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Suppose a customer wants to buy a projector. How would you introduce the product to him?
Method 1: Feature Introduction
“Hello, sir, I'd like to recommend this projector. It weighs 1.5 kg, has a silver-white shell, a bulb designed for 3,000 hours of use, a bulb power of 6,000 watts, and it's a SHARP brand.”
How is this introduction? Does it make you want to hit the speaker? Introducing a product this way basically means you won't sell anything. This is the feature introduction method—I've said all the features I wanted to say, but it's ineffective.
Method 2: Feature and Advantage Introduction
“Hello, sir, I'd like to recommend this projector. It weighs 1.5 kg, very lightweight; the silver-white shell is the most fashionable color in projectors today; the bulb is designed for 3,000 hours of use, durable, lasting 1/3 longer than ordinary bulbs; the bulb power is 6,000 watts, making the projected text very clear; SHARP brand, absolutely a famous brand.”
Isn't it a bit better than the first time? This is how most people introduce products. It seems passable, but something is missing, like cooking without salt. This time, both features and advantages are mentioned, but it's still bland.
Method 3: FAB Introduction
Now, let's look at the third method. However, there's a premise: before introducing, you need to understand the customer's needs, and all introductions should be tailored to those needs.
(Following in italics) “Hello, sir, based on what you just said, I'd like to introduce this projector to you:
It weighs 1.5 kg, very lightweight. You mentioned it will be fixed to the ceiling of the conference room. If it were too heavy, over time it might easily fall. Now you don't have to worry about that. Also, if you occasionally take it down for use, such as for the company's annual meeting, marketing events, or bidding in other cities, a young woman can easily carry it with one hand and take it away in a bag.
Look at the silver-white shell; this is the most fashionable color in projectors today. You said your ceiling is white. Once this projector is mounted, it will blend seamlessly with the wall, not disrupting the overall decoration. In fact, it might be hard to notice a projector hanging there. What if it were black? When people enter the conference room, the first thing they'd see is an incongruous black object, very glaring.
The bulb is designed for 3,000 hours of use, durable, lasting 1/3 longer than ordinary bulbs. The bulb is the most valuable part of a projector. Once it breaks, the material costs, repair costs, time lost, and the cost of delayed work are all losses. So, if you calculate carefully, our bulb really lasts as long as two ordinary ones.
The bulb power is 6,000 watts, making the projected text very clear. You said your conference room can hold 100 people. With this projector, text in font size 13 can be clearly seen by people in the last row. Imagine: if people in the last row can't see clearly, what happens? They might move forward. If they do, the meeting will be disrupted, and everyone will complain about what you bought.
SHARP brand, absolutely a famous brand. If you buy a no-name brand, once it breaks, you'll find it hard to locate a repair center; even if you find one, they might not have parts; after waiting a month for parts, they might be so expensive that you could buy a new projector. With this, you don't have to worry. There are repair centers in any city, parts are universal, and prices are reasonable. That's the value of a famous brand.” (End of italics)
How is it? Isn't it much better than the second time? This is the complete FAB introduction method. The reason it's good is that it highlights the customer's benefits, which is what the customer really wants to buy. Customers don't want features, they don't want advantages; they want benefits.
The Premise
FAB can be used when introducing products, solutions, companies, or services. Like the martial arts move “Black Tiger Steals Heart,” it seems every street performer knows FAB. It has many aliases, such as SAB, FABE, TFBR, etc., but they all boil down to the same principle.
The so-called “F” (Features) refers to describing the performance and “functions” (bold) of the product or service. For example, the car's color is red, the laptop weighs 1.5 kg, the bulb has a lighting function, etc. If describing a solution, this can be changed to S (Solutions).
The so-called “A” (Advantage) refers to describing the “advantages” brought by the product or service's functions. For example, red is fashionable, 1.5 kg is lightweight, etc.
The so-called “B” (Benefit) refers to describing the “benefits” that the “advantages” bring to the customer. For example, fashion can make you look like a successful person, which can help you in business; lightweight means you don't get tired carrying it, etc.
To use FAB well, there's a premise: you must understand the customer's true needs before using it. Otherwise, it's better not to use it, as it's easy to talk at cross purposes. What if the customer's ceiling is black? You'd be in trouble. Only with needs can you know which feature corresponds to which need, and thus turn your features into FAB.
This is the simplest application of FAB, and it was my understanding when I first learned about FAB over a decade ago. It's generally sufficient for selling ordinary products.
How Do Experts Use FAB Well?
Regarding F
When describing the features of a product (solution, service, company), be specific, not vague. For example, say “we use a polyethylene waterproof material” rather than “we use a new material.”
However, “specific” doesn't mean verbose, because most customers don't understand polyethylene, so don't go on about how polyethylene is made. Customers want to know the time, not how the watch is made. Of course, not mentioning polyethylene at all is also not good, because it serves as evidence to support the following advantage (A). Without this link, trust is often hard to build.
Example: This razor uses a new type of blade, which consists of three parts: the holder, the body, and the head. The three blades form a spiral structure that creates a contact plane fitting the face's surface when shaving.
Regarding A
For the advantage part, many people, like in the above case, like to use a bunch of adjectives, such as faster, better, more efficient, etc. For this part, we should also emphasize the following points:
A is not about the thing (product, company, service—these are things); it's about the person (customer). F is about the thing. This is the dividing line between the two.
A describes how your thing helps the customer, what problems it solves. It's essentially a description of how the customer uses your product to solve a problem. So, simple adjectives are far from enough.
Explain clearly how A satisfies the customer's task motivation. Task motivation is the logical, functional, and practical buying motive. This is hard to understand; simply put, it's what the customer buys the thing for. Buying a screwdriver is to drive screws; buying a kitchen knife is to cook. A is to explain how the screwdriver drives screws.
Example: “(The razor) This specially designed structure allows you (here we start talking about the person) to fit closely to the surface of your skin, with no gaps. When you slowly push the razor, it easily shaves the beard deeply, leaving no stubble.”
Regarding B
There are two ways to describe benefits:
One is the benefits or risks avoided after satisfying the task motivation, such as reducing costs, increasing profits, improving efficiency, increasing output, etc. Note that A describes how it is satisfied, while B describes the benefits after satisfaction. These can all be attributed to “money.”
The other is the feeling the customer gets after the need is met. This is psychological significance, not much related to money.
For example, “Using this razor can make your beard shaved more thoroughly, making your face look cleaner and younger (the benefit brought, the first type of benefit), and it won't cut your skin or cause damage (the risk avoided, the first type of benefit). Imagine what it feels like to look ten years younger (the second type of benefit).”
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