Most of us think we know why customers buy from us; right price, great chemistry and being in the right place at the right time.
It is more likely that your customers chose you in hopes of eliminating pain: pain resulting from the poor performance by past suppliers, pain from having to meet new corporate goals and maybe even pain from not receiving good response from salespeople.
You can identify pain by asking questions. Buyers may not know exactly what they want, but they definitely know what they don’t want.
Here are a few questions to help you discover and relieve pain.
- What challenges or frustrations have you had with your current supplier? Specifically, those that have a direct impact on your business.
- What annoys you about your current supplier/vendor?
- What have you done to try to rectify the issue?
- What do you wish you could change about your supplier/provider?
- What would it mean for your business if you continue to ignore the issue?
- What would a solution mean for your business – and for you?
Using questions or variations of these questions can help you focus on new opportunities for your business by relieving pain for a new customer – be like an aspirin and cure their pain.
The road is easier together,
Linda