In this episode, I explain why the benefits versus features approach no longer works in education businesses.
Parents, students, and schools are not just buying outcomes. They are buying trust, connection, and how it feels to work with you.
I share how to move beyond transactional marketing and start creating desire before you sell. We look at how to create your customer psychologically, lead with empathy, and use emotive messaging that resonates.
We cover education marketing, tutor branding, client psychology, selling with empathy, and creating meaningful connection in your messaging.
Enjoy :-)
Sumantha
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👋🏽 Hello! I'm Sumantha McMahon, and I've supported over 100 tutors and education business owners.
As a teacher 'dropout' turned professional tutor, combined with my 20+ years as a business owner, I'm in it with you! Yes, I'm qualified too :-)
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You may have heard the advice that you should talk about benefits instead of features when you are selling something. It is a well-known copywriting principle. One example comes from Robert Bly. If you were selling a pencil, you would not talk about its hexagonal shape. That is a feature. You would talk about the benefit, like how it does not roll off the table.
Sumantha:
This advice makes sense and it worked for many years. But here is what I am going to say. Scrap it. In this episode, I explain why the benefits versus features conversation no longer cuts it, especially for education businesses, and what we should focus on instead.
Sumantha:
If we have not met before, I am Sumantha McMahon. I am a former teacher, a professional tutor, and a qualified business trainer. I support tutors and education entrepreneurs to build businesses that are lucrative, impactful, and sustainable.
Sumantha:
To build more lucrative businesses, we need to be more sophisticated in how we sell, how we connect, and how we create desire. The traditional benefits versus features approach is transactional. It assumes that if you explain the benefit clearly enough, people will buy.
Sumantha:
That worked in traditional markets, but consumer behaviour has shifted. People are not just buying what you do. They are buying who you are, why you do it, and how it feels to work with you.
Sumantha:
This matters in education because your clients are not always the users of your service. They may be parents, schools, students, guardians, or agencies. Each has their own emotional and practical context.
Sumantha:
So I share three ideas. First, create your customer. Second, get more emotive in how you talk about value. Third, create desire before you ever try to sell.
Sumantha:
The biggest limitation of the benefits versus features model is that it assumes a ready-made customer already knows what they want. A benefit only matters if someone already wants it. If they are unsure, there is a problem that needs solving first.
Sumantha:
Instead of starting with benefits, start with the customer you want to create psychologically. Ask who will see themselves in your solution. What are they thinking about before they consider working with you.
Sumantha:
For example, if you want to attract parents of anxious learners, do not start with better grades. Start with empathy. Acknowledge how exhausting it is when a child hates learning. That is how you create emotional connection.
Sumantha:
This is where your language becomes a gatekeeper. You connect, empathise, and show understanding before you offer anything. Then benefits come to life rather than feeling transactional.
Sumantha:
Education is emotive. We impact children and families. You cannot skip empathy and jump straight into convenience. Emotion drives decision making. Even everyday purchases are driven by how we imagine life will feel.
Sumantha:
Creating desire means helping people feel the outcome, not just understand it. When someone imagines themselves in that future, it pulls them towards you. That is why features and benefits alone feel outdated.
Sumantha:
Features and benefits still matter, but only in context. In education, trust and emotion matter deeply. Create desire first, invite people into a possibility, and then sell. Thank you for listening, and I will speak to you again on Wednesday.
