Expanding Beyond Sales Consultants to Sell Online

Epicure Selections
I was recently invited to an Epicure Selections party. I couldn’t go at the last minute, but I had a chance to look at their catalogue. It’s professionally designed with high quality pictures yet nothing really stood out to me. I saw some interesting spice blends but figured I could just buy them at a grocery store. My mom was able to go to the party and ended up buying several items. My mom and I have similar tastes and needs, so what convinced her to buy these products?

Brand Representatives

She was pitched these products by an enthusiastic brand representative who used these products herself. She got to taste some of the selections and more importantly she was sold on the benefits of using these products. I only read about the features and not about the benefits of using these products.

Benefits vs. Features
This reminded me of an informative article, The Oft-Confused Features And Benefits, I just read by copywriter Micheal Fortin about the difference between features and benefits when selling products. According to the Product Analysis Worksheet that Fortin uses, benefits have four principal levels. I will use the worksheet to expand upon the catalogue listing of one of the products. One of the products my mom bought was the Summer Berry Fruit Dip Mix which is listed in the catalogue with the following description,

“Contains sun-dried strawberries and raspberries with a hint of vanilla. This delicate pink dip pairs beautifully with seasonal berries. Delicious sprinkled in smoothies or as a topping on yoghurt, granola and fruit-flavoured ice cream.”

This tells me what the product is but not how it will better my life. When the four levels of benefits are applied to the product it makes me want to buy it too.

1. Features- What products have.

• Contains natural fruit

2. Advantages—What features do.

• Allows you to make a fruit dip or enhance your smoothies or yoghurt

3. Motives—What motives do features satisfy?

• People want to live healthier lifestyles and this product will enhance the taste of healthy snacks and help them increase their daily intake of fruits.

4. Benefits—What those features mean.

• Using this product will allow you to make delicious smoothies that will boost your daily intake of fruit to the level recommended by experts. Making smoothies at home allows you to avoid buying high priced drinks in stores with questionable ingredients. Using this all natural product allows you lead a healthy lifestyle while saving money.

These benefits were conveyed by the party host and convinced my mom to buy the product. I got none of these selling features by reading the catalogue, even though it was well laid out with mouth-watering pictures. Another example of a benefit I did not understand from reading their catalogue is the Marinara Sauce Mix. As a busy mom, I see no reason to spend any extra time in the kitchen making my own pasta sauce when it comes conveniently packaged in a can. But my mom bought it because she was informed that store bought brands contain a lot of sugar and preservatives. Her desire to eat well and reduce her sugar intake convinced her to buy this product. After she was sold on these products she told me about her purchases and made me more interested in the products.

Expanding beyond Sales Consultants to Sell Online

Direct sales companies like Tupperware and Epicure Selections do well because they use real people to pitch their products. Sales consultants use the products themselves and see the benefits of the products and relay them to other customers. They understand their target market and what motivates them. Sales consultants generally recieve a comission on the merchandise they sell which adds another layer of cost to the company. Another problem with direct sales is that not everyone has time to attend parties or wants to attend them. If Epicure wants to increase their online sales without relying on parties and sales consultants they could do a number of things.

Ways to Increase Sales Online

1. Better copywriting

• They need to list more benefits that result from using their products. They need to understand their target market and what motivates them. They should clearly tell customers how using their products will save them money and/or time or allow them to live a healthier lifestyle.

2. Online Product Demonstrations

• Epicure consultants could videotape their pitches to customers or show how they use the products at home. They could prepare quick cooking shows to show people how to use their products in recipes.

3. Review Bloggers

• There are bloggers who review products and promote them to their followers. These bloggers have built up their personal brands and have followers who trust what they say. Review bloggers are able to see the product from the eyes of a consumer and share how the product helps or impacts them.

Direct sales marketing works but takes a lot of time and effort. Companies should optimise their websites to increase sales and reach new customers in a more cost effective manner. Sales consultants cannot be entirely replaced though. They bring attention to the brand and reach many customers. The combination of sales consultants and well written benefit driven sales copy on catalogues and websites will allow companies to effectively sell products online and increase their bottom line