If you check out any sales page, chances are you'll see a huge list of powerful benefits, all presented in a tantalizing set of bullet points.
You know what I'm talking about.
The ones with the fancy arrows or green check marks or whatever other fancy graphic the designer has come up with.
The question is, do they work? Most people would say they have to work.
Otherwise, why would so many people be using them if they didn't? After all, the best way to sell a product is to list as many benefits as possible to really jack up the value, right? Well, yes, and no.
Yes, you want to increase the value of your product as much as possible in the eyes of your customer.
But there are many, many ways to do this.
Sure, listing them out in a table is one way.
But it doesn't do very much for your credibility.
What if your customers don't believe you? For a lot of us, simply reading a list of things that may or may not be true won't be enough to convince us.
There's another thing to consider.
Inside the not so famous class of NLP meta-programs is a distinction between detail oriented people, and big picture people.
Detail oriented people need to have a list of specific things they're going to get before they make a decision.
For these folks, a concise bullet list supported by testimonials is the perfect way to convince them.
However, for the other group, the big picture people, these lists won't do squat.
They need to have a big picture "feeling" before they make a decision.
Unfortunately, if you're selling to these people, then creating that "feeling" is a lot more difficult than just coming up with a big list of things and jamming them down the customers' throats.
You've got to describe the overall collection of benefits.
You can do this through various stories, explaining how other people have gotten a lot from your products, or simply telling them a story of how you created the product and started to provide it to others.
How do you know the difference? Two ways.
One is to do tons of research.
Read forums, pore over all the social media you can find, and try to make a determination which way is best.
Or you can do it the easy way.
Just come up with two different sales pages.
One that targets those who need specific information, and one which targets those who are more after the big picture.
Just do some split testing, and you'll have your answer.
You know what I'm talking about.
The ones with the fancy arrows or green check marks or whatever other fancy graphic the designer has come up with.
The question is, do they work? Most people would say they have to work.
Otherwise, why would so many people be using them if they didn't? After all, the best way to sell a product is to list as many benefits as possible to really jack up the value, right? Well, yes, and no.
Yes, you want to increase the value of your product as much as possible in the eyes of your customer.
But there are many, many ways to do this.
Sure, listing them out in a table is one way.
But it doesn't do very much for your credibility.
What if your customers don't believe you? For a lot of us, simply reading a list of things that may or may not be true won't be enough to convince us.
There's another thing to consider.
Inside the not so famous class of NLP meta-programs is a distinction between detail oriented people, and big picture people.
Detail oriented people need to have a list of specific things they're going to get before they make a decision.
For these folks, a concise bullet list supported by testimonials is the perfect way to convince them.
However, for the other group, the big picture people, these lists won't do squat.
They need to have a big picture "feeling" before they make a decision.
Unfortunately, if you're selling to these people, then creating that "feeling" is a lot more difficult than just coming up with a big list of things and jamming them down the customers' throats.
You've got to describe the overall collection of benefits.
You can do this through various stories, explaining how other people have gotten a lot from your products, or simply telling them a story of how you created the product and started to provide it to others.
How do you know the difference? Two ways.
One is to do tons of research.
Read forums, pore over all the social media you can find, and try to make a determination which way is best.
Or you can do it the easy way.
Just come up with two different sales pages.
One that targets those who need specific information, and one which targets those who are more after the big picture.
Just do some split testing, and you'll have your answer.