Comments on: Sell Benefits, Not Features

By: Shubham Kumar

Shubham Kumar — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:36:09 +0000

Looks good and newbies should learn from it. Most important thing is the satisfaction of your customer.

By: technology

technology — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:05:27 +0000

I’m always amazed at the level of success product or service vendors who emphasize features and long-winded technical information… It appears to be a niche where a lot of people need help…

By: Andee Sellman, One Sherpa

Andee Sellman, One Sherpa — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:21:58 +0000

Great thoughts Yaro,
The whole question of benefits can’t be stressed enough but in order to nail them effectively, benefits must be looked at from the customers point of view.
It sounds easy at first to think from the customers point of view BUT when it comes down to actually doing it you have to intentionally change your frame of reference.
We often know ourselves and what we value and can inadvertantly think all the world are just like us and fall into the trap of providing benefits we would like rather than those a customer might like.
An example of this from our own business would be loading of financial information. Because this is such an easy task for us, we never thought it would be valuable to our clients. We found out after bitter experience that this was valued more than some of our educational material. The fact that clients could forget about the mundane loading of their figures was a major benefit to them!! Sounded wrong to us at first but experience has proved it correct!!

By: How You can Learn From Pharmaceutical Branding - Small Business Branding

How You can Learn From Pharmaceutical Branding - Small Business Branding — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:27:16 +0000

[...] Yaro wrote about “selling benefits, not features” a while ago, his post is still among the most popular ones on Small Business Branding. For good [...]

By: The Bestest Way to Fund Your Business

The Bestest Way to Fund Your Business — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 23:55:27 +0000

[...] Don’t worry, if your product is any good, it will stand up on its own. What you want to do is show how you can solve their problem with your [...]

By: Simone

Simone — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:59:50 +0000

Hi Yaro,
I once worked for a company that had “Benefits” in its title, but they were more into the ‘drill’ than ‘hole’ approach to meeting client expectations. I think you can really learn a lot about your business when you try to sell less tangible benefits, like increased self-esteem and greater acceptance of change. That really gets you thinking about your clients needs!

By: Ed Roach

Ed Roach — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:15:44 +0000

I think your Perry Marshall example is wrong. You definitely sell features with a drill. You’re looking for performance. Drills don’t make holes, bits do. When you sell bits you discuss the hole AND the features of the bit to facilitate that hole.

The hole is not the point – I can use a nail to make a hole.
But the “experience of making that hole” with the comfort grip, multiple speeds, quick change chuck, cordless model in a snazzy orange colour and built in MP3 player. That experience is branding, plain and simple.

_________________

A basic rule of thumb and this goes for any type of selling is to simply step into the shoes of the buyer and ask the question – what’s in it for me? If your sales material doesn’t answer that question for the buyer, there will be nothing compelling for them to embrace.

By: Robert Kingston

Robert Kingston — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 01:25:27 +0000

Actually Rob, have you tried a copywriter? That’s pretty much their job. If you find a good one who knows you industry and target market well then you’re definitely onto a winner.

If they don’t know your market well but you know they’re good at what they do, then I’d suggest you teach them about your market and industry before they go about their job.

By: Yaro

Yaro — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 22:09:42 +0000

Rob – Sorry, no I don’t know any companies that specialize in converting features to benefits, but I expect any respected marketing firm could consult on that issue.

By: Rob Arthur

Rob Arthur — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 07:50:23 +0000

We’re totally committed to the FAB concept. However, converting features to benefits is a long job. Do you know of an organisation that could take our website and convert the features into benefits? We’ve started, and it takes ages. We don’t mind paying.

By: Kevin Browne

Kevin Browne — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:37:23 +0000

To me, it’s very simple…though my big time clients NEVER got it.

Features are you telling me about a car engine.
Benefits are you telling me how fast I can grab a latte with my new engine.

Dumb clients.

-kevin

By: Luke Smith

Luke Smith — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 21:11:35 +0000

The message is as loud as a thunderclap. As my front-end development business evolves, I realize that more and more my objective is clear: bringing ROI and value and benefits right into focus. I’m always amazed at the level of success product or service vendors who emphasize features and long-winded technical information over value, and I wonder how much potential business they’ve lost by leaving the demonstration and explanation of value to the chance of word-of-mouth referrals, rather than laying it out and whalloping the target audience over the head with it in compelling, clear sales collateral.

This article confirms what I suspected and knew already and also shows me where I need to focus my energies as a consultant for front end in general. Thanks for taking the time!

By: Yaro

Yaro — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 00:01:44 +0000

Hey George – Congratulations on landing the newspaper article. I suggest you ask your question again in the forums so the entire community can give you some feedback –

Link: Yaro’s Forums

By: George Anderson

George Anderson — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:18:40 +0000

Yaro,I have been interviewed for a major article on Anger Management to appear in the Sunday London Times in mid July. I would like some suggestions on how I might maximize the use of this incredible P.R.

Thanks

By: VA Journal - by and for the Virtual Assistant Community - » Blog Archive » You Don’t Sell a Service - You Sell a Solution

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 15:51:00 +0000

[...] via Small Business Branding and Marketing [...]

By: Market Positioning - What Exactly Do You Do? » Small Business Marketing And Branding - by Yaro Starak

Mon, 17 Apr 2006 11:15:39 +0000

[...] A positioning statement is a single sentence or paragraph that explains exactly what your organization’s purpose for existence is AND very clearly outlines the benefits it provides to customers. [...]

By: Yaro

Yaro — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 05:38:45 +0000

Hi Chris, head on over to http://www.copyblogger.com by Brian Clark. He’s a mate of mine and his blog is about copywriting. You should find some good resources there.

Yaro

By: i need to write a flyer that will work and bring in customers thanks » cmtheisen

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 21:25:31 +0000

[...] http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/446/sell-benefits-not-features/ [...]

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 21:13:46 +0000

Hi! My name is Chris and I work at Help.com. One of our members posted a question and after reading your blog I thought you might be able to provide some expert advice. The question was: “I need to write a flyer that will work and bring in customers?” Do you have any suggetions for good books that teach copywriting?

By: Day2 Technology Ventures | Venture Capital for Tech Startups

Day2 Technology Ventures | Venture Capital for Tech Startups — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 19:49:41 +0000

[...] I tend to lurk around assorted entrepreneur-blogs around the web and stumbled upon a great little article about marketing.Â The author talks about focusing on benefits rather than features when marketing (this generalizes to sales pretty well, too).Â The article can be pretty well summed up with the following quote: Why is it better to offer problem-solving information than a straight sales pitch? [...]