Features vs Benefits vs ? / To Make Money Online

This is inspired by a post in Derek Gehl’s Blog. He talks about selling features instead of benefits, which is a common theme if you’ve been in sales for any length of time. But there’s a third part to this.

When I sold for a major retailer we had a sales trainer come in and show us the light. It’s the FBW method.
You introduce features of the product like this:

Feature: what is it, e.g. This computer has 512MB more ram
Benefit: what it means e.g. That means the computer runs faster and more efficiently.
What That Means To You: how does it benefit the customer(s) in front of you. e.g. So you would be able to have those 42 spreadsheets open and not have to wait for recalculations or slow changes between workbooks.

You can memorize F & B but need to take W on the fly, or at least have a wide range of options. Why?

Because you have to find out what is important to the particular customer(s) in front of you right now. Me and my friend Derek took this to heart and dominated the department; and we were already doing well.

Tags: featuresvs benefits, sales, sales techniques