There are three languages in communication with the client:
Language of Characteristics (facts)
Language Benefits
Language of Benefits (benefits for the client)
Characteristics - describe the facts, data, properties of the product.
Any product or service has characteristics. Characteristics of this
always tangible, tangible and visible properties of the product, what
you can touch it. These characteristics are the same for everyone if the product
standardized, it is difficult to differentiate from competitors at this point. But
It’s impossible without him.
The language of the characteristics cannot be refuted - Green felt-tip pen, diameter
rod - 5 mm. Everything is checked. There is nothing to argue with. To the one who is like this
He says you can trust him, but... I don’t want to, because there’s no interest. Yes, conversation
exclusively in the language of characteristics - accurate, beyond doubt, but
boring for the client. "So what if your phone database contains 3000 people
those who checked “Restaurants, clubs, cinema” indicating their consumer interests?!”
characteristics can be used or assisted by the buyer.
These are performance characteristics that arise from the physical
product properties. How does this product differ from another, more or less?
less like this? How is your product different from other products?
competitors?
We understand the world based on constant comparisons and often turn to language
benefits. Big, small, cheap, bright, convenient, and so on. All these
epithets are subjective, they are reliable only when compared with something else.
For everyday life, not related to sales, among people there is such a thing:
called consistent reality, when standards (what we compare with)
are implied, but not explicit.
Therefore, if you risk speaking
in the language of advantages, you appeal to different
realities that exist for you and your
client, to different pictures of the world.
You do not pronounce the standard and thereby
encourage the client to think for himself.. Benefits show how products or services satisfy explicit
needs expressed by the buyer. Benefits are interests
client. This is the answer to his most important question: “Why do I need this?”
Of course, it's great if you tell the client about everything
characteristics and benefits of the product, but if you do not answer
his question is about benefits, there may not be a sale. There must be benefits
tangible for the client, he must clearly imagine them and know that
will receive them. There is a benefit for everyone. Someone buys a car
in order to travel, some for earnings, some for prestige.
Each has its own benefit.
BUT,
If you speak exclusively in tongue
benefits for the client, it will cause him acute
indignation at the unfoundedness of your statements.
"You will earn a lot of money from this,
you will attract additional clients,
you will save time..." It sounds nice, but...
But I can’t believe it because everyone says so.
Hence the rule inside the client:
"If they tell you that the purchase is profitable,
but offer no hard evidence
That means they're selling junk." Thus, a conversation with a client on any of the three
languages separately - in objective words
characteristics, words of advantages or words of benefits -
does not give the result that we, as sellers, wanted
would achieve.
Only a combination, joint application of characteristics,
advantages and benefits makes our speech the most
convincing!
It works, quite simply:
By naming an objective characteristic, we lay down
the foundation of accurate facts and trust between the client and us.
By naming the advantage, we lead the client to what we need
thoughts, describing the advantage of the characteristic, and at the same time
We set him up for a certain train of thought.
Speaking about the benefits (benefits) that the client will receive, we
We give him the opportunity to anticipate his satisfaction CPV table
Impact on sales
Name
Definition
Influence at
small sales
Influence at
large sales
Characteristics
Describe facts, data, properties
product
Slightly
positive
Neutral or
slightly negative
Advantages
Show how products, services or their
Characteristics can be used
buyer or help him
Positive
Slightly
positive
Show how products or services
satisfy obvious needs,
expressed by the buyer
Extremely
positive
Extremely
positive
Benefits WHY SHOULD YOU USE THE BENEFITS?
AND THE BENEFITS?
If your product is exclusive, then there is no point in describing it
characteristics. Those who need it will do anything to
get it. But if your product is not 2 times cheaper, it is not exclusive
and not fashionable, then the buyer needs to be told WHY he should spend
your money. WHAT will he get from the acquisition?
ADVANTAGES
Advantages are what makes your product (service) different from
competitor's product (service) for the better. Cheaper, more beautiful,
lighter, more original - all these are advantages of the product.
BENEFITS
Benefits are how the client can benefit from
take advantage of the benefits of your product. Unfortunately,
most sellers completely ignore the benefits. For some reason they believe that the client himself will figure out how to benefit himself
use your product. The golden rule of sales is that communication with the client should be conducted in his language,
from the point of view of its benefits, and not be limited to just listing
the benefits of your offer or your company.
