Problems are only problems when the impact is negative and uncomfortable. So, knowing the problem and the impact it’s having matters. Keep this firmly in mind: You’re never selling a product. You’re selling the impact your product will have on your buyer’s current environment. You’re selling change.

Closing a sale is about helping customers feel safe enough to lay their defenses down and share their problems, then getting them to a point where they feel secure and confident enough to admit they’re ready for change—either to something better, or to get away from something painful. They have to come to believe the change will be worth it.

People don’t buy products—they buy solutions to their problems. If they can’t recognize at least one clearly defined, measurable problem, your buyer will not buy.

Don’t let anyone determine the price of what your selling based on the product, service, or widget. That’s not what they are buying! They’re buying the outcome of your product, service, or widget. Therefore, remind them of the desired outcome and the value it has for their organization—the gap—and then make them defend it against what you’re

Keep this in mind: The point of this exercise isn’t to confirm that your product or service can do the things your customer most wants it to do. Rather, it’s to confirm that the criteria they value the most and are using to make their decision will actually get them the desired outcome they say they want.

The CRM Challenge is all about making sure you gather and document so much identifiable information about your buyers’ problems that your discovery notes would make it crystal-clear which opportunity it was without you ever having to look at identifying data, or even the industry.

All right, let’s look at all the super simple ways this letter could be improved...

Remember, people don’t buy unless they are compelled to change. People are compelled to change by evaluating their current state against a potential or desired future state. That’s simply how we make decisions. Therefore, as salespeople, we will be far more successful in influencing the sale if we are able to do the work for them. By making sure

Do my salespeople understand the customers’ current state? Do they know enough about the literal, physical business? Can they list the customers’ critical problems? Have they accurately assessed their impact on the customers’ organization? Are they cognizant of the buyers’ emotional state? Have they pinpointed the root cause of those problems? 2.