Every product or service has features and benefits, but did you know that you should never mention a feature without explaining the benefit of that feature? Why? Because not every feature is a benefit to your target customer. For example, if your target customer lives in Florida, heated seats (the feature) of a product would not be a benefit to them.
Federal procurement regulations, as well as most state/local procurement policies, state that when drafting the scope of work or specifications for something they want to buy, they should only include requirements that are necessary to meet the agency’s need. This is to prevent wasting taxpayer money on features that are not necessary and provide no value to the agency.
A common mistake made by sellers is assuming that the agency will be impressed by the features and understand the benefits without explanation. Before meeting with an agency or writing a proposal response, think through the benefits of your features and write them out and articulate how your features would be a benefit to the agency.
Here are a few examples:
- Keep all your belongings dry with our waterproof covering.
- Store 1,000 songs in your pocket with our products 1G of storage.
- Reduce downtime in your operations with our warning system.
Asking questions of agencies and trying to understand what their pain points are will help you identify how to articulate your features so the agency sees the value. Using the strategy in your sales meetings and proposals will surely help increase your potential opportunities with government agencies.
For more information, contact the government contract specialist in your area.