The Power of Solving Problems

Solving, Not Selling

Imagine you wanted to sell a new digital camera to your teenage sister. How would you convince her to buy? You might start by thinking of the things that matter to teenagers – specifically your sister. Maybe you would say, "It is small and lightweight, so you can fit it in your purse and take it with you when you go out with your friends. It has a new sleek design, and you can customize it by ordering it in one of six different colors." You have considered things your sister might need (a camera she can take on a night out), and you have identified an opportunity that might appeal to a teenage girl (a combination of appearance, style, and functionality).

Now, what if you were selling the same product to your grandmother? She might be more concerned with reliability than appearance, and she might also be intimidated about using a digital camera if it is a technology she has not tried before. "This camera does not have a lot of bells and whistles," you could say. "It is straightforward and easy to use and makes an excellent choice for a first digital camera purchase. It is perfect for taking pictures of the grandkids. It has also been highly rated as a reliable and high-quality product." You have addressed her problem (intimidation about using a new technology), and you have helped her discover opportunities (taking photos of the grandkids).

Even though you are selling the same product to both people, you are using a very different approach. Ultimately, what you are selling is not a product but a solution based on your customer's specific needs. This is the heart of the preapproach. There are three simple steps you can follow to turn your products and services into customer-specific solutions.

Step 1: Complete a Needs and Opportunity Analysis

Great salespeople do not sell; they solve. As you research your prospect, you should be able to identify problems specific to that person or organization: Do they need to reduce costs? Do they need to increase sales? Do they need to drive traffic to a Web site or generate leads for their new service? Or maybe they need something that will set their brand apart from their competitors. In the case of individual consumers, the problem might be very different: Does she want to have the latest in fashion without couture prices? Does she want the latest technology "toys" as soon as they are available? Does she want a car that is a dependable form of transportation and friendly to the environment?

Sometimes people are forthcoming about their problems, but many times it is up to you to ask the right questions; the ones that will uncover what your prospect needs or where opportunities exist. For instance, if your prospect buys from a competitor, you might ask questions like "What were your expectations when you signed up for this service? What has your actual experience of the service been? What would you like to see happen differently?" The prospect might not fully realize what his problems are. Often, especially in B2B sales, the goal of your first sales call will simply be to identify your prospect's specific areas of need. You will not make a pitch; you will just ask questions and listen.

Asking questions often opens up opportunities you might not otherwise discover. There will be occasions when your prospect does not have an immediate problem she can identify, but if you have done your research and know something about her goals and priorities and if you ask the right questions, you have the chance to uncover useful opportunities. What can help him achieve his goals even more efficiently? What kinds of results would he like to see? What would he like to have if he only knew it was possible?

Think about the advent of the cell phone. Consumers had a problem: their lives were getting busier, and they wanted to be able to communicate on the go. They needed a phone when they were not at home or in the office. What do you do on a car trip if you get lost, or your car breaks down? How do you find someone in a crowded place? How can people contact you if you are rarely home? Cell phone providers figured out consumers' problems, and they solved them. Then along came the iPhone. Most cell phone users would not have said they needed a device that could capture videos and photographs, play MP3s, store a day planner, surf the web, run hundreds of different applications – oh, and make phone calls too – using a single slick interface. But Apple saw an opportunity, and they helped consumers to see it too: over a million iPhones sold the first weekend the product came out in stores.

Step 2: Brainstorm Solutions and Generate Ideas

Once you have identified your customer's problems, take the time – either with a team or alone – to brainstorm solutions and opportunities that address your prospect's needs. Sometimes solving your prospect's problem is a straightforward task, but often with larger sales, particularly B2B sales, coming up with a solution tailored to your customer's needs requires time and thought. No two prospects are the same, so no two solutions will be exactly the same. When Joel Ronning, CEO of e-commerce company Digital River, wants to solve customer problems and generate ideas, he sits down with the senior employees of his company for a brainstorming session. The technique has boosted sales, earned the company hundreds of thousands of dollars, and led to a small business award for "best idea." As a salesperson, your job is to solve customer problems, not push a product. In other words, you're offering solutions that include unique and different ideas, not selling products. For this reason, brainstorming – generating ideas – is a crucial part of the selling process.

When you go into a brainstorming session, several techniques will help you generate effective results.

• Know your problem or opportunity. If you have already completed your needs analysis, you are off to a good start. According to James Feldman, a Chicago-based idea-generation consultant, "Most people do not identify their problem correctly" during the brainstorming session. Once you have a clear idea of the problem or opportunity, set it out in specific terms to guide your brainstorming. Just make sure you do not define the problem so narrowly that you will limit your results. Start the session by stating the objective. What problem do you want to solve? It also helps to frame the question in positive terms. For example, rather than asking, "How will this company's new computer system change the way they do business?" you could ask, "How can this company get the most out of their new computer system?"
  
  
• Generate; do not evaluate. Brainstorming is not about creating the best, most carefully polished solutions. As Gary Kopervas, chief creative strategist at Backe Digital Brand Marketing, says, "When you are brainstorming, do not be perfect; be prolific." Get your ideas out there, on paper, without disrupting the flow. Once you have exhausted your resources, you can worry about separating the stronger ideas from the weaker ones. If you are too critical of your ideas, you will never access that part of your brain where creative ideas are generated. Kopervas has devised the Five Fs of Brainstorming to guide a more effective process. They are outlined in Figure 8.4, "Five Fs of Brainstorming."

