Who doesn’t like to win?! Last Friday, I found out that I’d won a contest direct response design guru Erik Stafford held on differentiating facts from benefits.
As they say, “facts tell, but benefits sell.” Features (aka facts) are great and you DO need to include them in your copy. But you also need to take it a step further and interpret what those facts will do for your prospects…how those features will make their life better or easier.
Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs get too hung up on the facts and assume their prospects will see what the benefits are.
They forget their prospect doesn’t know the product or topic as well as they do. And they forget their prospect is too busy to sit there and try to translate it for themselves…
Benefits are the difference between “ho hum, this might be what I need, maybe I should keep looking though” and “OMG this is exactly what I need–where’s my credit card?!”
Since a lot of people struggle with features versus benefits, I thought it would be fun to give you a behind-the-scenes peek into how I came up with the winners.
The challenge was to write benefits statements for a house to be sold with the following features:
- 5 bedrooms
- In an expensive neighborhood
- Built last year
We’re going to focus on the last one.
Step 1: Know Thy Market
First, you have to know your prospect. With so little to go on, I decided to picture a smallish new home community in an established neighborhood of Arlington or Alexandria, VA.
The prospect is a move-up buyer who has more money than time and is ready to indulge themselves a bit–though they’re not going to be stupid about it. Like many of the truly affluent, value is the key operating word here.
Since free time is at a premium, they’re tired of spending it roaming the aisles of Home Depot and waiting for repairmen to come fix the endless stream of little (and occasionally, big) things that seemed to always be going awry in their previous, older home.
Step 2: Breakdown What’s Important
Next, brainstorm what the benefits might be. Ask yourself: Why would a house that was built last year be good for the prospect? Two reasons that immediately come to mind are:
- Everything will be brand, spanking new
- It’ll feature today’s most popular styles and amenities
Now, you want to keep drilling down for each of those answers. There are two different ways we can do this.
Starting with Key Motivators
As I reveal in my guide to writing copy that speaks your clients’ language, the top four buying motivators overall are:
- To make money
- To save money
- To save time
- To save effort
So asking yourself how a feature will help the prospect accomplish each of of these is a great way to home in on what are often the most important benefits.
Of course, don’t limit yourself to these four–other desires may drive the market for your product or service. The diet industry is the perfect example of one where these four aren’t a big consideration.
But many times, it’s a great place to start. So, is there any way that “everything will be new” save or make them money, or save them time and effort?
Yes, because if everything is new…
- The buyer won’t have to worry about replacing any of the big-ticket appliances and mechanical systems for a long while (big benefit is saving them money, but also saves them the time and effort of having to deal with replacing broken ones)
- Those same items will have been built to stricter energy- efficient codes than older appliances and systems, which will save them energy, water–and thus, money–for years to come (pure money-saving benefit, although it also appeals to those who like to be “green”)
- The home won’t have much wear and tear, which means nothing else should really need fixing, replacing or even upgrading for a while (again, saves time, money and effort)
Drilling Down to Find the Motivators
For the next one–having “the most popular home styles and amenities”–those four key motivators don’t really come into play. So what do we know about our prospects? What are their pain points that a new house could help ease?
For one, they live a super busy, stressful life. They probably also worry about not having enough time with their family–especially as kids get older and are more involved in their own activities.
So, with those in mind, we can suss out the benefits by completing the sentence: “Having the most popular home styles and amenities” is good because…
- After a hectic day, our buyer can relax in their master suite (compared with their previous home, which might not have had an en suite bathroom)
- They can enjoy more time with their busy family and guests in nearby “rooms” while working in the kitchen, thanks to the home’s open living area
(Note: I had to assume what some of those popular styles and amenities would be. Obviously, you won’t have to do that.)
Obviously, we could keep going–storage for all their stuff is probably another issue, especially coming from an older home–but you get the point.
Step 3: Polish
Now that we’ve worked our way down to some of the key benefits for our target audience, we just need to add the features back in and do some wordsmithing to make our statements more vivid and compelling…and voila! You have bullets for your sales copy.
