Identifying opportunity starts with needs analysis. Not business operates flawlessly and at any given time buyers may be in need of something you can provide. The need or ‘pain’ may be readily visible, but usually is not.
So, how do you know if there’s pain? You ask.
Buyers will tell you “what hurts” if you ask good questions, and listen more than you talk. If you build rapport and have relationships based on trust, surfacing pain is straightforward.
Ask easily answered questions...
“I saw XYZ in the news, what does that mean for your department?”
“Last time I saw you you were investing in XYZ technology - how has that gone?”
“It seems like you guys are doing really well overall, is there an area of your responsibilities that has issues you need to address?
Think of every conversation with a prospective buyer as a celebrity interview (you are the interviewer, they are the celebrity). You should enjoy the process of learning about them and their business. While they may not be an actual celebrity, they are a celebrity to you.
The Veterinarian’s Conundrum
I once asked my dog’s veterinarian if having to understand the biology for many different species of animals was the biggest challenge of vet vs. being a human doctor. She said, "No, the biggest challenge is actually that pets can’t tell you what hurts." She explained that you do medical diagnosis with all animals through symptom analysis, and that you cannot prescribe the correct remedy without a proper diagnosis. This process can be complicated.
In the solutions business we do the same thing. We need to identify the pain and deconstruct it so that we can begin to think through how we can help buyers solve problems. Often the most difficult part of this analysis is assessing whether the pain that exists can be properly solved with a solution we can provide. You must balance promoting the things you are great at that can help them, with ensuring that your team understands your boundaries and places where you may not be the right fit (see Marketplace Mentality and Opportunity Qualification).
Summary
Buyers usually do not understand how to frame their problems.
Identifying a pain point and aligning it with a product or service we provide is sometimes difficult.
We need to ask great questions and be trained to match symptoms and solutions.