Solutions, Not Features

Have you ever had a salesperson ask you to buy their product because of its great features, yet none of the features were of any use to you? I believe most of us have. At some point or the other, we have been faced with a salesperson who kept going on and on about the awesome features of their product, with no idea what our actual needs were.

One of the very important parts of selling is your ability to identify the needs of your prospect accurately. Brian Tracy refers to this as "the indispensable step upon which the whole sales process depends." He says if you fail to identify the prospect's needs accurately, the entire sales process will grind to a halt.

Professional selling begins with needs analysis. Customer's buy for their own personal satisfaction, not yours. You need to identify the needs of the customer. Realize that people don't always know what they need, sometimes they know some of their needs, sometimes they know all. It's your duty as a salesperson to help the prospect identify their needs, albeit unknowingly. The most important step in doing this is asking questions- the right questions.

Prepare the questions you will ask the prospect before the appointment. These are not necessarily the exact questions you will end up asking the prospect, but you have to write out a list of basic questions you will ask every prospect, then during the sales presentation, you tailor the questions to the specific prospect. You are ill-equipped to sell until you have asked sufficient, effective questions.

Ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that do not produce a yes/no answer. Steer clear of questions that will give a yes/no response from the prospect. Your questions should produce responses that make the prospect speak more, elaborate.

Ask questions that can be easily answered, not questions that leave the prospect groping for answers, feeling clueless and dumb. The prospects answers will reveal their needs, and wants. Listen attentively and effectively to the prospect's answers, this will help you understand the key needs of the prospect that your product can meet. Identify their key needs and present your product as a solution to these needs.

Successfully make the customer understand that he needs your product enough to overcome any buying resistance that can prevent him from buying. He must be convinced that to a very high degree, he is better off with your product or service, way more than he is without it. Convince him that he is better off with your product than he is with your competitor's product.

Present your product as a solution to the prospect's needs. Refrain from getting immersed, or carried away by the features of your product, instead, present the features as a solution to their needs. Remember no matter how great the features are, if they do not solve the prospects problems, or meet his key needs, you will not be successful at that sale.

Have you ever been on any end of a sales process where features were being presented instead of solutions? Where you the prospect or the salesperson, and what was the prospect's reaction, whether you were the prospect or salesperson? Please feel free to answer in the comment box, your feedback is highly appreciated.

Have a great day/evening.