As a subject matter expert, you are largely responsible for doing your own sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did you know, there are a couple of questions that can massively boost your sales success?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ll tell you in a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But first, let’s consider the difference between a desired outcome<\/strong>, a challenge<\/strong>, and a solution<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me clarify with a personal example. After all, I’m also in the business of selling services – just like you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a marketing & business development adviser, I help professional service firms achieve sustainable growth (the desired outcome<\/strong>) by developing and executing go-to-market strategies (one of my solutions<\/strong>) that enable them to successfully bring their services to market (their challenge<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I’m in a sales meeting with a prospect, it’s very easy for me to completely lose myself in the nitty gritty of my solution. And I do… As I’m super excited about the service I’ve developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My prospective client on the other hand, couldn’t care less…<\/p>\n\n\n\n They’re not thinking about my service. They’re chasing a desired outcome<\/strong>. Unfortunately for them, a challenge<\/strong> got in the way. And now, they’re forced to find a solution<\/strong> that will help them overcome this challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how do I get the prospect to pick my solution?<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, I need to better understand their current situation. So, I should start by asking something like: “I’m curious, how do you currently bring your services to market<\/em>?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of bringing up the desired outcome<\/strong> (too broad) or the solution<\/strong> (too narrow), I start with the challenge<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once my prospect and I are discussing their challenge, I can ask about a current solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If they have one, I can ask what they like and don’t like about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The likes I can minimize – “Sure, but that’s pretty standard these day.” The dislikes I can amplify – “Wow! You’re losing quite a bit of time and money there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally there’s the one question to wrap it all up: “What if you could design the solution yourself? What would it look like?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the prospective client talks about the way they<\/em> would tackle the challenge in front of them, you can sell your services into their needs. Making your services feel like the best fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hope this helps!<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Spark was published as Nudge #036<\/strong> on November 12, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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