ustomers are looking for something out of the ordinary, and they will pay more for a product that they perceive as unique, but not one that they believe is average or ordinary. In fact, they will try to pay less for it. Therefore, it is vital to make your product special. Once you've identified its unique attributes, use those qualities to help make the sale. Here's how:

1. Determine Prospect's Needs
2. Identify Product's Unique Features
3. Assign Benefits to Those Features
4. Meet Prospect's Needs With Those Features and Benefits
5. Present Remaining Features as Benefits

1. Determine Prospect's Needs

When approaching a potential customer, you need to know what she needs. Before tackling the issue of making your product unique, first determine her needs. We've discussed this topic in the past ("What's on the Prospect's Mind?" The Green Sheet, Dec. 27, 2004, issue 04:12:02) so we won't go into details in this article.

Just make sure that when you visit prospects, ask probing questions and analyze the competition and the market to understand their wants and needs. For this example, let's assume a need is "easier POS terminal maintenance."

2. Identify Product's Unique Features

Now that you know what your prospect needs (i.e., a terminal that's easy to maintain) it's time to look at your product and identify features that make it stand out from similar products. Remember, features are facts, which are verifiable, objective and specific. For example, a feature of a certain terminal receipt printer is that the ink lasts for 1,000 receipt printings.

Don't worry that what you sell isn't a one-of-a-kind service or a newly invented product. Your product doesn't have to be something that none of your competitors offer; it simply needs to be something that most competitors do not offer. That, coupled with your other distinctive features and services, makes your product unique.

3. Assign Benefits to Those Features After identifying the unique product features, the next step is assigning a benefit (or two) to those features. A benefit is more subjective than a feature.

Benefits need to be specific and presented in a way that is meaningful to the prospect. For example, rather than saying "longer lasting ink" say "1,000 receipt printings, which means less time wasted changing ink cartridges, a faster checkout, more transactions processed, and increased profits."

4. Meet Prospect's Needs With Those Features and Benefits

Now that you know the benefits of your product's features, meet the prospect's needs with them. Find a unique feature and benefit to meet each of the previously identified needs. Let's go back to our example of "easier terminal maintenance." If you tell the prospect that the ink lasts for 1,000 receipts, she will be unimpressed because you have not met her need of easier terminal maintenance.

However, if you tell her that the printer ink lasts for 1,000 receipts so it doesn't need to be replaced often (and isn't messy), she will understand how it solves her terminal maintenance problems. You've met her need. Now you can show her the added benefits of the terminal, such as the faster checkout process.

5. Present Remaining Features as Benefits

After you have assigned a feature and benefit to each of the prospect's needs, you might have a few left over. Great! Present these features as added benefits, the icing on the cake. Not only will this product meet her needs, it offers other benefits of which she never dreamed.

Be sure to include all the unique features. Just because she doesn't ask about them doesn't mean they won't be important to her. If she shops around, another competitor might present a similar benefit, and you don't want the prospect to mistakenly think that you do not offer a similar, and better, service.

No one wants to be average. To close sales, show prospects that your product is special. To do that, know not only the product, but also the prospect. When you discover a prospect's needs and identify your product's unique features and corresponding benefits, use those features and benefits to meet the pre-defined needs ... and close the sale.