The Verbal Structure and Tactics of Explaining to Customers

written by: Patricia Terrone; article published: year 2006, month 08;


In: Categories » Business » Customer services » The Verbal Structure and Tactics of Explaining to Customers

The structure of explaining highlights the difference between the benefits of goals and the benefits of features. Start your explanations with customers' goals and they will value them more as they listen to how you connect features to them. Avoid leading with the features of products and making customers wait as you work your way back to their goals. It takes a little practice becoming comfortable starting explanations with customers' goals—not product's features. It is like visiting a country where they drive on the wrong side of the road (at least, according to Americans). The steering wheel is where the passenger sits from our perspective. Although it feels a little awkward jumping into the passenger seat, it is still the fastest way to get where you want to go.

In addition, you connect all the features and benefits of one goal before you proceed to the next one. These connections require concentration (fortunately driven by logic) when customers might have two or more goals, one goal might have two or more benefits, and one benefit might have two or more features that can connect to it. Again, the case studies give you plenty of examples of the explaining process.

Explaining consists of the following four-step process:

  1. Start with the customer's first goal (top ranked) and that goal's first measurable benefit.

  2. Highlight and explain which feature(s) of which product(s) achieve that first benefit.

  3. If there is a second benefit of the first goal, again highlight and explain which features of which product(s) achieve that benefit.

  4. Exhaust the benefits and features that achieve the first goal before proceeding to the second goal by following this same pattern.

Another sure-fire way to determine if customers accept your explanations is to let customers know that you accept responsibility for their understanding of what you said. A helpful question is: "Does that make sense the way I explained it?"

The Tactics Behind Crystal-Clear Explanations

In the course of explaining, use the fewest words possible to connect the features of your products to the benefits of the customers' goals. Your explanations take into account the following six guidelines:

  1. Simple. Use your customer's terms and jargon to explain technical features and benefits. Remember, your goal is to make customers feel smart about their business decisions, not dumb about technical details that might not have any impact on their decisions. Limit your technical knowledge to the features that produce measurable benefits, nothing else.

    Example

    Explaining the waterproof feature of a watch as being a "hermetically sealed chamber resistant to external pressures of seven atmospheres before liquid infiltration occurs" is technobabble. Explaining how it only leaks at 250 feet or deeper is plain English.

  2. Vivid. Use descriptions that create powerful images.

    Example

    Saying that the face cover of a watch is scratch resistant is boring. Explaining how the watch can land facedown after falling from a three-story building and still look brand-new is exciting. It may not work any longer, but it will look brand-new.

  3. No Return. Stay focused on one measurable benefit and its features, exhaust them, and then go to the next. To keep momentum building and to keep customer comprehension high, do not go back and speak about a benefit you have already covered.

    Example

    Explain all the features (construction, material, and warranty) of the watch that improve quality as a group. Mixing them with features that increase functions (stopwatch, countdown timer, and alarm) could confuse customers.

  4. Analogies. Provide everyday parallels that the customer can relate to. Typically, choose a unique strength to build your analogy around.

    Example

    Explain the watch's wireless connection to your e-mail as an electronic post office box on your wrist. You receive your mail anywhere.

    Note 

    Competitors' use of analogies tells you about how they try to sell value. An abundance of them indicates they are customer oriented (keep things simple)—a lack of them suggests a product orientation that rely on technically astute customers

  5. Power Words. Use terms that express confidence such as confident, convinced, or know and avoid using weak words such as think, feel, maybe, or might.

    Example

    Do not say, "I think you will be pleased with the watch's performance." Your display of enthusiasm will underwhelm customers and probably cast doubt on their purchasing decisions. Instead, boldly proclaim, "I know the watch will exceed your expectations." When you know measurable benefits of goals and conditional commitments, you know how much value your products provide. While the meek may inherit the earth, they do not get the sale.

  6. Do Not Use "Never" or "Always." You do not want to put yourself in an awkward position if exceptions exist—and exceptions always, oops, often, seem to surface.

    Example

    Do not say the watch never needs an adjustment. Rather, say that it should not. However, if it ever does, there is no charge for the service.

