWe are the perfect ft for what they are looking for. What do we have to do to make them see that?ā
It just feels good talking about us. It really does. For most people, our own thoughts and experiences are some of our favorite things to think and talk about. Research at Rutgers University shows that people spend 60 percent of their conversations talking about themselvesāand that number rises to 80 percent when weāre using social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook.
Why do people, especially salespeople, spend the majority of their time talking about themselves and their solutions? Because it feels good. Research at Harvard University has shown an increase in neural activity in areas of the brain associated with motivation and reward when people are talking about themselves. Itās the same area that lights up when we get gratification from happy experiences, good food, and sex.
In a sales situation, talking about yourself and your point of viewā your features and benefitsāis enjoyable. Those good vibrations make salespeople go on and on about themselves and their productās features and benefits, regardless of the complementaryāand essential, it turns outāneed to talk about the customerās problems and the resolution to those problems.
The bottom line is that talking about usāour products and the benefits they conferāis intrinsically rewarding. The research also showed it was rewarding even if no one was actively listening! Even posting information about ourselves on our social media outlets makes us happy.
In fact, many salespeople have had great success pitching features and benefits. And especially since they have enjoyed doing it, they have convinced themselves that itās the right thing to do.
However, the savvier among them know they leave something on the table. Why? Because features-and-benefits salespeople are rarely invited to the final meeting, the one where the User Buyer makes the final pitch to the executive team on the sales process, the preferred vendor, and the proposed final price, while the salesperson waits by the phone or out in the lobby.
Hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
THE DECEPTIVE LURE OF FEATURES AND BENEFITS
When sales teams fall prey to the fallacy that they can win sales with a focus on features and benefits, who is to blame?
Marketing, since they jam product features and benefits down the sales organizationās throats?
Sales management, since they stress product knowledge, deal management, and key competitive land mines in presentations and demonstrations?
Customers, since they drive the feature/benefit discussion with a decision criteria sheet?
Salespeople, since they are have fine-tuned their feature/benefits presentation and receive glowing reviews from the User Buyers and bosses they present to?
Itās a mix of all of the above.
Rather than lay blame for this shortsightedness on individuals or particular parts of the organization, letās instead consider the way things have always gotten done, and why. And why itās time for a change.
To get started, letās look at two sales scenarios and how they were addressed by two salespeople with very differing approaches:
Till needed a new accountant for her business. She got some good recommendations and narrowed the candidates down to two, Larry and Diane. She made a visit to Larryās office to help her determine if he and his firm would be a good fit.
Jill walked into Larryās office. It was richly designed, with beautiful wood furniture and degrees on the wall. Larry started in.
āWeāve been in business for over thirty-three years. My father, John, started the business and we have a stellar reputation. We have been in the same location and have had many of our clients since day one. As a matter of fact, Bill Murphy is coming over this afternoon, and his company was one of our first.
āJill, we arenāt like a lot of firms who nickel-and-dime their clients. We treat our clients like family. You have an audit, weāre right in there with you. We also keep you up on the latest tax and audit laws on a monthly basis. We know what our clients need, and we proactively are there for them.ā
Jill had an appointment with Diane later that afternoon. She had the same type of office with similar degrees on the wall.
āThanks, Jill, for coming down. Before I get into who we are and what we do, could you please tell me what you are looking for in an accountant, and what would be two or three characteristics of the firm that would be important? Letās start with what happened thatās causing you to look at changing what you have currently.ā
An hour later, Jill had defined what she was looking for. She did not hear a lot from Diane about her firm, but Diane really had it down about what Jill was looking for, and Jill felt she had been heard.
Frank was frantic. The expiration of his current lease had snuck up on him, and he needed to see if he could do better. The location was ideal, but the 25 percent rent increase the landlord, Jack, was asking for was hard to swallow. Frank met with Jack to see what could be done.
āFrank, my costs have skyrocketed,ā Jack said. āIāve had to add a new maintenance guy, make a major investment in the phone and communication system, and Iām looking at having to resurface the parking lot. Youāll really enjoy the new parking lot. The current one is such an eyesore. I canāt wait, and Iām sure you and your car will appreciate it!
āI know 25 percent seems steep, but Iāve held these costs down for you the past couple of years, and now Iām paying for it. So Iām sorry, but Iām just trying to keep up with the times.ā
Frank then had a meeting with a building owner three blocks away. It was not a perfect location, but one that could work.
āFrank,ā said Phil, the buildingās owner, āmoving locations is always an ordeal. āHow will my customers find me? How easy is it to switch the mail, phone, and Internet connections? How long do I have to be down? How much is it really going to cost me?ā These and probably a bunch more questions are probably running through your mind. So letās discuss first things first. Why are you considering changing locations?ā
What is the common thread between these two stories? In both, the first sellers talked about themselvesāwho they were and why what they offered would make a difference to the buyer. They both had a lot to say and wanted to make sure they were heard.
The second seller in each story just asked questions and listened to the buyer, prompting them to discuss what was motivating them to change, and what they were looking for from the change.
You probably picked up on this immediately. And, of course, if itās so obvious to you, it has to be obvious to the sellersāand buyersāas well. So why do so many people sell like the first examples and not the second ones?
I say thereās something obviously missing with the features-and-benefits approach. What is it?
The majority of salespeople, regardless of what they sell, just have to deliver that features-and-benefits pitch. It happens on sales calls time and time again. But it turns out that what companies think their value proposition is to their customers may not be what the market thinks it is.
Product Knowledge Is Easyāand Insufficient
Letās get to the key variable. Why do most salespeople rely so heavily on their knowledge of their productās features and benefits? Is it possible that itās simply because itās just so easy and feels good? Letās tell everyone who we are and why we are so great (hereās where you pump out your chest) and will conquer the world.
Marketing Value? Not Enough
Companies and salespeople believe in the marketing value of their or- ganizationsāwho they are and what they stand for. It influences who they hire, their stock price, their competitive marketing decisions, and t...