Focus on Personal Benefit

The frustrated sales rep became annoyed with me when I told her that I really didn't see any reason to buy her product. She tried close number 17 on me, right after rebuttal number 34. "Would you like for me to just give you some money?" I asked her. She seemed puzzled and asked me what I meant. "I really am getting the feeling that all you want is your commission. I feel like you really don't care about how your product can benefit me personally because you haven't shown me that. I feel like all you really want is your fee and that your heart isn't committed to benefiting me through your product."
She left my office frustrated and confused because she didn't get the sale. I went back to work puzzled why a sales manager would spend so much time training a sales rep on the tactics of the sale but neglect the key component to effective sales relationships: full knowledge of the personal benefits of the product or service, and how to effectively communicate those personal benefits.

Forget about sales tactics. Instead, focus on buying motives. If you are selling your product or service to your customer and you have nothing else in mind but to serve your prospect, then it will come through to them and make the sale much easier to close.

Buying resistance is at an all time high. Three and a half years ago, when the economy was red hot, there were more sales professionals than ever, and most of them were very bad. So their prospects raised their shields in defense and made a commitment never to buy anything again. People hate to have the feeling that they are being sold something. But the typical sales professional keeps using sales trick number 19 that was first developed in 1972, hoping to close their prospect without any regard for the potential benefit to the end user. What worked in the past in the profession of selling won't work today.
Consider this concept. Forget about features and benefits. Nobody really cares about the features and benefits of your products and services. Instead, they care about their own personal benefits that are derived from your product or service. People only make decisions that personally benefit them, so that's what you need to target with your prospect.

Here are three ways to develop a solid sales plan based on the buying motives of those you wish to reach:

1) Consider your own product or service. Find out why the past ten customers bought from you. The reasons you think they purchased it might be totally different from their real reasons, so you need to find out what they are. Call them and ask them to tell you the three issues that made them buy from you before the product was delivered, and looking back, why they would buy it all over again.

2) Ask your prospect why he or she would buy it, before you even go in to your presentation. Ask this question before you even present your product or service: "What criteria is important to you in the purchase of a widget?" Find out EXACTLY what is important to them, simply by asking them. Congratulations, champ. You now have a buying motive. Sell to that motive, not to what you think it might be.

3) With your colleagues, determine what the personal benefits of your product or service are by drilling down with these questions: First, what are the features of my product? Second, what are the benefits? Third, what are the benefits of those benefits? And fourth, how would a prospect benefit from this product or service on the personal level? Why would they benefit from this product on a personal level. What would those personal benefits be? When would they be realized?

Minor changes in major areas is the essence of real and lasting achievement. Make these minor modifications in your selling skills and watch your revenue increase.

Scott Love shows managers and sales people how to manage their risk and win the game of business. He is a professional speaker and can be reached at 828-225-7700 or on his website at www.nolimitachievement.com