Online Product Descriptions – Features and Benefits

Successful sales people and copy writers will tell you that you must separate your products’ features from your products’ benefits. Why? Because presenting features alone don’t sell your product. It is benefits that sell your product.

• A television has a 60 inch screen – that is a feature.

• A television with a 60 inch screen will become the centerpiece of your family home theater while providing hours of quality entertainment – that is a benefit. The benefit is what sells your product.

It is the product’s benefits and the way you present them that will make or break your product descriptions. A benefit is a result of a feature. Most people writing online content do not know the difference. Because so many product description writers do not know the difference, most product descriptions do nothing more than present a laundry list of information. I call this a “data dump description,” a colleague on mine calls this a “product obituary.” Most of your competition will have data dump descriptions and product obituaries with information that is little or no interest to the customer.

Every feature your product possesses has at least one benefit, and often more than one. Your potential customer gets benefits from your products’ features.

So…

Before you can determine a product’s benefits, you must complete a list of it’s features.

Features do not seem too hard to come up with. But how do you turn features into benefits? The main reason a potential customer reads a product description is to find out what is in it for him or her. The best way to appeal to that interest is to present benefits that will help the customer get what he or she is really looking for. Features do not solve real or perceived problems, only benefits solve these problems and give the customer what he or she wants. Every feature must be presented as a benefit. To turn features into benefits apply the “What’s in it for me?” technique. Whenever you present a feature, step into the customer’s shoes and ask – “What’s in it for me?” You ask this from the customer’s perspective because it is the question that every customer has in the back of his or her mind. You need to push the process and keep on repeating the question for each feature and benefit. You keep asking “what’s in it for me?” until you cannot ask it anymore.

Challenge, Inform or Get Off The Stage – Presentation Skills and Powerful Public Speakers

“There are two types of speakers; those that are nervous and those that are liars.” Mark Twain

Most of us put public speaking at the top of our list of things to avoid. Then along comes that promotion or new opportunity, and with it, new responsibilities. Among them: communicating, powerfully and effectively in public. Before you rush to get out of that responsibility, consider what it can do for you.

This one ability–communicating ideas powerfully and effectively–can impact professional success more quickly and more absolutely than nearly any other. Become an effective communicator, and you will solidify a reputation as an effective leader. Yet many otherwise accomplished executives never learn to communicate well and take pains to avoid having to speak in public at all.

That’s a lot of wasted opportunity. You can’t expect your ideas to be considered or followed, much less admired, if they’re not communicated well.

Speaking to a group, even a small group that knows you, can be an intimidating. No one has yet died in the effort. We can all get past our fear of public speaking with practice. The important thing is to understand the power you have, that we all have, to communicate effectively. Here are some tips for powerful public speaking:

–Don’t hide behind charts, graphs and power point slides. Despite the cliche, facts don’t speak for themselves. Materials can only support your communication, not substitute for it.

–Accept the “public” part of public speaking. Speeches and presentations delivered before an audience really are about you and your ability to connect. If you’re bored, your audience will be as well. Find the passion in your work and build your presentation or speech around it.

–Put real effort into the question and answer period following your speech or presentation. For many in the audience, it’s their chance to connect with you and you to them.

–Make sure your public speech or presentation isn’t simply a recitation of the facts. Your audience could get that from you in an email. What any audience wants is your perspective. Always provide a context for the data or information you provide.

–Never go long. Any performer knows it’s best to leave them wanting more. Make sure you have something your audience can take home with them to think about.

–Don’t forget to speak ABOUT something. Your main points should be clearly stated and they’ll be back. Before long, you’ll be wondering how you ever considered public speaking something to avoid!

Above all, practice, practice, practice. Don’t run from public speaking opportunities–embrace them–and the power they have to promote your professional success.

The Most Important Element of Any Presentation You Give

Whenever you are making a presentation to a group, your top priority is to determine what you want the attendees to do. I call this the “Most Wanted Response” or the “Most Wanted Action”. Either way, you’ve got to know what you want people to do before you start planning what you’ll say.

Why is this so important? Ultimately, the point of the presentation is to encourage people to do something, right? You want them to sign up for your newsletter or ask for your free irresistible offer, or decide to hire you. Whatever response you desire influences what you will say in the talk.

How do you actually make this request for what you want? Just tell them what you want them to do. Of course you’ll say it in a manner that makes it advantageous for them. In other words, it’s not a direct request even though you actually are telling them exactly what to do.

You can be explicit in a casual way. Sometimes I’m being interviewed and I will causally mention that there’s a free CD on my website on how to attract all the clients you need. I talk about the CD as part of the marketing plan, but I’m also planting a seed that listeners can get the free CD.

Whatever your most wanted response is, make sure you do something so they remember you rather than just seeing you as a nice resource. You don’t want that, right?

For example, if your most wanted response is for people to subscribe to your newsletter, you can say, “If you want some additional tips sent to your inbox each week, just write your name, the name of your company, your address, phone and email address on the signup sheet going around the room.”

Once you know the outcome you desire, you can go ahead and create your speech. Focus on the problem you solve and why it can be so difficult. Then tell them what they can do about it, but not the specifics of how to do it. Be sure to include some client case studies.

When you present to a group, you give people a taste of what it’s like to work with you and help them get to know you at the same time. Keeping the response or action you want people to take in mind and asking them to take this step builds your business as your share your expertise and knowledge.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Think about your signature talk. Do you know what your most wanted response or action is for this presentation? If you haven’t worked this into your speech, it’s time to do so. In fact, think of a couple different responses and plan for each of them. This way you are prepared for more than one scenario when the opportunity pops up to speak in front of a group.