Main criteria for BENEFITS
Money (cost savings).
The benefit is that the client saves his money when working with you.
What are the benefits of saving? The fact is that with the money saved the client can buy
a gift for a loved one or yourself. Show and disclose benefits to the extent that
as much as possible.
Time (saving time).
For example: Your technology reduces the production cycle by half, or your
fast delivery speed, which will allow the client to use the product already
tomorrow or even today, not in a week.
Image (prestige). For example, your offer in a special way increases or
maintains the social status of the client and the company.
Safety. For example, your products have features in terms of
safety, which will have a beneficial effect on the health, well-being of the client or
well-being of the company.
10.
EXAMPLESuppose there is a certain manufacturer of industrial equipment,
who sells machines. In addition, it provides training on its machines,
since the equipment is professional and not all clients can use it immediately
figure out. What would the benefits and benefits look like in this situation?
Benefits: We provide free training on how to use our
machine tools
Benefits: thanks to free training you will save 100,000 rubles on
relevant courses. In addition, since we will tell you about the 10 most
common mistakes when using our machines, on average you
save on repairs from 500,000 rubles.
As you can see, in the benefits we cover the topic of what benefits the client will receive,
taking advantage of the advantage (free training).
Do you think the client in this situation would be able to guess for himself that the absence
training could result in colossal losses for repairs? Did the client know
that in other companies training is provided, but only on a paid basis and
Surely no one talks about operator errors? It's unlikely that the client is all this
could have known. There are things that are obvious to the seller, but not visible to the buyer -
because he is not a professional.
11.
HOW TO DETERMINE BENEFITS AND ADVANTAGES?1. First write as many characteristics as possible,
related to your product.
2. Then highlight the benefits that are for the better.
differ from the advantages of a competitor (the competitor is more expensive/
worse / or simply not).
3. Take the resulting list of benefits and think about
what BENEFIT will the client benefit from using these
advantages?
4. Come up with as many options as possible in which the client
will benefit from using a single
the benefits of your product.
5. Do this circuit from the very beginning with all the advantages.
As a result, you will receive a list containing the benefits and
benefits of your product or service.
12.
HOW TO USE THE BENEFITS AND ADVANTAGES?There are 2 ways: right and wrong.
Wrong way. Typically managers in their work with clients
they use only the advantages - since they are obvious. This is incorrect
approach, since in this case the work of determining benefits falls on
client's shoulders. Do you think he will think about it if yours is nearby?
a competitor who will explain everything?
The right way. The work uses a CPV chain. We give the client
advantage and develop it to your advantage.
EXAMPLE: We provide 2-day courses for each machine purchased from us
training for 2 machine operators. You will not only save 100,000 rubles,
which you would have to pay for training if you bought the machines in
elsewhere, but you will also learn about the 10 most important mistakes of operators that
lead to machine failure. According to our statistics, this will allow you
save up to an additional 500,000 in the first year of use.
You used the advantage (free training), developed it to your advantage
(money saved, less machine downtime since there will be no
repair) and supplemented with facts (specific figures).
13.
Thus,in any negotiations,
when we want to persuade a person to our
point of view
(and this is the goal of any negotiations)
must be adhered to
CPV chains.
14.
Thank you for attentionPrepared
Kushnerik A.D.
Selling text cannot be written based on assumptions and guesses. Before you start writing, a tremendous amount of work is done, which often takes more time than writing the text itself.
The more accurately and deeply you conduct the research, the more data you will have to compose effective sales text.
Your selling texts are read by your clients. Therefore, before starting work, you need to think very carefully and productively about your future readers.
In this article we will analyze the tasks, problems and benefits of clients, which should always be taken into account before starting to write a text.
The article consists of three parts:
1. First, we will analyze the tasks, problems and benefits separately and divide them into groups.
2. After that, we’ll use an example to see how to work with this data.
3. And at the end you will receive a small roadmap for studying your client.
Let's get started. In order.
Client tasks
Customers make purchasing decisions when they are faced with a specific problem that needs to be solved.
These tasks are divided into three types.
