Sell Emotions, Not Features, Nor Benefits

As entrepreneurs, we know our own offer so well. Maybe too well. We have spent so much time with it that we can no longer see the forest for the trees.

We launched, but we know that there is more room to make improvements. So we improve. We focus on the things that can make it better. We tinker with it. We add this. We add that. We get in the mindset that "The more, the better." We add features.

Buyers don't care about features!

Ugh. What do you mean by that?

Buyers care about what your product can do for them. NOT how it can do it for them. Sure, they will research the how later, but at first, all they are looking for is the product that can do it for them.

A car buyer doesn't really care about the horsepower. But they might care about how fast they can go. Or, because we shouldn't be speeding anyway, a truck buyer might not care about the horsepower or the torque; they want to know if it can specifically pull a 24' boat or horse trailer.

But buyers don't even want your benefits!

"OK, Shane. Quit teasing me. What do you mean?"

They might be more influenced by the emotions that come from experiencing your benefits. The car buyer might not care about the horsepower, nor the speed. Instead, they may care most about how they look pulling up at that stoplight because the others at that same stoplight know just how expensive and/or fast that car really is. The future buyer of your car is most likely going to react to you spelling out just how damn sexy they will look in this car that so many others admire but either can't afford or are too sensible themselves to purchase anything but a minivan.

Or maybe it is the less sexy version of the truck buyer looking to pull their boat or horses. Instead of the horsepower or torque that the truck has or even stating its capability, it is more likely the fact that you convey to them that, regardless of those details, it will safely and securely get their cargo to where they are going no matter the road ahead. Guide me into visualizing me feeling confident about the trip so that I can focus on reaching and enjoying the destination.

In both of these scenarios, benefits will outperform features, but emotions from enjoying the benefits will outperform the benefits themselves. So be sure to put those emotions first.

This article first appeared in my LinkedIn newsletter, Approachable Entrepreneurship.

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