A confused person never buys.

Customers never buy because of product or service features. They buy into the outcome, benefit and transformation that those features will give them once they consume your product or utilize your service. And that, in essence, is what you are actually selling them. You are selling the perceived value of getting that result or outcome achieved by engaging with you and your services. The key is in communicating with clarity.

Service providers, who are inexperienced with sales and marketing make the classic mistake of ‘feature dumping’ in their marketing messages and expect the customer to figure out the benefit they will get by working with you. If that sounds like you, don’t do that. It doesn’t work, and you’ll just get frustrated with the outcome.

If the client is confused by how you are presenting yourself and how you describe your offering, they are more likely to nod their head politely and walk away, rather than engage in a discussion about how you can help them.

You’ll get more customers, more quickly, if you communicate the benefits of engaging your services, rather than the features.

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts for positioning yourself for the sale, and communicating with clarity:

DO…

• Know the difference between a benefit and a feature. A feature is something that your service “is” or “does”. A benefit is something that your service “means” to the client. (Hint: If you think you might be talking features, be sure to answer the “So What?” question which will quickly convert the feature into what it means for the client.)
• Use plain and direct language, so that people understand what you’re saying without needing to use a translator.
• Keep your list of benefits short. Most people can only remember two or three thoughts at one time.
• Emphasize your unique differentiators, so that you distinguish yourself from your competition.

DON’T…

• Lead with your process, logistics, pricing, credentials or resume – because that’s not how people buy.
• Be too clever with the language that you use, it will confuse people and create an emotional disconnect.
• Use industry jargon, cliches or overly technical terminology. Just keep it simple.
• Use vague adverbs and adjectives; be concrete and specific.

For more tips and tricks on how to communicate in a way that people will say YES to working with you, grab my free guide here.