HOW TO USE 'THE BIG BENEFIT' TO INCREASE YOUR SALES
People buy products or services from you because they expect
to gain a benefit. The benefit is more valuable to them than
the money they spend to get it. You can use that benefit 3
different ways to increase the results produced by your
marketing efforts.
1. Immediately state the benefit to draw the prospect into
your promotional message.
2. Dramatize the feeling of enjoying the benefit to
intensify your prospect's interest.
3. Stimulate your prospect to start enjoying the benefit NOW
by taking immediate action to get it.
Apply all 3 of these when you develop any promotional
material -- including the content of your website.
1. STATE THE BENEFIT IMMEDIATELY
...to draw the prospect into your promotional message. State
the benefit in the headline of your ad, the first sentence
of your sales letter or in a title at the top of your
webpage. Use it as the opening of your audio or audio-video
promotions. It immediately captures your prospect's
attention and provides a compelling reason to continue
reading or listening.
For example, I recently saw this headline at the top of a
webpage: "Increase Your Online Profits 40% Now". The website
offered businesses the service of accepting credit card
payments online.
2. DRAMATIZE THE FEELING OF ENJOYING THE BENEFIT
...to intensify your prospect's interest. Use a word picture
to help your prospect visualize the feeling of enjoying the
benefit you offer. Here are 3 examples you can use as models
for developing your own word picture:
"Know all your bills are paid as you and your family leave
on a 2 week vacation." (a financial planner)
"The pleasing aroma of this new shampoo reminds you of
driving through the country after a fresh spring rain."
(shampoo offered by an MLM distributor)
"It's Monday morning. As you get up, all your neighbors are
already on the freeway trying to get to work on time. You
have breakfast with your family and decide how to spend the
day while your customers place their orders at your new
automated website." (An Internet business opportunity)
3. STIMULATE YOUR PROSPECT TO START ENJOYING THE BENEFIT NOW
...by taking immediate action to get it. Three of the ways
you can persuade immediate action are:
** Make an offer with a short time deadline. (discount,
bonus, etc.)
** Provide several easy, fast ways to buy. The more the
better. (online, phone, fax, etc.)
** Guarantee fast delivery. This is easy if you can deliver
your product or service online. Otherwise, offer to ship
your product immediately or start providing the service
immediately after your customer orders it.
IS IT A BENEFIT?
Be sure you're promoting the biggest benefit your customers
get from your product or service -- not a feature of it. A
feature is what your product or service is. A benefit is
what your product or service does for your customers.
For example, an anti-virus software program may include
weekly online updates. That's a feature. The benefit is -- a
new computer virus will never destroy any data on my
computer. That's the result a buyer wants. People never buy
something to get a feature. They always buy to get the
benefit produced by the feature.
WORKS FOR A SMALL AD TOO
Including all 3 methods of promoting a benefit in a small ad
can be challenging because of the limited space available.
Here's an example of how one business did it with only 18
words.
"Take more profit from your business and enjoy less stress!
Find out how - before your competition does."
Customers buy your product or service to gain the benefit it
offers. Determine what that benefit is. Then use it 3
different ways in all your marketing materials and
promotions. You'll be surprised by how it increases your
sales and profits.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales
personnel and developing sales leads. For more information...
mailto:BobLeduc@aol.com. Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time)
Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133