Sales Tip: Pain and Gain

Sales Tip: Pain and Gain

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Mark Shonka

Mark Shonka Mark Shonka

We hear it all of the time: "Find your customer's pain", or "Uncover your customer's pain points". It's not a bad idea, but it's not enough - on two levels.

First, "finding their pain" infers that we need to better understand their application for the types of solutions we sell, uncover where their current solution/situation comes up short (and their resulting pain), and finally determine how our solution can solve their problems. Then we need to reference their pain and make our pitch compelling. Is this bad? No, but again it's not enough. To enhance our odds of winning, we also need to understand their business so we can determine the business fit. Having both a strong solution and a strong business fit is a powerful combination.

Second, finding the pain is just not enough. Why? Because there are two factors that motivate people to take action - pain and gain. If we only understand the pain, our message will appeal to people that are motivated by alleviating their pain. These are people who are focused on resolving a current situation. Not everyone is. Some people are much more motivated to take action in order to achieve a gain. They are excited about getting to a desired future state.

Think about this for yourself. What is more likely to motivate you - resolving an issue or accomplishing an objective? Consider this difference:


"I have a revenue growth issue. Last year wasn't the year it was supposed to be and my performance is under scrutiny. I have to fix this."


vs.


"When I hit my revenue growth target this year, I will be up for consideration for an exciting promotion. I really want that new job!"


We are all different and there is no wrong or right, but people are motivated by different factors. The better we are at uncovering their motivations, the more likely we are to win.


IMPAX Named 2019 Top 20 Sales Training Company by Selling Power

We are excited to announce that IMPAX has been included on Selling Power's 2019 list of the Top 20 Sales Training Companies! Thank you to all of our incredible clients and colleagues who helped us get here for the sixth time.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/Top20Sales

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