To what extent are features and functionality relevant to speak about when discussing and selling benefits?

Features and functionality are relevant to the extent they prove your ability to deliver the benefits and difference your customer wishes to purchase.

Whatever you sell – whether a product or service – you are sure to have a range of features, functionality, capacity, and capabilities. All of these are important and at some time need to be presented and discussed - after you’ve established your benefits and set buying criteria.

There’s a danger in discussing features and functionality before benefits. The danger is your customer will translate your features and functionality into benefits on their own. These translations will happen because customers don’t buy features and functionality, they buy the things they do (benefits). So, while you’re talking about the wonders on your datasheets, your customer is translating these things into something they can do with them. You can’t let something as import as these translations happen on their own, this is when purchase decisions are shaped.

Discussing features and functionality before benefits reduces your value and subjects your offering to a battle of commodities. This commonly results in sales people complaining they need more discount and enhanced features to win a deal.

Features and functionality are merely things that allow you to deliver benefits. You create opportunities, solve problems, make money, and save money for your customers as a result of employing one or more features and functionality of your offering. The features and functionality are meaningless until they’re employed to do something.

Do you agree or disagree? Why?