The Difference Between a Feature and a Benefit

A feature is something your product has. If you are a realtor and you are selling a house on a tree-lined street, the tree-lined street is a feature.

A benefit is a feature that the prospect cares about.

If your prospect loves uninterrupted sunlight streaming through every window in the house, the tree-lined street is not a benefit to that buyer. When selling, a sales person needs to understand what features the prospect cares about.

The only way to know what they care about, is by asking questions and listening very carefully to their answers.

Ignoring Buyers

A lot of times sales people will dismiss opportunities because they only want to deal with the 'decision maker.'

In today's business world, one person does not make a decision in isolation. They will rely on a team to collaborate with when making a decision. It's important to treat each and every person that you meet with as if they have the authority to give you a sale. You'll learn a lot.

I was out making sales calls with a wholesale florist sales rep. Wholesale florists sell flowers to florists who in turn sell them at retail. We were making calls together so I could provide some sales coaching.

We called on a florist and the owner was not in. I asked the rep what he learned. He replied "nothing, the owner's not in, I have to come back another day." I suggested we go back in and talk to the woman behind the counter.

We asked her questions as if she were in authority to make a decision. We learned that the owner rarely came in, took his summers off to stay in his vacation home and relied heavily on his designer to make purchase decisions. They had a relationship with a competitor but the competitor was sometimes late in making deliveries.

By asking a few questions to a 'non-decision maker' we sure learned a whole lot.

Questions are your best friend in sales. Remember to listen more than you talk and you'll win each time.