Want to Sell a Product? Focus on Its Benefits January 17, 2011 | Posted in Monetization | Leave a Comment

Monetization

Many businesses that sell a product (or service) mistake its "features" for "benefits" over and over again. Why? Because they design features into the product. They don't, however, experience the benefits... customers do.

And the customers want the benefits, not the features. You know the old saying..."Customers don't want quarter-inch drill bits... they want quarter-inch holes."

So you must deliver benefits, not features. Don't confuse the two on your sales page.

Your Unique Selling Proposition ("USP)" is your product's most powerful benefit, combined with a strong, unique aspect of your business. It answers that most difficult question...

Why should potential customers buy your product, from your company?

Here's how to develop your USP...

1) What are you selling? Write down what your product is and does.

2) What is the benefit to your customer? What pain does it cure, or what gain does it provide?

3) What is unique about your product? About you? What makes you stand out from the competition? Keep working on this until you can clearly separate yourself from the field. There must be a convincing reason for doing business with you, instead of your competitor.

4) Summarize the above into one tight, powerful, motivating phrase that will persuade your customer to do business with you, to trade their money for the benefits delivered by your product.

As you start to work through the above four steps, you may find this to be a lot harder than it looks. Don't give up!...

You must have a USP. If it was easy, everyone would have a great USP! Come up with a tight, sharp USP that sells your potential customer.

There's a second benefit to this exercise. It will crystallize your own vision of this monetization model! Write your USP down. Keep it firmly fixed in your mind.

Match your USP to your ideal customer's strongest motivator, either "pain" or "gain"...

• Pain -- People feel deprived, almost all in either wealth, health, love, or happiness. Show people how you help in the area that they are deprived in. Make it clear that you understand your visitor's problem and that you have the cure for her pain or fear of loss.

• Gain -- Stress the single most important positive benefit that you offer to your customer, in language that she will appreciate.

Boil your product down into a short, sharp benefit-laden punch. Whether you use "pain" or "gain" will depend on the nature of your particular product and target market. But, whichever approach you choose, make it tighter and tighter, sharper and sharper. Hone it until it's razor-sharp...

If your USP answers the "What's in it for me?" question, you're halfway to the sale.

For more copywriting tips, see SiteSell's free "Make Your Words Sell!" e-book (click on the link).