ABSTRACT
Sales training and books on selling have given a lot of attention to methods of demonstrating capability. Since the 1920s it’s been recognized that some ways of presenting solutions to customers are more persuasive than others. The biggest single cause of poor results early in a product’s life can be explained in terms of features, advantages and benefits. The machine was launched to most of the salesforce in the conventional way – a high-key presentation of its features and advantages by the product marketing team. Big names from the entertainment world had been hired at unbelievable cost, the place swarmed with public relations, media specialists, communications consultants and a variety of similarly expensive people. There’s one area of demonstrating capability which is generally badly handled, even by experienced salespeople. It happens to be an area vital to most organizations’ success and it’s a source of perennial frustration and disappointment to senior management.