Three of the winning statements I came up with for the “built last year” feature were:
- Brand new energy-efficient appliances, hot water, heating and air conditioning systems that will provide many years of worry-free operation… Plus save you energy, water, and money!
- A must-have master suite with walk-in closet, separate shower and garden tub provides a soothing retreat from busy life
- Forget playing handyman all weekend…This hassle-free home practically takes care of itself so you can start enjoying your weekends again!
And there you go–benefits designed to dazzle your prospects and paint an irresistible picture of your product or service!
Write benefit statements for a house to be sold with the
following features:
>> 5 bedrooms
>> In an expensive neighborhood
>> Built last year
Step 1: Know Thy Market
First, you have to know your market. With so little to go on,
I decided to picture a smallish new home community in an
established neighborhood of Arlington or Alexandria, VA.
The prospect is a move-up buyer who has more money than time
and is ready to indulge themselves a bit–though they’re not
going to be stupid about it. Like many of the truly affluent,
value is the key operating word here.
Since free time is at a premium, they’re tired of spending it
roaming the aisles of Home Depot and waiting for repairmen to
come fix the endless stream of little (and occasionally, big)
things that seemed to always be going awry in their previous,
older.
Step 2: Define What’s Important
Now, brainstorm why those features would be important to your
prospect. I’ve said before that the 4 top buying motivators in
general are:
>> To make money
>> To save money
>> To save time
>> To save effort
So asking yourself how a feature will help them accomplish
each of of these is a great way to home in on what are often
the most important benefits to buyers.
But don’t limit yourself to these–the market for your product
or service may have other motivations that are just as
critical, if not more so. The diet industry is the perfect
example of one where these four aren’t a big consideration.
At any rate, you want to ask yourself:
Why would a house that was built last year be good for the
prospect?
>> Everything will be brand, spanking new
>> It’ll feature today’s most popular styles and amenities
Next, keep drilling down for each of those answers. There are
two different ways we can do this.
Starting with Key Motivators
For the first one, we’ll use the top four motivators above to
get started. So, is there any way that “everything will be
new” save or make them money, or save them time and effort?
Yes, because if everything is new…
>> The buyer won’t have to worry about replacing any of the
big-ticket appliances and mechanical systems for a long while
(big benefit is saving them money, but also saves them the
time and effort of having to deal with replacing broken ones)
>> Those same items will hve been built to stricter energy-
efficient codes than older appliances and systems, which will
save them energy, water–and thus, money–for years to come
(pure money-saving benefit, although it also appeals to those
who like to be “green”)
>> The home hasn’t had much wear and tear, which means nothing
else should really need fixing, replacing or even upgrading
for a while (again, saves time, money and effort)
Drilling Down to Find the Motivators
Now, for the next one–having “the most popular home styles
and amenities”–those four key motivators don’t really come
into play.
so what do we know about our prospects? What are their pain
points that maybe a new house could help with?
For one, they live a stressful, hectic life. They probably
also worry about not having enough time with their family–
especially as kids get older and are more involved in their
own activities.
So, with those in mind, we can suss out the benefits by
completing the sentence:
“Having the most popular home styles and amenities” is good
because…
>> After a hectic day, our buyer can relax in their master
suite (compared with their previous home, which might not have
had an en suite bathroom)
>> They can enjoy more time with their busy family and guests
in nearby “rooms” while working in the kitchen, thanks to the
home’s open living area
(Note: I had to assume what some of those popular styles and
amenities would be. Obviously, you won’t have to do that.)
Obviously, we could keep going–storage for all their stuff is
probably another issue, especially coming from an older home–
but you get the point.
Step 3: Polish
Now that we’ve worked our way down to some of the key benefits
for our target audience, we just need to add the features back in and do some wordsmithing to make our statements more vivid and compelling…
And voila! You have bullets for your sales copy.
Three of the winning statements I came up with related to
“built last year” feature were:
Brand new energy-efficient appliances, hot water, heating and
air conditioning systems that will provide many years of
worry-free operation… Plus save you energy, water, and
money!
