What are the most effective ways to communicate software benefits to prospects?

It’s important to understand customer’s background, pain points and current situation before you go to give a presentation. Always customize the deck and come out with a solution stating how to solve customer’s pain points instead of using a standard version.

Be specific. Customers no longer have the time to figure things out and translate your conceptual ideas into real action on their end. Customers need practical applications of your defined POV. Improvements to a use case they have should be practical and obvious. The less dots you force them to connect the clearer your message will resonate.

Keep in mind: your stories shouldn't be credible. Your stories should be real! If you focus your story on a real use case, where your software was really able to generate expected outcomes, the perception of the user immediately changes for the better. Take this example: is it more effective to say that Linkedin is used for recruiting by x thousands HR reps worldwide? Or that I have used it at my company and it allowed me to receive a couple hundreds great candidate cvs in just one day?

Stop talking and start listening to your customers. If you understand how they work and what they do, you can understand their benefits

Stories are much more memorable and resonate on an emotional level as well. Freytag's pyramid is the most common story arc and most Hollywood movies leverage this pattern. Throughout the sales process there are plenty of situations where you can use this framework (ie. a similar customer success story, presenting your solution on a proposal call, handling an objection, etc)

In my experience the biggest part is about asking the customer for his real needs and hopes to get - then going exactly from here, showing what you have exactly here, asking again, respond to the customer and only go into details where requested. And only selling this for a decent price. Being frank.

Only demo the features the prospect needs. Software can do amazing things, but if the prospect only needs several features to solve their pain - then stick to them. Doing more can make the solution look complicated and to hard to roll out.

💁 Core competency is what businesses want to focus on these days. Our proposed technology or solution will need to translate to tangible and intangible benefits that can be explained or illustrated in the most logical way. 📊 For example, what would be the improvement in production in percentages, or cost savings through streamlined processes. Such metrics are best understood by the business or operational personnel from the client's team.

Nobody buys features - they buy solutions! Aligning to outcomes vs selling the features of a product goes a long way. Outcomes are what makes the product/service real for the customer. It presents a tangible benefit as to ‘why’ it’s important & a value add. This is the framework people think about when they learn something new - “how does this affect me?”

Before that I would recommend a thorough Discovery, Review, and Alignment on what those outcomes are, and what particular value-add is top of the customers mind? Once you’ve narrowed the focus and centered the solution around the customers needs you can then map features/functions to outcomes. Then, and only then can you be ready to craft a presentation. Armed with this information you will be well positioned for progressing a prospect forward.

I think to do this, it’s better to “show” them the benefits with a well-planned demo. Then you can explain in simple terms while allowing them to “see” the benefits.

It is so easy to use the wrong “terminology” with prospects. Each business prospect has their own internal language they use to define the process and metrics. If you don’t have proper discovery to learn their terminology,your success rate will likely be hampered.

Demystify, as sometimes myths spread faster than truth and in my professional experience this often translates in lack of transparency. Coming from a security background I can tell that Trust, is the second most important thing after Quality, in software. Centuries of experience taught us that simple, and explainable, is relatable. Here's why a trusted partner easily communicates benefits and gains its software brings, because they are present, in its design and architecture. Transferring to, and being able to explain, a solution true value, to your customer, requires the most basic requirements of all: confidence, or if you'd allow the analogy, building trust. Explainability is at the core of AI revolution, can we forget it with software?

Clarity in communication ensures that the audience can easily identify and comprehend the advantages the software offers. It allows for a focused, straightforward presentation of the benefits, enabling users to quickly grasp the value proposition and make informed decisions about adopting or utilizing the software.

No one cares about your carefully manicured pitch, they care about how your solution is 1. easy to implement and 2. easier to use. Listen to the pain points and the stories your prospects are telling you, and speak on how your product solves those problems.

Direct interaction with customers is vital. My team regularly target 3 customer conversations a week. Software companies grow through humans. Unless your churn is cheaper than your acquisition costs, you will receive as much value as you give by showing up for your audience.

Tailor Communication Channels: Adapt your communication channels to align with your prospect's preferences. This could include detailed technical documentation for engineering teams and high-level executive summaries for leadership. Leverage multimedia formats such as videos and webinars for dynamic presentations.

Talking end results that improve their processes and show them data they struggle to produce are two most important factors. As soon as customers see related data and processes you get all their intentions and attention.

In my experience interaction enables real-time feedback and provides an opportunity to demonstrate the software’s functionalities, possibly through demos or trials. This hands-on experience often leads to a better understanding of the software’s benefits, allowing prospects to envision its application in their own context, ultimately increasing the likelihood of adoption or purchase.

Consistent follow-ups demonstrate your commitment to their success and allow for further clarification or elaboration on the software’s benefits. This ongoing communication provides an opportunity to address any lingering concerns or questions that prospects may have, reinforcing the value proposition and building trust in the software solution.

I've always enjoyed the RAIN selling method for this sort of pursuasive selling. Think of yourself as the trusted advisor. Start by: 1. **Rapport**: Understand the prospect's environment, show genuine interest, and establish yourself as a knowledgeable consultant. 2. **Aspirations and Afflictions**: Identify their goals and challenges. Ask open-ended questions and link their needs to your software's features. 3. **Impact**: Discuss how your solution can solve their issues and achieve their goals, using data and case studies for credibility. 4. **New Reality**: Paint a vivid picture of their future with your solution, emphasizing long-term benefits and support, and a smooth transition process.

You can also emphasize the customization capability of your software that addresses specific pain points of the prospects that were brought up during the initial discussion and how it enables them to streamline their business processes with upstream and downstream systems.

Highlight Integration Capabilities: Emphasize your software's compatibility and integration capabilities with existing tools and systems. This addresses concerns about disruption during the implementation phase. Showcase how your software seamlessly fits into the prospect's current technology stack.

I have found customers and prospects engage eagerly when we - the vendor - can help them calculate their projected ROI or help them build or fortify a business case for the investment in our solution. Our teams have been quite successful when we have provided prospects "ROI calculators" to utilize with our input/guidance/collaboration.

Make it specific to the customer’s problem! Don’t give your standard sales pitch. Instead start from really and deeply understanding the customer’s need and the problem to be solved. Then try to solve their needs and goals. Explain how your solution will help them along the journey. Don’t try to sell your product (even though you love it). Help the customer solve their problem and realize that your product is just a tool to help them along the way.

ROI Analysis: Provide a comprehensive Return on Investment (ROI) analysis. Clearly outline the financial benefits and efficiency gains that your software can deliver over time. Use quantifiable metrics to demonstrate how the software pays for itself.

Always use your customer's language and perspective when explaining the benefits of a software. Put yourself into customer's shoes and think how it helps in your role and achieve organisation goals. No one wants how great your software is or how much hard work you may have put into it while developing. Customers are only interested in benefits (not features) and how it will either add to revenue or reduce the cost of their business. Even better if you can map the features with enhanced numbers for your customer.