{"id":102,"date":"2015-07-29T22:38:05","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T22:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/salesx17xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=102"},"modified":"2015-07-29T22:38:05","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T22:38:05","slug":"solving-not-selling","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/cerritos-sales-1\/chapter\/solving-not-selling\/","title":{"raw":"Solving, Not Selling","rendered":"Solving, Not Selling"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objective<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Understand how to identify needs and opportunities.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\nImagine 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\u2014specifically your sister. Maybe you\u2019d say, \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d You\u2019ve considered things your sister might need (a camera she can take on a night out), and you\u2019ve identified an opportunity that might appeal to a teenaged girl (a combination of appearance, style, and functionality).\r\n\r\nNow 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\u2019s a technology she hasn\u2019t tried before. \u201cThis camera doesn\u2019t have a lot of bells and whistles,\u201d you could say. \u201cIt\u2019s straightforward and easy to use and makes an excellent choice for a first digital camera purchase. It\u2019s perfect for taking pictures of the grandkids. It has also been highly rated as a reliable and high-quality product.\u201d You\u2019ve addressed her problem (intimidation about using a new technology), and you\u2019ve helped her discover opportunities (taking photos of the grandkids).\r\n\r\nEven though you\u2019re selling the same product to both people, you\u2019re using a very different approach. Ultimately, what you\u2019re selling is not a product but a solution<\/em> based on your customer\u2019s 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.\r\n
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    Step 1: Complete a Needs and Opportunity Analysis<\/h2>\r\nGreat salespeople don\u2019t sell, they solve. As you research your prospect, you should be able to identify problems that are 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 \u201ctoys\u201d as soon as they are available? Does she want a car that is a dependable form of transportation and friendly to the environment?\r\n\r\nSometimes people are forthcoming about their problems, but many times it\u2019s up to you to ask the right<\/em> questions; the ones that will uncover what your prospect needs or where opportunities exist. (Remember from Chapter 1 \"The Power to Get What You Want in Life\" that is one of the traits of a successful salesperson.) For instance, if your prospect is buying from a competitor, you might ask questions like \u201cWhat 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?\u201d The prospect might not fully realize what his problems are.[footnote]Paul Cherry, Questions That Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants<\/em> (New York: AMACOM, 2006), 25.[\/footnote]<\/span> Often, especially in B2B sales, the goal of your first sales call will simply be to identify your prospect\u2019s specific areas of need. You won\u2019t make a pitch; you\u2019ll just ask questions and listen.[footnote]Mark Anthony, \u201cThe Psychology of Selling,\u201d BNET, April 1995, http:\/\/findarticles.com\/p\/articles\/mi_qa3629\/is_199504\/ai_n8730867\/?tag=content;col1<\/a> (accessed July 15, 2009).[\/footnote]<\/span>\r\n\r\nAsking questions often opens up opportunities you might not otherwise discover. There will be occasions when your prospect doesn\u2019t have an immediate problem she can identify, but if you\u2019ve 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?[footnote]Geoffrey James, \u201cSolution Selling Is Dead,\u201d BNET, October 29, 2007, http:\/\/blogs.bnet.com\/salesmachine\/?p=158&tag=content;col1<\/a> (accessed July 15, 2009).[\/footnote]<\/span> What would he like to have if he only knew it was possible?\r\n\r\nThink 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 they could use when they weren\u2019t 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 get in touch with you if you\u2019re almost never home? Cell phone providers figured out consumers\u2019 problems, and they solved them. Then along came the iPhone. Most cell phone users wouldn\u2019t have said they needed<\/em> a device that could capture videos and photographs, play MP3s, store a day planner, surf the web, run hundreds of different applications\u2014oh, and make phone calls too\u2014using 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.[footnote]Philip Elmer-DeWitt, \u201cMunster: 500,000 New iPhones This Weekend,\u201d Fortune<\/em>, June 18, 2009, http:\/\/apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com\/2009\/06\/18\/munster-500000-new-iphones-this-weekend\/<\/a> (accessed July 15, 2009).[\/footnote]<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Step 2: Brainstorm Solutions and Generate Ideas<\/h2>\r\nOnce you\u2019ve identified your customer\u2019s problems, take the time\u2014either with a team or on your own\u2014to brainstorm solutions and opportunities that address your prospect\u2019s specific needs. Sometimes solving your prospect\u2019s problem is a straightforward task, but often with larger sales, particularly B2B sales, coming up with a solution that is tailored to your customer\u2019s 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 \u201cbest idea.\u201d[footnote]Allison Stein Wellner, \u201cA Perfect Brainstorm,\u201d Inc.<\/em>, October 1, 2003, http:\/\/www.inc.com\/magazine\/20031001\/strategies.html<\/a> (accessed July 15, 2009).[\/footnote]<\/span> As a salesperson, your job is to solve customer problems, not<\/em> push a product. In other words, you\u2019re offering solutions that include unique and different ideas, not selling products. For this reason, brainstorming\u2014the process of generating ideas\u2014is a crucial part of the selling process.\r\n\r\nWhen you go into a brainstorming session, there are several techniques that will help you generate effective results.\r\n