When selling technical products, take the responsibility to ensure that customers understand your features. Let customers know up front that if they do not understand something, it is because you did not explain it properly. You win when customers feel smart.

Two issues affect how smart you need to make customers feel.The first issue involves how easy it is for customers to accept that a feature produces the benefit the way you described it. For instance, it is difficult to accept on face value that 800 MHz computers process information 50 percent quicker than 600 MHz computers. After all, their 200 MHz difference suggests they would be 33 percent, not 50 percent faster. Yet, it is easy to understand how a computer with 128 MB of RAM has twice as much RAM as one with 64 MB.

The second issue is the technical expertise of the customers. The greater the gap between your technical expertise and that of you customers, the more you should explain concepts in their jargon. Conversely, if your customer has a strong technical background, you do not need to elaborate as much.

legal disclaimer

1) Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article as well for any and all copyright infringements by authors and writers. E-articles is a free information resource. If you suspect this article for any copyright infringements, please read the Terms of service and contact us to investigate the problem.
2) The E-articles directory team is not responsible for inaccuracies, falsehoods, or any other types of misinformation this tutorial may contain and will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by a user through the user's reliance on the information gained here. Please read the Terms of service

Useful tools and features

Translate this article to...    Send this article to you or to a friend

Link to this article from your page   
If you like this article (tutorial), please link to it from your web page using the information above. Linking to this page, this is the only way to help us improve our service, the same time providing your visitors with a way to improve their online experience.

related articles

1. Attainment Measurement
For both customers and you, this filter is the single most important piece of information you need to have. It is how you and customers know how they measure the attainment of their goals. You have discussed with customers many details concerning the previous eight filters. You combine and summarize the decision makers' prerequisites of dates and funds with their SOEs and measurable benefits. This summary forms the attainment measurement (often referred to in sales vernacular by using the more general term critical success fac...

2. Why Do The Customers Buy ~ The Seven Keys for Customer Relationships
Typically, customers buy from two perspectives: Value/quality/solutions: These customers tend to make rational decisions and are concerned about budget, durability, and return on investment for their organizations. Reliability/convenience/image: These customers tend to make emotional decisions and are concerned about low buying risk, trust, and prestige for themselves. The relative importance of each of these factors depends on the i...

3. Account Management
In account management, you protect and grow your base of positive customers. You count on their untapped opportunities to grow your sales production at a faster rate than their market segments (or, at least, your sales quotas) grow. You concentrate on ensuring that their goals, filters, and systems of evaluations still favor your company. You want to be at the joint planning level (where you progress from vendor to supplier to partner) and help customers set and achieve their long-term goals. Your sphere of influen...

4. Business questions Not product statements Demonstrate expertise
You let customers know how well you understand their business by the questions you ask. When you recite large amounts of technical facts about your products, you reflect only how well you understand your products. Nevertheless, a common myth prevails among salespeople that product experts are customer experts. It is easy to understand the roots of this myth. If your sales training was typical, it mainly involved learning features and benefits. There is one slight problem: Your customers do not have features and benefits; ...

5. How Different Companies Review New Accounts and existing Customers` Accounts
Not all companies review credit in exactly the same manner. Depending on the nature of the business, the corporate culture, the resources devoted to the credit review process, and the amount of credit granted with open terms, companies set credit review guidelines. The range of what is done is quite wide. The following list includes just a few of the ways companies evaluate credit of the new customers: • Every new customer must complete a credit application. • Have credit policies ...

6. How to Motivate Customers to Share Information
When customers qualify themselves, you ask them to share information. Sometimes, they consider this information confidential. For instance, customers often consider topics such as funding and their roles in the decision-making process to be private information. A customer's biggest disincentive to share information is the fear that it weakens his or her negotiating position. It does when you mention specific products before customers state their goals. Customers know how the game works. They quickly realize that any infor...

7. How to deal with customers who equate needs with goals
You also deal with customers who have only specific needs and products in mind. A customer might think she is satisfying her specific needs and that buying those specific products are her goals. They are not. You know the type. "Just give me a price on what I need and I will call you if you get the job." This person is the boss and that is that. You need a lot of willpower not to throw out a price and duck—and wish her (and you) luck. Resist the temptation. You do not want to react to her specific product requ...