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Whats_In_It_For_Me
| Whats In It For Me
What's In It For Me by Bob Osgoodby
We've all heard the term "sell the sizzle, not the steak". Well,
if you're selling anything, you had better pay attention to the
"sizzle". In today's market, your potential prospects have one
thing in mind. "What's in it for me", and if you're into sales,
you must realize this. While the "nuts and bolts" of your
product or offer are important, that is not normally what gets
someone's initial interest and makes the sale.
People don't buy products or services. They buy benefits. If you
are selling an opportunity, people want to know realistically
how much they can make. Promises of hundreds of thousands of
dollars a month will usually fall on deaf ears. Why, because it
is not realistic. You do have to point up the benefits someone
will receive however, but if you make outlandish claims, they
will simply "click away".
Let me digress - years ago I was running a data processing
center and we were only running limited applications. We then
had a job added to our responsibilities, which resulted in about
three additional days of work, for three people once a month.
Not having the staff to do this job, in addition to our daily
work, we had to hire temporary help.
A look back - we were dealing with "punched card technology"
then, you know - like the "hanging chad" problem in Florida
during the last presidential election. While we didn't have that
problem, we were dealing with the same technology. We were
having pressure put on us to add even more applications, and it
just wasn't possible with the constraints of our current
hardware and staff.
We started to shop around for a computer, and a number of
companies were contacted. One salesman extolled the virtues of
his hardware, and we didn't have a clue as to what he was
talking about.
Another salesperson didn't try to sell us on the hardware, and
the "bits and bytes" involved. He said simply "you can do the
job that is now taking three days without the "temp" help in
about an hour". And, he continued, "you can do your daily work
and the additional applications you want within your normal
working day".
What was he doing? He was solving our problem. He didn't even
mention disk storage, or printer speed, he simply told us the
benefits of what a computer from his company could do for us.
That salesperson got the order, and we have been dealing with
them ever since.
If you are doing business, or trying to, you must gear your
program to meet the needs of your prospects. If you're selling a
product, most people don't really care about how it's made, or
how it's designed. They want to know "what is in it for them".
Put a different way, what benefits will I get by dealing with
you, rather then someone else.
If you are selling an "opportunity" or affiliate program, that
thousands of others are trying to "hawk" at the same time, why
should they buy from you? If you hope for a chance of
succeeding, this is a key issue that must be addressed. Face it,
most people don't, and then wonder why they fail.
Stress the personal relationship and help you will give them.
Most people who are new to trying a program of this type, need a
lot of help and guidance. If you can promise, and deliver this
type of help, you have a much greater chance of getting them as
a customer than someone who doesn't.
If you are in the market for a raincoat, what is the primary
thing you want? While the fact that it is double stitched and
made out of high grade material is great, want you really want
is to keep dry when it rains.
If you are to succeed, you have to figure out what other people
are looking for. While they are really looking for a "steak", it
will be the "sizzle" that will sell them.
About the author:
Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the
"Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web
Site? Great Business and Computer Tips - Monday thru Friday.
Instructions on how to place your ad are in the Newsletter.
Subscribe at: http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm
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