Now features are important, and need to be included. But most of the time a feature without a benefit is just a waste of space. The reason why anyone buys something could be because a good friend has one. Or because we think we should. It could also be because we’ve always dreamed of owning, experiencing or doing X. Or even because we truly think we need whatever it is. But no matter what the reason might be on the surface, there is really only one reason people buy. Because they believe there is going to be some sort of benefit to them. Unfortunately, especially when you are selling your own products or services, it’s easy to fall into the trap of talking only about features. But if you do that, you’re missing the boat—and the sale.
To find the benefits in your products or services, you can use this simple formula. Choose one product or service (or your business as a whole) and list of all of its features. And then for each and every feature, ask yourself, “So what? Why would someone want this?” The answer to these questions is the benefit.
To put it another way, don’t just tell what it is; tell what it will do for me. Of course, selling the benefits only works if you’re selling benefits your target market wants. So, you have to know who you’re selling to, and what their pain or problems are, in order for this technique to really make your cash register ring.