Elmer Wheeler coined the term in the 1930’s. Basically, he told customers the benefits they will get from a product or feature rather than what it did. He painted a picture convincing the customers how they would feel after using the product as well as what impact it would have on them. “It’s the sizzle that sells the steak and not the cow.”

Simple steps to sell the sizzle:

1) Demonstrate first and then let the customer demonstrate for themselves. Features are always followed by benefits! First and foremost, knowing the “hot-buttons” that the customer is interested in is essential! Focus on them.

2) Use unique physical command demonstrations. “Touch this! Slam the door! Feel the smoothness!……Get in the trunk” (yes, we did this). We had the customer roll a ball-bearing down the front hood/fender seams to show how evenly aligned they were.

3) Paint a picture. “Can you imagine this car in your driveway, or driving it on vacation?”

4) Treat the customer as a quest in your home with genuine hospitality.

It’s utilizing the sizzle that sets great salespeople above others. The customer can get the cow in a lot of places, but they need to feel the desire and become excited to complete the transaction and return in the future.