1. Functional tasks
When clients want to complete a specific task or find a way out of a current situation.
- Install winter tires on a car
- Lose weight by 5 kg
- Clear the path in front of the house of snow
2. Social objectives
These are tasks that are associated with the formation of a person’s image in the eyes of others.
- Look good in your environment
- Gain influence from the right people
- Receive special status in a certain circle of people
3. Emotional tasks
These are tasks that clients want to perform in order to achieve a certain emotional state: calm, safety, joy, etc.
- Make sure your investment is safe (peace of mind)
- Equip the house with CCTV cameras and alarms (security)
- Give someone something they have been dreaming about for a long time (joy)
Importance of the task
Not all tasks are equally important to the client. Some he needs to solve right now, others are postponed “to tomorrow”, and the rest (not so important) - they can be solved later or not solved at all.
Consider the context
Client tasks often depend on the context in which they are performed. Sometimes the context itself imposes not always convenient restrictions. For example, customers use their phones differently on a train than when driving a car. And going to the cinema with children or friends is very different from going to the cinema with your loved one.
Client problems
This is everything that the client cares about before, during and after completing the task. Or it just prevents you from doing it. This also includes the risks of an unsuccessful outcome associated with the possibility of failure to complete a task (or its poor performance).
Typically there are three types of customer problems:
1. Undesirable results
- Functional problems - the solution does not work or works poorly
- Social problems - when I do this, I look bad in the eyes of others
- Emotional problems - when I do this I feel bad
2. Obstacles
These are factors that prevent the client from starting a task or slow down its completion.
- I don't have enough time to complete this task neatly and correctly
- I don't have money to buy this solution
- To solve this problem, you need to know programming languages
3. Risks
Possibility of an undesirable outcome is something that can go wrong or create negative consequences.
- I may lose the trust of my partners if I do this...
- There is a possibility of losing money if I make this decision...
- Perhaps for me this solution is a waste of time and money
Severity of the problem
If clients' tasks are important or unimportant, then the problems can be severe or moderate.
Client benefits
Benefits are divided into four categories based on results and benefits.
1. Necessary benefit
This is a property without which the solution will not work.
For example, when buying a smartphone, a client expects that it will at least be possible to make a call.
2. Expected benefit
These are significant benefits that the client expects to receive, although in principle they can often be dispensed with.
For example, buyingiPhonethe customer expects it to be comfortable and stylish, just like the company's other productsApple.
3. Desired benefit
This is a benefit that goes beyond the client's expectations and which he would not refuse.
For example, it is desirable that the newiPhonewas compatible with other devices.
4. Unexpected benefit
This is an advantage that the client is not aware of. Until Apple introduced touch screens and the App Store launched, no one suspected that they could be part of a phone.
Significance of benefit
The benefits are also assessed by the client as serious and moderate.
What to do about it: let’s look at an example
This is where the second part of the article begins.
We have given characteristics and options for clients' tasks, problems and benefits. Now everything seems complicated, so let's look at it using a specific example.
Let's imagine that we need to write a sales text for the Stroika company. The name of the company was invented as an example - all similarities with a real business are coincidental.
The company wants to sell the service “Construction of cottages”. To do this, it was decided to write a commercial proposal that would be sent to potential clients.
Before writing the text, you need to study the potential client - to whom this CP will be sent.
We define the client’s tasks
A potential client always has a task, and more than one. All of them are divided into types and degrees of importance. But there is always one main task, from which an effective selling text is built.
In the case of our example, the client has a task - to build a cottage. And now he chooses a company to which he will give money in exchange for construction services.
Let's make a list of client tasks and divide them by type.
Functional tasks- build a comfortable cottage for living
Social task- build a cottage that will look richer than others in my area (+ to client status)
Emotional challenge- make sure of the reliability of the construction company (be calm about the budget), install an alarm system in the cottage (security).
To make everything systematic and convenient, let's record the data in a table.
We identify client problems
Problems are what worries the client before, during and after solving the problem, as well as the risks that the client wants to avoid.
Undesirable result- the cottage is not completed or built poorly (cheap materials, the roof leaks, the walls and windows whistle from the wind, etc.)
