One of the basic rules of selling is to sell on benefits that customers will gain from using the product rather than the list of features that it has.

Selling On Features

A common scenario in selling is extolling the virtues of the product.

A big problem with this is that the customer might not appreciate what is being said. And as a result, they politely say "no thank you" and move on, leaving behind a frustrated salesperson.

Another variant of the features trap is when the customer has a checklist of the features that he wants. Anything that does not have all features is immediately rejected, whilst products with extra features are ignored.

When he has narrowed down his choices to a set of products that have all the features he wants, then he chooses solely on price, which again is bad news for the salesperson.

Selling On Benefits

Benefits are what the customer gains by using the product or service.

Selling on benefits sells to what the prospect really wants, not what he says he wants or what you want to sell. With benefits, you can get the customer excited and emotionally engaged.

With features, you can only get nodding heads and logical agreement. Features also can be discussed in terms of benefits.

Features, Attributes And Benefits (FAB)

To features and benefits the intermediate position of attributes is sometimes added. Attributes are intangibles that are associated with the product, not the person (and hence are not yet benefits).

For example, for a stereo amplifier a feature is the large volume control.

An attribute is the maximum decibels of volume that can be achieved. A benefit is that high volume lets you immerse yourself in the music.

Some products have many attributes whilst others have far fewer. One way of identifying attributes is to look at the product specification. Customers often have attributes on their checklist (rather than physical features or benefits).

Attributes are a useful stepping-stone between the physical product and the benefits that the person actually receives, and can be used in a sales pitch as such.

In most descriptions the attributes are usually described as features, although the non-tangible element means they are easily confused with benefits.

-- Source: David Straker, an author of five books and is principal consultant of Syque, a consulting and publishing company.