When I’m browsing the web looking at products or services I often find myself saying “I don’t care!”. Now don’t get me wrong I might be very interested in the product I am looking at, but am getting frustrated but why! I am willing to bet you have felt like this too.

What’s even more annoying is that I encounter this mistake on a day by day basis when browsing the web, reading my emails or even flicking through a sales catalog. The problem is that I am bombarded with information about the seller and features about the product.

When I first view a website the sellers information is not my primary interest, the number of sites I see that say Trading since 1995, or 20 years experience. To be honest “I don’t care”, I have only just found your website I don’t wish to be bombarded about information about you. By all means have a about us page where I can get this information but it does not want to be the first thing I see.

When I am looking for a product, the chances are that I have a problem that I need to solve or if you will, an itch to scratch. So when I find a product that I think may do what I want, I don’t wish to be overwhelmed by a list of features as long as my arm about it. Look at your existing website, does this sound like you, if so don’t worry you are not alone this is very common mistake.

If you want to increase your sales you need to start selling your products based on their benefits. If you can tell me how your product or services will help me, you make my buying decision easier. Think of it this way, lets saying you are buying a new product unlike anything you have purchased before, would you prefer a list of detailed features for each product that may all appear very similar or would you rather get a clear list of benefits that explain how the product will help you.

I’m not saying you should go out there and rip down all the features from your website, there is nothing wrong with some features, but put your benefits first. Sell using the benefits, then if the visitor wants to learn more they can read the features.

This method doesn’t work with all products out there, if you are selling a commodity product such as a digital camera you are going to get customers comparing the features of you product against the next product. Likewise if you are selling fridge freezers the benefits are obvious but the features may set your product apart from the rest.

However if you are selling a specialist product or product range you should really consider using benefits, allowing your visitors to quickly understand how the product will help them and which product from your range will be best for them can make big increases to your sales. If you have a software product that automates certain tasks then your benefits need to be along the line of saving time and effort.

Try to look at your products from the perspective of the customer, how can you product help them, what can it do for them. If you can start thinking about selling how this product will help, using the benefits you will have an edge over your competitors and reap the rewards.