Figure 8.4 Five Fs of Brainstorming

• Push beyond the wall. At some point during every brainstorming session, whether group brainstorming or individual, people tend to hit a wall. Ideas flow quickly, and then they seem to stop altogether. Cognitive psychologist Paul Paulus says this point in the session may seem like a wall, but in reality, it is just "a space in [the] brain." Pushing past this space often leads to the best ideas.
  
  
• Seek strategic stimuli. Sometimes you have to disrupt your normal routine to get the ideas flowing. Putting yourself in a new environment or doing something with your hands – molding clay, for instance – can often be a surprising way to unlock ideas in your subconscious that your rational mind might otherwise block.

Brainstorming, as an idea-generation tool, is a proven and powerful part of creative development. However, remember that some of the ideas you come up with in the brainstorming process will be stronger than others. A great idea has two important elements: it solves your customer's problems, and, in B2B sales, it reinforces your customer's brand.

Consider consultant Mike Rubin's solution to a problem faced by one of his customers, a Harley-Davidson dealer, who wanted to boost sales and appeal to a broader customer base. Mike's Famous Harley-Davidson Dealership was already drawing in the "hard-core" bikers, but the store's owner wanted to reach the more conservative, baby boomer demographic too. By turning the dealership into a destination, complete with a Harley museum and restaurant, Rubin hit on a solution that addressed the customer's problem and remained true to the Harley brand image.

The restaurant, designed to resemble a factory cafeteria, appealed to tough bikers and families alike. The museum – also a family-friendly draw – was laid out in a warehouse style that reflected the company's brand image of independence, toughness, and the open road. The result? In three years, bike sales increased from 800 to over 1,700 annually.

If you are working out of your home and do not have a group of people with which to brainstorm, it is not a problem. Get your colleagues in other areas involved by having a brainstorming conference call. Or have a virtual brainstorming session through your professional social network by using the discussion feature on LinkedIn, getting ideas from your followers on Twitter, or creating a wiki where people can share ideas at any time and see the ideas others have created.

The bottom line is that selling is all about selling your brand (remember that a brand is unique, consistent, and relevant and has an emotional connection with its customers). When you understand your customer and their needs and motivations, you can be extremely creative about the way you position and tell the story of your brand.

Step 3: Identify General and Specific Benefit Statements

Once you have brainstormed a customer-specific solution, you want to find a way to showcase your solution in the best light. How will you present this idea to your prospect so he can immediately see its relevance to his situation? How will you establish the value proposition you have to offer? How will you position your idea as a benefit to your prospect, not a self-serving sales pitch? As part of your preapproach, you should identify both a general and a specific statement to highlight the benefits of your solution or opportunity. When you deliver value to your prospect, you earn the opportunity to be a business partner, not just someone trying to sell something.

Imagine you work for a dairy products distributor that sells wholesale to restaurants. You have researched one of your prospects, a downtown deli, and have identified one of its major problems: the company is losing business to the sandwich place across the street. Your prospect may not yet realize the source of trouble, but you have an idea. It seems that the prospect's competitor has cheaper sandwiches, and you know that part of the problem lies in the cost of the ingredients.

Your prospect pays 10 percent more for the cheese it gets from its current vendor than you would charge for the same product. If the deli started buying cheese from you, it could lower the cost of its sandwiches to a more competitive price and draw some of the sales going to its competitor. You have also brainstormed how the deli can create a "signature sandwich": a unique combination of meat and cheeses that only it offers. The sandwich provides a point of difference for the deli and a reason for previous deli customers to return. In other words, you are helping to build your prospect's brand and business with a great idea.

This is a good solution, but you cannot walk into the deli and tell your prospect, "I want to sell you some cheese." Your prospect does not need cheese; he needs to increase his sales, and he will probably tell you to go away because he already has a dairy products vendor. It is your job to frame the solution so your customer can easily see its relevance to his problem; you want to answer the "What is in it for me?" question early in the sales call. Begin by drafting a general benefit statement, a statement that gives the big picture of how your solution will meet your prospect's need. For instance, you might say, "I have an idea for a way to increase your sandwich sales by 15 percent." Your statement showcases a solution rather than a product.

General benefit statements, instead of specific benefit statements, are broad enough to be important to most people. They might address things like improving company visibility, expanding the business, increasing profits, or cutting costs. The specific benefit statement, on the other hand, comes once you have grabbed your prospect's attention. It identifies the particular way your solution applies to your prospect, and it demonstrates that you have done your research and understand the needs that are unique to his company or situation. For instance, you might say, "Your food cost is too high, and it is keeping you from competing with other businesses. I can help you cut your food costs so that you can afford to sell your breakfast burrito for under $2.99. Would that be something you would be interested in?" If you have done your research and brainstormed an effective solution, your benefits statements are the tools that will give you the power to convey that information clearly and effectively.

Table 8.1 Benefit Statement Examples