Experienced salespeople will often joke, “Everyone's favorite radio station is WII-FM.” They're referring to the acronym WIIFM – What's In It For Me.
Every prospect you approach will consider your pitch from the point of WIIFM. That's why it's so important to talk about benefits rather than features when you sell.
Benefits are specific examples of what the prospect stands to gain if they buy from you. As a result, they appeal directly to the WIIFM mindset. Features, on the other hand, are specific facts about a product. They don't explain how the product will improve your prospect's life.
As an example, let's say you're selling cars. If you tell a prospect that a specific model accelerates from 0 to 60MPH in 7.4 seconds, that's a feature. It's nice to know but it doesn't do much to persuade the prospect. But if you tell the prospect that the car's high acceleration allows them to safely merge onto the freeway, that's a benefit. You are telling the prospect WIIFM.