Obstacles- there is not enough money to build such a cottage
Risk- if the cottage is not built before the New Year, you may have to increase the budget, since materials will become more expensive in the new year. That is, I will lose money.
We supplement the table
We determine the client's benefits
These are the results and benefits that the customer wants to receive when making a purchasing decision.
Necessary benefit - a built cottage in which you can live comfortably.
Expected benefit - cottage in an area with convenient infrastructure and adequate neighbors.
Desired benefit - cottage on the lake or with a pool in the yard
Unexpected benefit - additional plot of land adjacent to the cottage.
We supplement our table
In fact, there should be much more tasks, problems and benefits before copywriting and writing texts. The longer the list, the better for the future text.
For the purposes of this article, we limited ourselves to a few options so as not to make this a long book that you will never finish reading.
Therefore, every time you fill out these lists, dig as deep as possible and work through each item in more detail.
Determining what's important
Now let's highlight the important points in the table in red, medium importance in orange and less important in green.
We need this in order to understand what to start from in the process of writing a commercial proposal.
Now from this table we will make a single list with all the items in order of importance from top to bottom.
We close each item
We have points (tasks, problems and benefits) that need to be reflected and closed in the text.
Our fictional company "Stroyka" does this as follows:
The client wants a cottage- we build cottages.
Wants quickly- we build cottages in a maximum of 6 months.
High quality so that walls and windows don’t whistle- we give a quality guarantee and state it in the contract.
Stay within budget so that the price does not increase in the process- we calculate the cost of materials at the start and purchase everything right away, so even if the price of materials increases, it will not affect the budget in any way.
In an area with convenient infrastructure and adequate neighbors- the client can choose the area for construction and, if desired, meet future neighbors.
So that the construction company can be trusted- we have reviews, letters of gratitude, reports from previous projects and customer contacts who can talk about our work.
To make the house stand out among others in the area- at the design stage, the client will see what the cottage will look like after the work is completed. If desired, together with designers and engineers, he can adjust individual aspects inside and outside the cottage.
Install an alarm or other security systems- we offer three cottage protection options to choose from. The client can choose any one depending on his preferences.
Lakeside or with a pool in the yard- we do not have a place for construction on the shore of the lake, but we can design and install a pool in the courtyard of your cottage.
Additional plot of land- if the client wants an additional plot of land near his cottage, this can be discussed at the stage of creating the project.
This is similar to handling objections.
Now we have enough information to write text.
Let's start creating text
We remember that it is important to reflect the main benefits at the beginning of the text so that the potential client understands that this offer is beneficial for him.
We suggest this headline
This is the first option that came to mind. Naturally, it may change in the process of further research. This is just a draft.
The main thing is that we reflected 4 important points from our list in the title
In this article we will not describe each of them. I'm sure you already understand the train of thought - close all the items on the list.
Conclusions + step-by-step instructions
Let's summarize and write down the main actions
- Determine who your client is
- Study the client's tasks
- Study the client's problems
- Explore customer benefits
- Determine the importance of each item
- Make a list of items in descending order of importance.
- Start from a list when creating text
At the same time, first cover the most important points for the client, smoothly moving on to the less important ones.
Researching clients before writing is interesting, useful and profitable. How deeply you work through the objectives, problems and benefits will determine how effective the text will be. This should be the price for writing articles.
Try it. You can do it. Good luck.
P . S . If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future articles, leave them in the comments. We will be grateful and will definitely consider it.
What is the purpose of your presentations? Many will say that the purpose of the presentation is to talk about the product, some that it is necessary to talk about the advantages of the product, and some think that it is not necessary to present the product at all.
Rule No. 1 - be sure to present!
Rule No. 2 - the purpose of the presentation is to provoke a desire in the client to own the product!
The main rule of presentation- highlight benefits for the client from the properties (characteristics) of the product!
Buy for two reasons:
Trust (appears in the process of establishing contact and identifying needs) and Value (appears in the process of presenting the product).
If the value increases, it appears that the price decreases
The technique of creating value is the technique of SV (property-benefit).
Don't offer me products - reveal the benefits they will allow me to have.
Don't offer me tourist tours - help me feel the emotions associated with endless vacation.
Don't offer me a car - let me feel the sensations that I will experience when owning this car...
