Where Features-and-Benefits Selling Gets It All Wrong (and How to Get It Right)

In an era of budget, time, and labor constraints, is it possible to sell your ideas and concepts (which often require money, time, and labor to implement) to the CEO, CFO, board of directors, or whoever is in charge of the final decision? The answer is yes! You can sell your ideas up; it simply depends on how you frame the opportunity. First things first: When you’re selling your ideas up, don’t talk about the idea itself. While that may sound strange, it’s the primary sales rule that most people break. Yes, you love your ideas and think they’re great, but not everyone loves the same things as you. And when you’re selling your ideas to others, you can’t focus on your preferences. Rather, you have to focus on the other person. Here’s how you do that.

Tune into the Pain of the Person You’re Talking To

Forget about yourself and how excited you are about this great new idea or concept you want the company to implement. At this point, you and your likes are not important. If you’re going to sell your idea or concept, you have to understand where the other person’s personal pain is. For example, maybe they’re dealing with an upset board or stockholders who don’t like last quarter’s results. Or perhaps they have to reorganize. Or maybe sales are down or they…