Stunted Pain Development – Solution Abruption
Symptoms: Precipitous presentation of product-oriented solutions to problems prior to plumbing customer pain adequately; victim jumps directly to presenting a solution the moment “pain” is uncovered.
Examples: “Ah ha – so you are having a hard time doing your forecasting? We’ve got a great solution for you…!”
Cure: Discipline. Hold back on the solution, for the present. Ask more questions – perform Workflow Analysis to uncover the depth and value of solving the customer’s problem:
1. What is the customer doing today – what is their current process or workflow?
2. What is the output, the deliverable, for which the workflow is executed? [Hint: this is a prime candidate for a terrific Illustration!]
3. What parts of the process are problematic – what needs to change?
4. What is the value of making the change, in specific terms of Time, People of Money? [This is the “Delta”]
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