Best regards, Your Client
Benefits are answers to the question “why does the buyer need this property?”: durability, reliability, comfort, convenience, practicality, safety, increased prestige, savings (money, time, effort, nerves, etc.) - that’s what customers are ready for pay money!
The “SV” technique is the translation of the properties (characteristics) of a product into benefits (benefits) from its use for the buyer. Includes 5 stages:
1. We announce the property (characteristics) of the product:
An example from sales of floor coverings: wear resistance class 32.
2. We explain how this property works and what depends on it:
Example: This means that the laminate surface is very durable, resistant to abrasion and scratches. This laminate can even be installed in commercial premises, for example, in stores like ours.
3. We use connecting phrases to move to the benefit (universal key):
This means for you...
This will make it easier for you...
Thanks to this you can…
This contributes...
This will provide you…
Thus, you will receive...
You will have the opportunity...
Due to this you...
4. We voice the consumer benefits (benefits) arising from the properties (characteristics) of the product:
Example: thanks to this, the laminate will serve you for many, many years.
5. We ask a question to complete the transaction:
Do you agree that this is important?
Does this matter to you?
Is this interesting to you?
You like?
Are you interested in this product?
Compare several options:
In addition, the locks of this laminate are treated with wax (new seller).
The locks of this laminate are treated with wax, due to which the laminate will withstand long-term exposure to water (experienced seller)
The locks of this laminate are treated with wax, due to which the laminate will withstand long-term exposure to water, in turn, this will ensure the long service life of your laminate, in addition, this property ensures the practicality of the floor covering, since you do not have to monitor the appearance of every drop of water on the floor. Is this what is needed, do you think? (talented salesman).
p.s. Sell your customers not a product, but the bright future that awaits them as a result of their purchase.
To be continued…
If you found this article helpful, please leave your review below. And if, in your opinion, all this does not make sense, then write!
Other useful articles on the topic of sales in KNOWLEDGE BASE
Sincerely, Mikhail Turkeev - your personal sales trainer. Send your questions and suggestions to the mailbox [email protected], call +79221073585, or better yet, come to
8. Properties - advantages - benefits
Helps:
Stand out among competing offers;
Be remembered by a potential buyer.
Complexity
Labor intensity
One or two days.
How to use
Presenting information about your decisions in the format “properties – advantages – benefits” is one of the techniques for presenting a product/service.
Property/characteristic/trait – these are facts, data, information about the product (“what are we selling to the client?”), something that is of a technical, descriptive nature. Examples:
The table is white.
The chair is wooden.
Paper – 80 g/m?.
Advantages show how properties can be useful/help the buyer, something that sets you apart from similar offers (“how is this better?”).
Let's look at the examples above in terms of benefits:
The table is white - it looks expensive, impressive, uncluttered, since most tables are black and brown;
A wooden chair is more environmentally friendly and reliable than flimsy plastic ones;
80gsm paper? – allows you to save money.
As a rule, benefits are always described with adjectives. And just as you can’t spoil porridge with oil, so with the advantages of the product/service being described, don’t skimp on adjectives.
Benefits- this is all that is value for the client, what he will receive from your product (“why do I need this?”):
A white kitchen table looks expensive and impressive - everyone will think that you are a creative, rich person;
80gsm paper? allows you to save money - you can buy seven packs instead of five;
A wooden chair is more environmentally friendly and reliable - it will last longer and will not harm your health.
The technology for working with this model is simple.
Take any product, make a table with three columns “properties - advantages - benefits” and start filling it out from left to right: first all the properties, then the advantages of each of your properties in comparison with other products/suppliers, and then the benefits of each property for your client.
Believe me, it’s a very good idea to teach your sales managers to talk about solutions this way: features – advantages – benefits.
This is the correct presentation of the material.
A typical mistake of sellers is to talk about the properties and characteristics of the product, but do not mention the advantages and forget about the benefits.
And further. Many people do not know that benefits can be divided into irrational (security, status, convenience, confidence) and rational (time, money, unique opportunities).
When working with the b2b market, you can highlight economic benefits, social and organizational (and perhaps personal - but that’s a topic for another book).
If your company has a small product line or you sell a single product (only concrete or only granulated sugar), why not make a separate document “properties - advantages - benefits”?
