WDTalk

I’m reasonably sure most of us have heard the term, “Sell the SIZZLE, not the steak.” It’s well documented that prospects don’t buy products and services – they buy BENEFITS from reps or businesses they know, like and trust. The best sales reps search out their prospect’s pain (by asking questions and LISTENING), and then structure their proposed solution to SIZZLE (to address that pain in a way that excites and compels the prospect to buy).

Some examples of SIZZLE 

   1. If I’m selling Internet bandwidth (data transfer), which has more sizzle? Simply listing bandwidth at 2TB/month OR adding an example of a benefit like:

If the average page size on your site is 40 kilobytes (includes the html file & graphics), with 2TB of bandwidth your pages could be downloaded 262,144,000 times per month! 

   2. What about email accounts – seems pretty straight forward? Which has more sizzle? Simply listing how many emails you get with each plan OR adding a benefit like: 

Tired of spam?! Our real time spam filter saves you and your employees time and money? Our system monitors a very large portion of the Internet’s email traffic to target sources of spam and tags that spam if it comes into our network. This FREES you to focus on REAL email. 

   3. I see hosting packages all the time featuring MySQL accounts, but why would you be interested in MySQL? Instead of simply listing the number of MySQL accounts with each plan, how about adding a benefit with some SIZZLE like: 

Based on the Linux operating system, MySQL is a multi-user, multi-threaded Structured Query Language (SQL) standardized database that simplifies storing, updating and accessing information such as customer or product data. Its flexibility and speed allow you to also store logs and pictures. Designed to scale well under heavy traffic conditions, it’s IDEAL for database-intensive or ecommerce enabled websites. 

What’s your SIZZLE? 

There’s a benefit to every product or service. The key is to find the SIZZLE that addresses your prospects pain, whether it’s the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the cars they drive or whatever. In person, it’s the reps body language and tone that carries the conversation, with a scant 7% left to his/her words. Online, there is no body language or tone, except what the prospect perceives. This is why design and relevant content is so important. SIZZLE is the catalyst that will put you over the top.