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Real Benefits You Can Taste! Real Benefits You Can Taste! by Peter Temple

If you've ever sat at your desk trying to put the finishing touches on a presentation designed to persuade your client to buy into the next big project, you've invariably had the challenge of trying to identify benefits. In fact, if you've sold anything at all, you know how important benefits are to realizing the sale. Hand in hand with honing in on the most compelling benefits is making sure they're not just features.

Features are nice . . . but benefits sell, right? With any product or service, pointing out features, in most cases, is key to differentiating the product. But benefits – now, those are the things that can really make a difference! But how do you word them to really have an impact on your client or customer?

The answer to this perplexing question has become even clearer to me recently as a result of having to develop an internet sales pitch for information products. After having done extensive reading (as a result of lots of sitting and pondering!), I've discovered the secret to writing much more persuasive copy. Knowing and understanding this secret will also have a huge impact in any presentation you undertake!

Let me share what I've learned.

If you're like me, you learned earlier on that features are what a product has; benefits are what it does. But sometimes, describing benefits doesn't impact your audience; doesn't change their minds. Benefits often aren't personal enough. They're too broad.

And to really sell, your benefits have to be specific. They have to give your audience a specific gain . . . one they can personally feel, or imagine. Another way of putting it is, benefits have to personally, or emotionally affect your audience.

Let's consider another word: 'advantages.' I'm going to suggest to you that what we've traditionally thought of as 'benefits' are often really 'advantages.' Product features have certain advantages that they provide. But the benefits are how those advantages specifically affect your audience.

As an example, let's say I wanted to sell you a 'double chocolate' cake. I might say that it has 'double rich, naturally sweet' icing. That's a feature. The advantage is that it's not too rich or overly sweet like traditional chocolate and THAT makes it taste SO much better. Fine. But, so what? That may or may not get someone interested in buying and entire cake.

But, if I were to tell you that it will make your toes curl, or that if you feed it to your girlfriend, she will fall deeply in love with you for at least an hour . . . now, those are personal benefits. You get an emotional response from those benefits. In fact, most true benefits in presentations should give you an emotional response.

You see, benefits have to affect you personally to have real impact. If you have a specific gain that provides a positive emotional response, chances are you'll buy into the idea more readily than if you were simply given the product's advantages.

Features . . . advantages . . . benefits.

Another example: wrinkle cream.

Feature: it reduces wrinkles

Advantage: it will make you look younger

Benefits: you'll be more attractive, you'll have guys falling all over you, nobody will be able to accurately guess your age.

Now, I know some of you might argue that wrinkle cream is a pretty emotional product to begin with. And 'What does this sales pitch have to do with my ACME cleaning service?' (for example). 'How do I use this approach when I'm pitching a service that simply helps keep an office clean?'

Well, if the feature is a lower price, if I told you you'd save enough money to fund a smaller project you've been trying to get off the ground for years, or that your boss would likely give you a raise for being so efficient . . . those, whether they be true or not, are personal benefits. You'd probably think pretty positively about giving my service a try.

However, if my price is higher than the competition (the quality is much better), I might say 'Your office will be SO clean, that you will NEVER hear a complaint from an employee. In fact, if you ever do, I'll personally address that problem the very next day and make sure your staff member is truly satisfied and is aware of the extra effort their boss goes to in order to ensure their comfort. We'll make you look like a star!'

So, next time you're sitting at your desk pondering your next presentation and how to make that sale, think about your audience. If you've properly done your homework, you already know their concerns. The first step then, is to think about those concerns and how your product will satisfy them. Once you've done that, it's time to go to the next critical step – the benefit.

Simply craft your response to the concern so that it targets personal benefits . . . specific gains they'll realize . . . gains that will affect them emotionally . . . and you'll be way further ahead in persuading them to grant you your wish.

And once you've done THAT . . . reward yourself with a slice of double chocolate cake that is so moist, it will absolutely melt in your mouth and curl your toes like they've never been curled before!