When a conversation about a product begins, you simply take out a sheet of paper with three columns - and, without forgetting anything, tell it in detail.
The approach is a bomb, agree.
And the sales manager will not forget to say anything (and will not blurt out too much).
And the client will hear and see! - everything (a double blow - both for visuals and for auditory ones).
Evgeniy Zemlyanukhin: “The specifics of the business greatly influence the format for presenting the material. In at least half of the cases we use the reverse order (benefits - advantages - properties). And we do it consciously. Professional buyers very often first want to hear what they will get by using our product (increase profitability, reduce costs), and only then they are interested in how it works and what we have put into our product that is so special. Therefore, I only agree 50% with the idea of “talking about solutions exactly like this: properties - advantages - benefits.”
How to do it better
1. Add flaws. If you want to win the client’s trust (and who doesn’t?!), tell us about the shortcomings of your products (for example: “In general, our cast-iron battery is good for everyone, but it doesn’t have a built-in thermostat - you’ll have to cut it in. But we’ll definitely tell you , how best to do this..."
The client is in shock. Nobody does that. He had never seen such frankness. The client is yours).
Of course, the client should not be told about all the shortcomings (otherwise it will be like in the famous joke - “with this approach you won’t sell an elephant...”).
2. Let's start right away with the shortcomings. Shock for the client - and complete trust in you. Will you take the risk?
3. " Have we forgotten something? Brainstorm with your sales team - ask if all features, benefits and benefits have been mentioned? If you want the assault to be more lively, offer a prize. Then add what was forgotten to the material.
4. “Did we forget something? - 2". Ask your sales team to share with you ideas and thoughts they have while using the tool in client meetings. There will be feedback for sure. It must be used to update this document.
Ekaterina Ukolova: “At Oy-li we teach the APV formula (properties - advantages - benefits) like this:
(C – property) + (transition phrase) + (P – advantage) + (transition phrase) + (B – benefit)
C – property: white flipchart (C – property) + (transition phrase): white flipchart, which makes it possible to write with different markers, unlike the board.
At the stage of product presentation, we provide the client with information about the product, demonstrate it and argue the benefits of the purchase. An effective presentation significantly increases the likelihood of making a purchase and is a key point in communicating with the client.
Presentation rules
1. Link “Characteristic-Advantage-Benefit”
The advantage of this method of presentation is that your client gets a complete understanding of the properties of the product and how it will help solve their particular problem.
Characteristic- an objective property of an object, its inherent quality, design feature. Answers the question “what is this? What is in the object?
Advantage- operating principle of the characteristic. Answers the question “How does it work?”
Benefit- an explanation of how the item solves the client's problem. When describing a benefit, try to use the same words and expressions that the client used when describing his need. Answers the client’s question: “Why do I need this?”
HPV example:
Cream "Beauty-K"»contains hyaluronic acid(X) which perfectly retains moisture in the skin(P) , which means your skin will look fresh and elastic(IN) .
This multicooker has a special two-layer coating (X), which is more durable and scratch resistant (P), which means that it will serve you for a long time (IN).
2. The presentation should not be long
If the salesperson talks for too long, the client gets tired and his attention wanders. Break the information into blocks, and in between, ask the client additional questions, let’s try/touch the product. This way, you will constantly involve the client in the conversation and maintain his interest.
3. Keep it simple
Try to replace complex terms with simpler words, and avoid excessive use of professionalism in speech. Your main task is to explain to the client the benefits of the product, and not to show off your knowledge of terminology.
4. Let me try the product
Offer to try on the product, touch it, try out a demo version, if possible. A client’s personal positive experience is one of the most powerful incentives to purchase.
5. Belief in the product
Finally, your personal attitude towards the product should be positive. If the seller is not loyal to the product, he cannot confidently present it and certainly cannot handle objections efficiently. And vice versa, if the seller is confident in the advantages of the product, this is noticeable in his intonation, gestures, and facial expressions. And this is also a factor influencing the buyer’s purchasing decision.
Healthy
If your employees need training to develop skills in presenting goods and services, then you can order our branded one. In it, we analyze both classic techniques for presenting goods and original ones. We study the stages of product presentation and the most common mistakes of sellers.