Why "I Need a New Feature" Is Often an Excuse, Not a Solution

In the sales world, how often have you heard this refrain: "I could close this deal if we just had [insert new feature here]." It’s a classic line that seems to echo through sales floors and team meetings. But here’s the truth: needing a new feature to sell effectively is often just an excuse. Sales isn’t just about the tools we have—it’s about how well we use what’s already available. Let’s explore why this mindset is more limiting than empowering and how truly successful salespeople focus on solving problems rather than chasing product changes.

The "Feature Fix" Trap

Relying on a new feature as a crutch is common in sales, but this mindset often signals a deeper issue. In essence, it can mean that a salesperson is looking for a way to avoid the hard work of understanding the prospect’s real needs. When we ask for new features, we’re saying that our existing product isn’t good enough—when in reality, it often is. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, “B2B selling is about finding the pain or the gain” that drives decision-making. In other words, effective selling uncovers the root issues a prospect faces and finds creative ways to address those within the current product’s capabilities.

Case in Point: The Search for "Innovation"

Let’s take an example from my time consulting with a growing tech company. The sales team was struggling to close a few high-profile deals and insisted that a new analytics feature was the key to success. They argued that without it, they simply couldn’t compete. But after a few deep-dive sessions with their prospects, it became clear that what these prospects actually wanted was improved reporting on existing data, not more analytics. The sales team was so focused on the shiny new feature that they overlooked how the current offering could be reframed to meet customer needs.

In this case, the team didn’t need a new feature—they needed a new way to talk about the feature they already had. This is a perfect example of what I call the “innovation trap,” where we assume that “new” automatically means “better.” But as I like to remind teams, new doesn’t guarantee improved outcomes. The best salespeople don’t just push for product enhancements; they find a way to show the value of what’s already in front of them.

Calling Out the Underlying Issue

So why do sales teams fall into this feature-focused mindset? Often, it's a form of avoidance. It’s easier to ask for something you don’t have than to acknowledge the real challenge: learning to sell what you do have. At the root, this habit reflects a comfort zone problem. We’re more comfortable putting our faith in product development than in our own sales strategies and skills. It’s also a way to shift responsibility—if only we had this feature, then we’d be successful.

The reality, however, is that great salesmanship requires resilience and creativity. To borrow a point from my post on “B2B Selling: Stop Showing Up and Throwing Up,” success in sales is more about “listening” and tailoring solutions than about relying on a perfect product. Salespeople need to stop “showing up and throwing up”—dumping product features on prospects—and start digging deeper into the core issues that affect their clients’ operations.

Early Lessons from Xerox PSS II: Overcoming Objections with Skill and Confidence

When I was an early sales professional, I had the opportunity to learn from one of the best programs out there at the time: Xerox Professional Selling Skills II. One of the most critical lessons it taught me was that your product will never have everything a prospect wants. It’s a humbling truth, but a powerful one because it shifts the focus from product perfection to sales finesse. Your job, as Xerox taught me, is to minimize objections related to feature gaps, not dwell on them. It’s about skillfully steering the conversation away from “what’s missing” and toward “what’s valuable right now.”

At Xerox, we learned to restate the features and benefits we did have, aligning them with the prospect’s needs and even going a step further: making those features compelling enough that the prospect recognized their importance. To succeed, I had to become a master of what I call “feature reframing.” I would take what was available in the product and emphasize how it solved key problems for the client, creating a sense of value around what was already at hand.

For example, suppose a prospect mentioned that our product lacked a particular analytical feature, rather than glossing over it. In that case, I’d listen and then guide the conversation back to a comparable capability we did offer. I'd say something like, “I understand that deeper analytics are essential to your team. What we do have is a powerful set of reporting tools that can be customized to track and highlight the key metrics your team needs day-to-day.” And then I'd go into detail, showing the data outputs and asking how closely they aligned with the core insights the client needed. More often than not, this reframing made the feature gap less relevant, as I’d created a path that solved the problem.

The magic was in getting the client to acknowledge the value of these existing features. Once they recognized that the current toolset could still address their primary needs, objections would often fade. One of the key techniques we practiced was asking the prospect to evaluate the relevance of what was already there, rather than chasing features that might or might not matter in the long run.

Xerox’s approach was about turning the conversation into a two-way dialogue, not a list of demands and responses. This wasn’t about saying “no” directly; it was about saying, “Yes, and here’s what we can do right now.” By focusing on present capabilities and benefits, I built a rapport that ultimately earned trust. And trust in sales, as I quickly learned, is worth a hundred features.

By refocusing the prospect’s attention on what we could deliver today, we built partnerships grounded in realistic solutions—not in wishlist features. That was the Xerox way, and it’s something that’s stayed with me through every sales experience since.

The Power of Positioning

When you’re stuck in the “need-a-feature” mentality, you’re overlooking one of the most critical aspects of selling: positioning. One of the most effective strategies in B2B sales is to frame existing features in a way that resonates with the prospect’s unique pain points. For example, let’s say your current product doesn’t have the customized analytics dashboard your customer wants. Instead of seeing this as a flaw, reposition it as an opportunity: explain how your platform allows flexible data export that can be customized by the user, giving them control.

One effective method I advocate for is FAB: Features, Advantages, and Benefits. Rather than focusing on what the product doesn’t do, lead with what it does—how it stands out, and most importantly, how it benefits the end user. By positioning existing features as solutions, you don’t just avoid delays—you increase customer confidence that they’re buying a reliable, mature product.

Real-World Example: Selling Without the Bells and Whistles

In another example, I worked with a team that was selling software to a government entity. The client wanted a specific compliance feature that was on the product roadmap but wouldn’t be ready for another six months. The sales team’s instinct was to ask for an expedited feature rollout. But we took a different approach. Instead, we repositioned the solution by demonstrating how current reporting features could meet the agency’s immediate needs, and we proposed a post-sale support package to ensure compliance updates as they rolled out.

By focusing on present value and tailored service over hypothetical future features, we were able to close the deal ahead of schedule. This approach showcased the company’s adaptability and customer-centricity, while avoiding the pitfall of feature dependency.

Breaking the Cycle: Embrace "The Power of No"

The best thing a salesperson can do to escape the new-feature trap is to say “no” to the excuse mindset and “yes” to owning the sales process. The true “power of no” lies in recognizing when to stop relying on feature requests as an out. Start asking yourself and your team: how can we address this client’s need right now with the tools we have? This approach forces sales teams to learn the product inside-out, understand it deeply, and get creative with positioning.

When you eliminate the habit of asking for constant feature changes, you shift focus to what really matters: delivering value today, not tomorrow. And when you’re skilled at positioning, prospects can see the product as a living, dynamic tool that will evolve to meet their needs over time—not a wish list they need to constantly add to.

A Challenge for Sales Leaders

For sales leaders, here’s the challenge: start tracking the instances when your team cites feature needs as blockers. For every request, ask, “Have we truly exhausted all the ways we can frame our existing features to meet this need?” Encourage your team to see each new feature request as a potential growth moment. It’s an opportunity to strengthen their selling skills, deepen product knowledge, and refine value positioning. True leaders inspire their team to focus on long-term sales acumen over short-term feature dependencies.

In the end, the goal of a great sales team isn’t to be at the mercy of product development timelines—it’s to show up, listen well, and deliver real value with what they already have at their disposal.