People don't buy your products and services.

They buy what your products and services do. Does a pool add value to a house? Is it of value to you when a store offers you buy one get one free? Would a riding lawn mower instead of a push mower be of value? As you read these questions, you probably knew the answer. But guess what? Everyone reading this has their answers and reasons why they answered the way they did, and they might be the exact opposite of how you responded.

In the few seconds, it takes you to answer whether something is of value or not, you have determined if there is any benefit to you. If there is no benefit, there is no value, and it won’t matter to you. If you are considering buying it, you will keep your money in your pocket.

People buy benefits. A benefit is an advantage or profit gained from something, not to be confused with a feature, which is a distinctive attribute or aspect of a product or service. Successful salespeople spend their time with prospects and customers, asking questions to help uncover what a person values so they understand what the benefit is for that individual. They don’t sell what something is. They sell what something does because that is what prospects buy, the benefit.

Why don’t all salespeople ask about value and sell benefits? Because we don’t naturally look at things from the prospect’s perspective. We don’t consider their point of view. We may need help understanding the benefit ourselves.

To sell benefits, one must:

• Know what your product or service is.
• Know what your product or service does.
• Ask questions to understand what your customer wants or needs.
• Explain in a word picture how it fulfills your customer’s needs.
• Know what is unique about your product that helps your customer.

One of the most important questions you can ask yourself is, “What do your customers buy when they buy from you?” Try this:

1. List the features of one of your products.
2. For each feature, list all the possible benefits the feature provides.
3. Write questions to ask that determine if your prospect values that benefit.
4. Develop follow-up questions to determine how much it matters to the customer and whether they would likely purchase to acquire the benefit.