Selling Dreams and Benefits

Excerpt from "The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing."

When attempting to connect with customers, you need to forget the product for a moment. Instead, think about what the customer is looking to get out of the exchange. When they give you their $5, $18.95, $270 or $87,000, what are they expecting in return? How is their life going to change? What are they “dreaming” of?

When you get into this thought process, you’re exploring “benefits.” The term “benefit” seems kind of ambiguous, but it can be explained fairly simply. Basically, a benefit is something that answers the age-old questions: “Hey, what do I get out of this deal?” or “What’s in it for me?”

In the offline business world, this sort of questioning leads to better advertising, better brochure copy, and ultimately more sales and higher perceived value. Essentially you have the same kinds of goals on eBay. Your description is part ad, part brochure, part sales transaction. Since you’re never really in front of the customer physically, this is your chance to act as a retail salesperson and speak directly to customer needs. It’s your chance to sell the dream.

Tip: If you think in terms of benefits, you can outsell most of the people who are competing against you.

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