Copyright (c) 2007 Peter Temple

Peter Temple is a professional speaker, coach, instructional video designer, producer, director and writer for and corporate television. He specializes in helping executives fine-tune their presentation skills and use new technologies effectively in their talks. You'll find practical tips and guidelines to more effective presentations through his online, video-based course. http://www.presenter-pro.com

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Exclusive Interview: Tom Bergeron, host of Dancing with the Stars Exclusive Interview: Tom Bergeron, host of Dancing with the Stars by Groshan Fabiola

One of the most popular hosting icons on television nowadays, Tom Bergeron shared his successful journey as a host of Dancing with the Stars in an exclusive interview with BuddyTV.

While Bergeron’s successful career path appears to be well planned, he explained that what launched his career, as a TV host was purely accidental.

Initially, Bergeron started working on a night radio show in New Hampshire, making phone calls to do comedy stories. Fortunately, his entertaining program captured the hearts of people working in a Boston NBC network affiliate. Eventually, he was invited to host a television morning show, which also led to Good Morning America and then Hollywood Squares.

Over the years, the 52-year old TV personality had worked in different types of programs such as game shows, talk shows and reality shows. Surprisingly, what he considered most difficult was doing taped shows just like America’s Funniest Videos, which was fun to do but dealt with a lot of back referencing. Dancing with the Stars, compared to America’s Funniest Videos, was something he considered to be spontaneous with a clear purpose at the end of the program, which apparently was easier to do.

And since he is no novice at the hosting field, he had also become an expert in juggling schedules and hosting gigs, which he greatly appreciates than not doing anything at all.

As for his work on Dancing with the Stars, he was invited on the basis of his previous series of work for the network like Miss America and Daytime Emmys. At first, he had no idea what Dancing with the Stars was all about, but after watching a DVD, he loved it and immediately became ecstatic about the hosting gig.

There’s no doubt that Bergeron contributed much to the success of Dancing with the Stars. Admittedly, he said that there’s not just one factor that can be accounted for the program’s sensation but in his opinion, the drama and watching celebrities out of their comfort zone was what made the show very entertaining.

For more resources about Dancing with the Stars and especially about Exclusive Interview: Tom Bergeron, host of Dancing with the Stars please review this website http://www.buddytv.com

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The relationship between women affected with lupus and pregnancy The relationship between women affected with lupus and pregnancy by Groshan Fabiola

It is known that lupus affects a lot of young women, and for a long time, it was thought that if these women remain pregnant, they must have therapeutic abortions. Nowadays, it is known that the conclusion was wrong. Studies showed that 50% of all lupus pregnancies are completely normal, 25% deliver normal babies prematurely, and there is a percentage of 25 which represents fetal loss due to spontaneous abortion or death of the baby.

However, lupus pregnancies are not easy, and they may be considered 'high-risk'. Pregnant lupus patients should be supervised by obstetricians who are familiar with high risk pregnancies and there should be a collaboration with woman's primary physician.It is important that the delivery to be planned to a hospital that has a unit specialized in the care of premature newborns.

Despite the older texts that said lupus flares are common in pregnancy, studies discovered that is not true, and eventually can happen very rare.In stead, about 6-15 % of lupus patients will experience an improvement in lupus symptoms during pregnancy. It is known that flares can appear during the first or second trimester, or during the two months immediately after delivery.Arthritis, rashes and fatigue are symptoms that these flares show. It was shown that 33% of the lupus patients will have a decrease in platelet count during pregnancy, and about 20% will have an increase in or new occurrence of protein in the urine.It is known that lupus nephritis before conception increases the chance of experiencing a lupus flare during pregnancy.

During pregnancy fluid may accumulate in the joints, especially in the knees, and that will cause swelling. This may suggest an increase in inflammation due to lupus, but it also can be a normal thing during pregnancy. Many patients can experience new hair growth during pregnancy, and after delivery dramatic hair loss appears. This can be a symptom of lupus, but it can also happen to occur during a normal pregnancy.An important thing that must be done is to distinguish the symptoms of a lupus flare from the normal body changes that occur during pregnancy.

