3 Rules for Small Business Advertising Success using Classic Salesmanship

What triggers a person to buy a product or service? One way could be from a salesman using classic salesmanship with a customer. But what entails classic salesmanship? Getting to know the customer and how they can benefit from a product or service is step one. Then the salesman directs them to the product or service using features the customer needs in order to gain the desired benefits.

A good salesman does things that most small business advertising don’t. It makes a personal connection with the customer and elicits an emotional reaction. Then they back up that emotion with reasoning and logic that supports what they want to do based on that emotional response.

The majority of small business advertising in print an other media simply show the features of a product or service, instead of showing the customer how they’ll benefit from those features. Customers don’t really care about features unless they directly benefit them.

A vehicle that can hold up to seven passengers is one example. If I have a family of three, then I have no want or use of this feature. I gain no benefit from it. But say a good salesman learns that my only child has a bunch of friends over to our house and that I shuttle them between activities a lot, the classic salesmanship can take over and the salesman will recognize that the feature can benefit me.. The vehicle that fits seven could make my life easier because I can fit all my child’s friends in the car, thus making me super parent of the week because my kid can spend more time with friends.

In order to create effective small business advertising, it is important to know your customers or potential customers and to know something about them. You can create small business advertising that speaks directly to your customers once you know enough about your customer to describe them. You can demonstrate how they will benefit from your product or service.

The key to small business advertising could be summarized in three words: Features, Benefits, and Emotion. But the response you want to elicit-and the order in which these words and concepts matter to potential customers-is in reverse order.

First, your small business advertising must elicit emotion. It has to make an emotional reaction or response. They have to desire and feel connected to your product or service.

Next, your advertising must showcase the benefits-to the customer-that justify the emotional desire. Most people are mainly looking for a reason to buy a product or service, but they must justify the expense first. By describing the benefits, justifying the expenditure becomes easier for the customer.

Finally the features of a product or service can be showcased. But remember, features only matter if they actually demonstrate real benefits that support the customer’s emotional reaction and desire to purchase in the first place. So don’t focus on the features in your small business advertising at the start.

If you want your advertising to result in actual business for you, then you have to remember to elicit responses in the proper order. Generate an emotional response first. Second, justify the purchase by describing the benefits. Then third, show off the features that provide these benefits.