Sell the Benefits
The major mistake that builders and contractors make in selling their product is that they tell their customers about the features of the product, but forget to sell the benefits. Features are what a product does. Benefits are what the product does for the client. To communicate benefits, look at your product from the viewpoint of the customer. How does it satisfy their needs? How does it make their life better? What’s in it for them?

For example, brick veneer is a feature. The durability, low maintenance, and luxury status of brick is a benefit. The HVAC system is a feature. The energy savings of a high-efficiency HVAC system is a benefit.

Not all benefits are physical or functional. Often these benefits are emotional, financial, and procedural. In selling benefits, remember to sell the total benefits.

By selling benefits, you create a perceived value in the customer’s mind. This leads to increased profits in several ways. First, you increase sales. Second, you no longer compete solely on price. People are willing to pay more for a Mercedes than a Geo Metro. It’s the same in houses. Home buyers are willing to pay more, provided they perceive they’re getting more. By selling benefits, you move your product toward the Mercedes category and away from the Geo Metro.

There is one surefire way to distinguish features from benefits. Ask yourself: "So what?" If a potential buyer looks at a marketing claim and says, "So what?" then it isn’t a benefit. In the words of William James, "A difference, to be a difference, must make a difference."

If you use 5/8-inch drywall, and everyone else uses 1/2-inch drywall, the customer will say, "So what?" That’s a feature, but they need to understand that 5/8-inch drywall provides extra sound control and extra fire protection. That’s the benefit. 

Most features are benefits in disguise. All you have to do is paint the picture in the customer’s mind. Here are some ways to translate features into benefits in talking about homes:

Bedrooms. Feature: Master bedroom on the first level. Benefit: Increased privacy (separation from the children’s area) and the greater convenience of one-level living for the parents.

Heating and Cooling. Feature: High efficiency heat pump. Benefit: Save on energy costs now, and even more in the future as energy prices increase. Feature: Zoned temperature controls. Benefit: Individual comfort for different temperature preferences.

Siding. Feature: Heavy duty vinyl. Benefits: Long-lasting beauty, reduced maintenance (no scraping and painting), good weather resistance, trouble free living.

Countertop. Feature: Corian solid surfacing. Benefit: Increased beauty, name recognition, easy maintenance.

Windows. Feature: Low-e windows with heat screen. Benefits: Reduced glare (comfort), reduced heat gain (energy savings) and reduced UV fading (reduced maintenance).

Eat-in-Kitchen. Feature: Island kitchen. Benefits: More efficient use of space, a kitchen two can cook in comfortably. Feature: Kitchen adjoins breakfast nook and family room. Benefits: Family and entertaining convenience, better social interaction.

Home Builders Network  205 E. Ridgeville, Blvd, Suite C • Mount Airy, Maryland 21771
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