 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dear reader, if you have missed the article on the third step -
Qualification - you may review it here hereThe phone rang in the middle of the dinner, don't you just hate it? The family is around the table, kids talking about his school and her kindy... and suddenly pleasant feast was rudely interrupted by persistent ringing. "I'll take it" - I said, picking up the handset. "Is this Mr. Stern" - lovely female voice asked - "Yes" - "You have our credit card"... "Hmm" - I thought - "I always thought it's mine" the professionalism prevailed (I love these inbound cold calls) and being polite I answered: "Yes, and...?" "This is courtesy call" - ("Yeah right") - "Would you like to insure your card and life?" - she said. The pleasant conversation continued and the lady on the other end of the phone explained to me how great the insurance was, how little it is going to cost me, etc. I summarised: "Basically you are selling insurance for your credit card company, essentially meaning that the outstanding balance of my card will be paid to you by the third party insurance company in the unfortunate case of my untimely death, and you going to charge me for the privilege of protecting your financial interests *only* 74 cents per every 100 dollars outstanding?" Silence and confusion on the other end... I bet nobody put it to her this way. Finally the phone came to life and she said "Well... yes". "Well", I replied, "what's in it for me?". Poor lady hadn't got this part of the script written for her and our conversation ended. Happily I went back to my semi-cold but still mouthwatering slice of home made pizza. Elena surely knows how to cook delicious food. Why didn't the script writer thought about telling the benefits of their product? Not to mention that the golden rule of sales was broken right in the beginning. Remember dear reader, never present until your prospect is fully qualified? And little extension to this rule: Never, ever, ever, ever present while your prospect is in the middle of something, especially family dinner. Allow me cut to the chase: There are 3 letters to remember while presenting: F A B "F" stands for feature. By itself features mean nothing. The feature of a motor vehicle is colour or the fact that it is 4WD or air con. The feature of a digital camera is that it has digital zoom and flash. As such these features are meaningless unless you know something about them. Let me try following product: Halva - the feature of this product is that it is solid, has nuts and sweet. However unless you know what I'm talking about - you are lost and not only that you have lost the interest in what I have to say. This brings us to the point: Features don't sell! It's no use to waste your marketing dollars on listing the features in your ad. Feature is something your product or service has or does. "A" stands for advantage. What is the advantage of having this feature? For instance air conditioner in your car means that you can adjust the temperature inside your car. Or in case of my Halva - means that you could have it with a tea instead of sugar. Advantages don't sell either. "B" for Benefits that do sell!!! The slogan of modern marketing is What's In It For Me - WIIFM. The only thing I'm interested in is exactly this. Let's see 4WD (F) - I can drive off road (A) - I don't need the chains when going skiing (B!). It is paramount to list ALL benefits of your product or service, because what sells the product /service for me doesn't sell it for you. And if you think that some benefit is not important - think again. As the sales person - what you think doesn't matter - if you are bored with your product or service, it doesn't mean that you prospect is bored too. Dear reader, what they think does matter, because at the end of the day, or presentation for that matter, they are the ones who going to sign on the dotted line and only then you. If you'd like to learn more about ethical and successful sales techniques that might increase your sales by 33% in the next 60 days, consider to attend If you'd like to learn more - consider to attend this seminar: How to increase your profits by 33% in the next 60 days. Click here to learn of more low-cost, high-impact marketing strategies for your current or future business now.  © Outstanding Results Company Ltd. All Rights Reserved. |