A lot of women wonder when is the best time to get pregnant. It is important that a woman who wants to become pregnant to be in good health, in this way her baby will have less problems, and there will be less concerns. It is important to follow some rules, for example to stop drinking or smoking, to eat well, to take medications as prescribed and to visit your doctor regularly.

Frequent visits to the doctor are important, because in high risk pregnancies can appear a lot of situations, and treating them is easier if they are found early.In 20% of lupus patients can appear the toxemia of pregnancy. This consists in a sudden increase in blood pressure, protein in the urine, or both during pregnancy.It appears more often in women with kidney disease, in black women, in women with twins, in older women, in women with high blood pressure, and in women who smoke.Toxemia is a serious condition, and must be treated at once. In this case there should be no danger for the woman, but there is a high risk that the baby will die if it is not rapidly delivered. If toxemia is not treated, the woman and the baby are in danger.It is also important as pregnancy progresses that the doctor to check the baby's growth with sonograms, and the heart beat, because if there are found abnormalities, means that there is a problem that must be treated.

During pregnancy, it is important to take only the necessary medications. It is known that most of the medications taken by lupus patients are safe to use during pregnancy.Some medications do not get through the placenta and are safe for the baby, and we can mention here prednisone, prednisolone and probably methylprednisolone.Other medications like dexamethasone and betamethasone reach the baby and they are used only if it is necessary to treat the baby too.It is also known that aspirin is safe, azathioprine and hydroxychloroquine seem to be harmless for the babies, but this is not quite sure, but Cyclophosphamide is surely harmful if taken in the first three months of pregnancy.

There are opinions that pregnant women with lupus should take small doses of prednisone to prevent early abortion, and steroids should be given after the baby is born to prevent post partum flare, but there aren't proofs that these are necessary.

It was shown that 33% of lupus patients have antibodies that interfere with the function of the placenta. This antibodies are known as the antiphospholipid antibodies, the lupus anticoagulant, or anti-cardiolipin antibodies. These antibodies may cause blood clots in the placenta, and that does not allow the placenta to grow and function normally. In this way, the baby grows slowly, because the placenta is the passage way for nourishment from the mother to the baby. Prednisone, heparin, aspirin and plasmapheresis have been suggested as possible therapies, but the treatment is still being tested.

Studies revealed that about 50% of lupus pregnancies end premature, because of the complications that can appear. Premature babies may become anemic, may have difficulty breathing and may develop jaundice. In modern neonatal units, these problems can be easily treated, and even babies which had very little weight survived.

Anti-Ro or anti-SSA is an antibody that can be found in about 33% of lupus patients. It was discovered that about 10% of women with anti-Ro antibodies will have a baby with a syndrome known as neonatal lupus. A transient rash, transient blood count abnormalities, and a special type of heart beat abnormality is specific to neonatal lupus. The heart beat abnormality is rare, and treatable, and for babies with neonatal lupus who do not have the heart problem, there is no trace of the disease by 3-6 months of age, and it does not recur. It is known that neonatal lupus is the only type of congenital abnormality found in children of mothers with lupus. There is a 25% probability that if a mother had a child with neonatal lupus, she will have another one with the same problem.

There are situation when Caesarian section is needed. This must be done when the baby shows signs of stress, it is very premature, the mother of the baby has low platelets, or is very ill. This may be the safest and fastest method in these cases, and it is good to know that the decision about type of delivery is not made in advance, because it will be determined by the specific circumstances at the time of delivery.

It is known that breast feeding is possible for lupus patients, but if the baby is born very prematurely, he is not strong enough to suckle, and so, cannot draw the milk. But, if the mother wishes so, the milk can be pumped from the breast to feed the premature baby. If you take medications, it is important to ask your doctor if you are allowed to breast feed.

It is important to remember that as a lupus patient, you will have future periods of illness, and it is important to have plans in advance for alternate child care if it is necessary.

For more resources about systemic lupus please review this http://www.lupus-guide.com/symptoms-of-lupus.htm or even http://www.lupus-guide.com/lupus-treatment.htm

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