IBS Talking Points

The mention of IBS may send a teenager into fits of sniggers, but in the context of sales, I discovered the other day it can stand for Initial Benefit Statement.

Hanging around in a conference room for a meeting to start, I couldn’t help but notice a few sheets left lying about by the previous occupants.  They’d been involved in a sales course with one topic on how to ensure you can introduce worthy “Talking Points” into any conversation.  Such Talking Points should be structured around an Initial Benefit Statement.

They were tasked with putting three columns on a sheet of paper under the headings Product, Features, Benefits.  So simply take a product and write down something interesting to say about it, both feature- & benefit-wise.

Not a bad approach I thought, as it’s simple and if you get it right, the one you trot out should encourage hours of endless conversational fun, leading the prospect to let on just how much your wonder-offering will change their lives.