A must-have master suite with walk-in closet, separate shower
and garden tub provides a soothing retreat from busy life
And forget playing handyman all weekend… This hassle-free
home practically takes care of itself so you can start
enjoying your weekends again!
And there you go–benefits designed to dazzle your prospects
and paint an irresistible picture of your product or service!So let’s take a look at the challenge… Write benefit statements for a house to be sold with the following features: >> 5 bedrooms >> In an expensive neighborhood >> Built last year Step 1: Know Thy Market First, you have to know your market. With so little to go on, I decided to picture a smallish new home community in an established neighborhood of Arlington or Alexandria, VA. The prospect is a move-up buyer who has more money than time and is ready to indulge themselves a bit–though they’re not going to be stupid about it. Like many of the truly affluent, value is the key operating word here. Since free time is at a premium, they’re tired of spending it roaming the aisles of Home Depot and waiting for repairmen to come fix the endless stream of little (and occasionally, big) things that seemed to always be going awry in their previous, older. Step 2: Define What’s Important Now, brainstorm why those features would be important to your prospect. I’ve said before that the 4 top buying motivators in general are: >> To make money >> To save money >> To save time >> To save effort So asking yourself how a feature will help them accomplish each of of these is a great way to home in on what are often the most important benefits to buyers. But don’t limit yourself to these–the market for your product or service may have other motivations that are just as critical, if not more so. The diet industry is the perfect example of one where these four aren’t a big consideration. At any rate, you want to ask yourself: Why would a house that was built last year be good for the prospect? >> Everything will be brand, spanking new >> It’ll feature today’s most popular styles and amenities Next, keep drilling down for each of those answers. There are two different ways we can do this. Starting with Key Motivators For the first one, we’ll use the top four motivators above to get started. So, is there any way that “everything will be new” save or make them money, or save them time and effort? Yes, because if everything is new… >> The buyer won’t have to worry about replacing any of the big-ticket appliances and mechanical systems for a long while (big benefit is saving them money, but also saves them the time and effort of having to deal with replacing broken ones) >> Those same items will hve been built to stricter energy- efficient codes than older appliances and systems, which will save them energy, water–and thus, money–for years to come (pure money-saving benefit, although it also appeals to those who like to be “green”) >> The home hasn’t had much wear and tear, which means nothing else should really need fixing, replacing or even upgrading for a while (again, saves time, money and effort) Drilling Down to Find the Motivators Now, for the next one–having “the most popular home styles and amenities”–those four key motivators don’t really come into play. so what do we know about our prospects? What are their pain points that maybe a new house could help with? For one, they live a stressful, hectic life. They probably also worry about not having enough time with their family– especially as kids get older and are more involved in their own activities. So, with those in mind, we can suss out the benefits by completing the sentence: “Having the most popular home styles and amenities” is good because… >> After a hectic day, our buyer can relax in their master suite (compared with their previous home, which might not have had an en suite bathroom) >> They can enjoy more time with their busy family and guests in nearby “rooms” while working in the kitchen, thanks to the home’s open living area (Note: I had to assume what some of those popular styles and amenities would be. Obviously, you won’t have to do that.) Obviously, we could keep going–storage for all their stuff is probably another issue, especially coming from an older home– but you get the point. Step 3: Polish Now that we’ve worked our way down to some of the key benefits for our target audience, we just need to add the features back in and do some wordsmithing to make our statements more vivid and compelling… And voila! You have bullets for your sales copy. Three of the winning statements I came up with related to “built last year” feature were: Brand new energy-efficient appliances, hot water, heating and air conditioning systems that will provide many years of worry-free operation… Plus save you energy, water, and money! A must-have master suite with walk-in closet, separate shower and garden tub provides a soothing retreat from busy life And forget playing handyman all weekend… This hassle-free home practically takes care of itself so you can start enjoying your weekends again! And there you go–benefits designed to dazzle your prospects and paint an irresistible picture of your product or service!
