Michael Levy
Product Marketing Manager, OneSource
When selling to other companies, we often forget that what we are selling are solutions to problems. It is easy to fall back onto the feature sheet and comparative checklists, but a good salesperson intuitively understands her customers’ pains and asks questions to understand their requirements and underlying needs.
A case in point. I bought a High Efficiency washer and dryer last weekend and the salesman at Sears understood feature/value messaging. Yes, energy and water savings were important, but what sold me were the solutions to my problems:
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Larger capacity units (feature) combined with a shorter cycle allow you to complete your laundry faster (benefit).
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The new design and insulation (features) are much quieter than older units allowing you to run the laundry while working from home (benefit).
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A dryer rack (feature) allows you to dry sneakers without the constant banging (I have an 11 year old boy so this was not a trivial benefit).
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They could offer me a two hour window for installation and removal of my old units (service feature). Here the benefit was implied: I wouldn’t have to stay home all day waiting for delivery.
The rep also provided me with some useful tips to ensure performance:
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Don’t use dryer sheets as they damage the sensors.
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Only use the amount of soap indicated by the manufacturer. Too much soap is hard on your clothes (and wasteful).
It was classic solution selling. He tied features to benefits and pains to solutions. He then wrapped in some tips to create goodwill.
Best of all, he didn’t over promise and compromise his company’s reputation for a quick sale. The units arrived at 8 AM as promised (take that cable companies!) and I was running my first load before 9. And yes, the laundry is quieter and faster.
I truly enjoyed this post, Michael! Who would have thought to look for sales advice when acting as a consumer? (You apparently!) And the part about the cable company… very funny, although Cox Communications offers two-hour windows and sticks to them, from my experience.
But back to your post, benefit selling seemed to do the trick. This immediately makes me think of those cliche higher-pressure sales situations and tactics. (Yes, I’m thinking about the “slimey car sales person,” who would say just about anything if I’d sign on the dotted line. As a consumer, I have a more pleasant experience with the type YOU describe. And as a professional, I hold more respect for my colleagues that behave similarly.
Thanks for sharing. And better still, thanks for encouraging good sales behavior! I’m sure many agree with you!
Hello wonderful share,great article,very usefull for me,thanks