Heart, Head and Human Behaviour

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This email is quite dense and covers the basics of human influence,
so please take time to read it carefully and take on board as much
as you can!

Today (as promised) I’m going to talk about the difference between
a feature and a benefit.

This is an important piece of sales and marketing information you
must know if you want to get more customers online or off.

Here’s the difference…

A feature is something a product or service IS or DOES. Such as:

“Our boilers meet with British Standards and are 91% efficient”
A benefit is where you take a feature and deliberately link it to a
positive feeling or experience.

The feature mentioned above could be written as a benefit as follows:

“Feel warm, safe and secure in your home while reducing your fuel
bills with our energy efficient boilers”

Can you see the difference between the two? Which sentence would
bring you closer to buying?

Most people would go for the latter (the benefit), although your
answer is very telling — let me explain…

There are two categories of thinkers people can be grouped into:

There are logical thinkers and emotional thinkers. Most people lean
towards one or the other, but have elements of both.

A logical thinker makes decisions with their “head”. They weigh up
the pros and cons of a situation/decision and act according to
their logical conclusion.

An emotional thinker makes decisions with their “heart”. They avoid
spending too much time looking at the pros and cons and go with
what “feels” right.

Whichever of the above sentences you preferred reflects whether
you’re leaning towards “head thinking” or “heart thinking”.

Head thinkers like features, charts, comparison tables etc, whereas
heart thinkers like benefits and having a “picture painted” of how
the product will make them feel.

Now, nobody is either 100% heart or 100% head so you need to make
sure your website caters for both ways of thinking without
neglecting the other. This means, have features, tables, comparison
charts AND link every single feature to the emotional end result
and the feeling / good things that your prospect will experience
when they buy from you.

From my experience it’s nearly always better to focus on the
benefits of doing business with you rather than the features. (I’d
say 80% benefits, 20% features)

The only time I’d make an exception and test mentioning features
more is in very analytical industries such as specialist
engineering and computer programming.

Another way to bring your visitor closer to buying is to “get on
their level”.

This means empathise with their problems (but always offer a
solution) and write in a similar language you’d expect them to use.
This is particularly useful in niche areas such as engineering,
golf, etc where there are specific phrases you’d use if you were
“in the know”.

This brings the reader closer to you and helps establish trust and
gain rapport with them. Again, bringing your visitor closer to the
sale.

Conclusion:

Writing web pages that sell is a big but fascinating subject.

I hope I’ve given you some insight into how we humans make buying
decisions and how you can change your website to improve your
conversion rates.

Try implementing these writing techniques on your web pages and
test the results compared to the old pages. Let me know how it goes
- I’d love to know if you’ve made some more sales from it!

Anyway - to sum up:

1. Avoid talking about yourself and your company.
2. Always answer the readers’ silent question: “What’s in it for
me?” (HINT: Use the word “you” more than the words “I” or “we”)
3. Talk about the benefits of your product or service a lot, and
mention the features a little.
4. Remember people think with their “head” and their “heart” –
you need to appeal to both.
5. Get on your customers level and they will show their
appreciation by buying from you!

Hope this has helped!

Best wishes,

George Lane
Lane Consultancy
www.LaneConsultancy.com

PS: To see an example of a well written influential sales letter go
to:
http://www.pelmanismonline.com/
From a design point of view the page could do a lot better, but the
writing is first class. Check it out, analyse it, and see if you
can spot the techniques I’ve mentioned!