It’s official: my blog post “Developing a Solutions Focus to Add Customer Value” has surpassed even “Just When You Think You’re Perfect,” the post about the Pyrex® measuring cup, in reader views. Thank you for your interest!
Statistics aren’t useful unless you do something with them, so I have been considering how and why this has occurred. There could be a number of reasons, among them:
1. Some people respond better to a headline that actually tells them what they’re going to read about.
2. Some people believe that they are already perfect and don’t want to read about how it might be otherwise.
3. Readership of the blog has increased (although the Pyrex posting is older, so it has had plenty of time to gain reader views).
4. The collapsible navigation of this site is impeding people from finding the Pyrex posting with the intriguing headline, because it is from 2012 (I am working on this one).
5. Solutions are a topic that intrigues and puzzles people, and they want to know more about it.
6. Customer value is something that they are concerned about, and they want to know more about it.
I’m guessing that at least three of these are on target, but for today I’m going with (5) and (6).
In the prior post I discussed the importance of truly knowing your product or service, and identifying what outcomes it produces; what the benefits of the outcomes are; and how those outcomes mesh with customer needs. Now we’re going to back up and try to figure out how, on the fly, to figure out what the customer needs.
1. Listen for cues. It is especially important to hear the areas in which the customer is expressing the wish to do more or better. Again, these aren’t necessarily pains—but they are opportunities to help make a difference.
If this is an exploratory conversation, you now have an opening. If you are in the room to discuss a specific topic or need, and this issue falls outside of that, you have a moment in which you can differentiate your expertise, as long as you don’t get anxious (or greedy) and over-sell.
2. Remember: take nothing at face value. As we have discussed before, clients and customers sometimes present solutions rather than problems (as in, “I need a brochure/content management system/social media strategy”). Make certain that you know what problem you are mutually trying to solve. There may be an opportunity to present an alternative that changes the entire conversation.
3. Ask questions. If you sense the potential to be of service, find a way to probe on the issue without appearing to judge the customer. And why should you judge the customer? We are trying to help here, not make anyone feel bad!
4. Determine whether you have a fit. Go back to your customer value chart and explore with the customer.
Here’s a tool I created to help a client train a service/sales force in “value selling.”
I recommend that you start the LISTEN FOR section by writing down, on a separate piece of paper, the most common needs and wishes you hear either from your sales force, or when you yourself visit a customer or client (someone you already work with) to talk about your products and services. Write down everything, even things that don’t relate to existing offerings (these are new opportunities for you to consider) and especially things that relate to products and services that your competitors offer.
Now, categorize the bulleted items that you offer in the appropriate PRODUCTS/SERVICES columns. Notice what fits and what doesn’t.
Next, recall (or imagine) a real, heartfelt conversation about this. Discover what impedes progress. Talk about how the customer/client’s peers address the issue, if you know; otherwise, ask. Try to uncover any prior, unsuccessful attempts to solve the problem, if there is one. In a word: ASK. ASK. ASK. The more you ask, the more you engage—and the more likely you are to help the customer/client land on a solution. And procure it from you.
(If you’d like to talk about how this works with a specific example, please contact me and we can walk through the chart. And by the way: all of this applies to clients you already work wtih too!)
Now, translate these insights into positioning, marketing messages, and sales force behavior. It’s not easy, but it’s essential. Because these conversations are the essence of leveraging “solutions” for success.
