“Think about why your customers buy. They don’t give a damn about your features and benefits until they understand the impact that a solution, any solution, will make on their lives.” – Jeff Bajorek in today’s Tip 1745
Why do you think your customers buy?
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Transcript
Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today’s tip comes from Jeff Bajorek. Here he is:
Jeff Bajorek: Years ago, I left my first job in orthopedic sales for another one. The recruiter that reached out to me got me all excited about this new product, something that was greatly differentiated in the marketplace. It was more expensive than what was currently being used, but this feature and that feature and the next benefits were going to revolutionize. The industry. So I got excited. And then I went through the interview process and everybody was excited about the features and the benefits and the things that we could do. And this is an impact product in the marketplace. And you know what? I won the job. And before I actually started, when I was in my period, after I gave notice, but I’d be calling on the same people. So I took my news to an orthopedic surgeon that I really respect.
And I said, Doc, just so you know, at the end of this month, I’m going to be starting a new in position with this company. And we sell this, and I know you use products like these. So what do you think about giving it a shot? And he looked at me and he said, It’s a really great product. Good luck. Wait, what? What do you mean good luck? I was expecting him to say, Great, yeah, I’m going to switch all my business over to you. He said, Jeff, all the features and benefits that you’re talking about that you’re excited about, you have reason to be excited about them. But I’m just going to tell you, that’s not why I buy. Because the problems that I’m trying to solve with products like what you’re going to be selling are not impacted by the features and the benefits that you’re touting right now.
So I walked out of that office that day a little nervous and a little concerned that maybe I had made a career-altering decision based on some things that really didn’t matter. Not a great position to be in when you’re married and looking to start a family and things like that. As I sit back here, and I don’t to get into any more details for you, especially if you don’t sell into that industry, I want you to think a little bit differently about how you approach your sales career, because as a salesperson, you are not a product seller, you are a problem solver. I’m going to say that one more time. You are not a product seller. You are a problem solver. That means in your sales conversations, you need to spend a whole lot less time talking about features and benefits and a whole lot more time talking about the problem you can help them solve, the impact of them not solving it, and the benefits, the wins of when they solve it.
If you’re a leader and you’re thinking about training your team, you need to spend a lot less time on features and benefits and outcomes and a lot more time on the problems that you’re solving, the mental and emotional state of your prospects when they’re looking to solve those problems. What are the other factors that go into a decision vision like that? If you are a young salesperson, even if you are a long-tenured salesperson, you need to stop thinking and worrying about all the details in your brochures and on your websites about all of the specifications of each model, make, and number. You need to start thinking about the impact you make when you help your prospect solve a problem that they can’t solve without you. That’s how you need to start thinking about your career as a salesperson. That thinking will impact your success in a way that you can’t possibly fathom at this moment, unless you’ve been doing it for a while, in which case you’re nodding your head along with me right now.
Here’s another benefit to this is that it opens up your sales call into so much more of a conversational, colloquial fashion. You get to sit and talk to somebody, a prospect, about something that matters to them, which is not your product. You get to talk to them about a problem they’re trying to solve. You get to ask questions about the impacts of that problem. You get to ask questions about the benefits of a solution. You get to start having real conversational, real person conversations. You know the ones that everybody loves raving about? Well, that salesperson didn’t treat me as a number. That salesperson didn’t treat me as someone that they needed to paint in a corner and make them buy something. That person actually listened to me. That person actually looked me in the eye. That person didn’t try to squeeze me into some option. Yeah, those sales calls, they come around when you approach a problem to be solved, not a product to be sold.
Think about why your customers buy. They don’t give a damn about your features and benefits until they understand the impact that a solution, any solution, will make on their lives. If you’re starting with features and benefits and details, you’re starting way too far ahead of yourself, and you’re losing opportunities as a result. You can do better. I believe in you. Approach this differently, and I can’t wait to see your results.
Scott Ingram: For more from Jeff, including the opportunity to get a head start on some of these ideas by subscribing to his weekly newsletter, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1745. Once you’ve done that, be sure to come back for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!