I came across a very interesting formula the other day, which was shared by a sales guru based in the US called Lisa Sasevich. She was talking about the fact that when many of us talk about what we can do for customers, we concentrate on how we can deliver the product or service and not on what the results are. I completely agree.

Let’s face it, we’re all taught to concentrate on features and benefits and this inevitably leads to us talking about what we do for customers. We’ll say things like:

• You’ll get a car wash with your next service…which means that you’ll get a great looking shiny car when you pick it up.

• You’ll get three workshops included for the price of one…which means you don’t have to pay more than you need to.

• You get a free introductory session…which means that you’ll get to try out our product or service.

Great stuff, right and brilliant that you’re highlighting this.

But, all of this concentrates on HOW you deliver your product or service.

What you’re customers really care about especially at the moment when finances are often stretched is what the RESULTS of all this will be.

Let me give you some examples.

Customers don’t really care whether or not they get a car wash with their next service (THE HOW). What they care about is that the car is working as it should be and it’s not going to break down on the way to an important meeting (THE RESULTS).

Customers don’t really care that they’ll get three workshops for the price of one (THE HOW). What they care about is that is that attending the workshop is going to make a major difference in their life or business (THE RESULTS).

Customers don’t really care that they’ll get a free introductory session (THE HOW). They care that they’re going to feel differently after the session and know that they’re going to continue working towards their great future with more sessions (THE RESULTS).

It’s a subtle difference but one that is absolutely valuable.

Lisa Sasevich gave a formula that demonstrated this. She said that the value people believe they will experience from buying from you is a combination of result x service delivery. Most small business owners concentrate on highlighting the service delivery rather than the results and Lisa suggested that if we switched this around and concentrated on the results, the difference it would make to people after using your products or services, it would make a big difference to the number of people who bought from you.

Now, whenever I start marketing a new product or service, I always stop to think about what the result will be to people. What will they do differently after I’ve worked with them? I concentrate first and foremost on this message and then I can concentrate on HOW I will work with them and what they will receive.

How would your business be different if you concentrate on the results rather than the way you deliver your product or service? Try it and see what happens.