If you struggle with sales and need a little clarity and motivation.. this blog post may be for you. If you are looking for ways to connect your videos directly with the pains of your customers.. please read on.
Have you ever experienced a salesman who wasn’t really listening to you? It seemed like they had a pre-scripted agenda? They gave you a long list of features and benefits, but never took the time to get to know where you were coming from? They’d keep hammering on about how great their product was and what it could do, but never asked what you were personally struggling with.
Don’t fall into this trap in sales. This form of ego centric selling misses the mark. The problem is that everyone’s product is “the best.” We have been conditioned as buyers to filter this type of pitch because it’s normal. Traditional advertising has desensitized us.
Your product or service means nothing in the mind of the buyer until it clicks with a pain they need to solve.
I want to drop a concept here that changed the game for me and sales. My sales coach and good friend, Eric Needles from Continental Sales Training clued me into it. This single word and it’s application to the entire sales process is what made a difference for me.
Ready for it?
The word is “discovery.”
What do I mean when I say “discovery?”
In a nutshell… Instead of trying to convince people to buy your product or service, or GET them to try it- work to allow a space for your client to discover they actually need you (and only you) to solve their pain.
Help them discover their pain.
By asking the right questions you can lead your client down the road to emotional pain self discovery. Often times people can intellectually know they have a problem, but they haven’t taken the time or energy to actually feel how bad it really is. Your job as a sales person is to guide them to that place. The more pain they feel it is causing them, the more they will need your help to solve it.
We can tell someone exactly what their problem is, but until they feel it for themselves.. it will not resonate.
Questions to ask that may uncover your clients emotional pain to solve:
- Tell me about that?
- How long has this been a problem?
- What have you done about it?
- Can you give me an example?
- Have you tried other solutions?
- How did that work for you?
- How much did that cost you?
- Have you given up?
- Do you need help?
Discovery is just as important for both of you.
Part of this process is for you is to understand their pain so that you know if you can help them or not. You are also gaging how deep the pain is and where they are in the process for solving it. If you find they haven’t had the pain for very long it may not be a big deal for them at this stage. If you uncover that this problem has been a pain for quite sometime… that might be a clue. Also, if they’ve had this pain for years and have not done anything about it… then maybe they aren’t really looking for a solution?
These questions help paint a picture of the truth of their situation so you will now how to proceed. You will also get valuable video content marketing ideas based on what you find.
Help them discover they want to work with you.
Through the process of asking really good questions they should begin to start seeing you as someone who can help them. The simple act of listening opens up the door of trust.
Let them talk. Give them the stage to share their experience and frustrations with you.
After listening to their problems, the temptation might be to tell them why they need your help. Or to begin going down the list of all the ways your product is better than the competition and what makes you unique. That will probably come across as “salesy” in their mind and it could circumvent the intimate connection you were establishing before hand.
Resist the urge to pitch!
Show yourself as the expert by asking the right questions and listening to their needs.
Let them discover the value of having their problem solved- the price.
Through process of asking questions like:
- Have you tried other solutions?
- What did that cost you?
- Were you happy with the results?
- Why not?
- Tell me about that?
- Can you give me an example of why that is?
- What are you currently spending to solve this?
These questions will help you get a sense of the size and scope of the issue. From this information you can begin to craft your solution and the fair price you will offer.
As the client answers these questions hopefully it will begin registering in them how much the problem NOT being solved is costing them.
How this changes the game.
Sales is the simple exchange of value for value. Buyers and sellers are both on a quest to receive the most value. If we stick to the process of honest discovery we ensure that the outcome will be mutually beneficial.
Discovering customer pain is one of the most helpful things you can do. It’s so simple, but sometimes we miss it because of a product “features and benefits” focus and not on the customers real and tangible needs at the moment.
Deeply listening to your clients helps them to open up and be real with you. As you gather insight into their pains and craft solutions to solve them, keep in mind the information you are gleaning will make for great content subjects for your video marketing efforts.
If you can uncover their deepest pains and show how you solve them in a video… think of how relevant your video content will become in the mind of the viewer!
