Sales Journal

Lesson #2- Jeeps anyone?

Product knowledge was in fact important, and the dividends paid off in not only respect from the manager who gave me sweet prospects, but also I was armed with confidence so that if the customer did have specific questions about features, I could list a single benefit or two, and relate how it results in a benefit for them.

I was in a mall a few weeks ago and decided to stop in a men's underwear store. I was looking at a pair of boxer-briefs made from a crazy material. The clerk came up and started listing features of the materials- It's 80% lycra, it's made from poly synthetic fibres, etc... etc... that really stuck in my mind because it didn't tell me anything I needed to know- or what someone would probably be asking at that time.

1)Will it feel comfortable?
2)Will it be too hot?
3)Will it shrink in the wash?
4)Will it last- is it durable?

In the end- he never answered those questions, so I didn't buy it- and thus, I was condemnned to an eternity of cotton boxer-briefs which are comfortable, are not too hot, don't shrink in the wash, and are durable.

When I first made the jump from techie to sales, besides trading in my t-shirts and cargo pants for button downs and kahkis, I also had to get used to speaking in benefits instead of features and understanding what is important to the client and why.

Now I know what is important to the client, because the needs of the client are pretty universal. They want to maximize income, minimize costs and ensure there's value in the products and services they use for those ends.

posted by Mike @ 6:33 AM