The Keys to the Kingdom: Finding Pain

One day I was talking with one of the technicians at Lanier named Bill Wilbur. We were talking about why people paid more for some things than others did. Bill said something that I never will forget; "You can't pay too much for something you really want!" Over the years I have found this statement to be right on the money. If this is the case then how do you get your prospect to really want your product? The answer is simple. Get them to see your product solving a major problem for them. How do you do this? The key is asking the right PAIN questions. When you go to the doctor they don't immediately start trying to sell you on the benefits of what they are going to prescribe. Before a doctor can help you with your PAIN he has to ask you diagnostic questions. A great salesperson is like a great doctor. They know how to ask great diagnostic questions. One of things I have done to help myself with formulating diagnostic questions is to use the acronym PAIN. PAIN stands for problem, anxiety, interests, and needs. PROBLEMS Every business in America has problems. For some businesses, cash flow is a major problem. For other businesses, declining revenues can be the challenge they are trying to deal with. If you walk into an appointment with a list of PAIN questions you significantly increase your odds of success. Ask yourself before you walk into an appointment, "If I were the CEO of XYZ Company, what problems would I most likely be faced with?" If possible talk to vendors you know who call on the account, to see if they can give you any insight into what problems that company might be facing. ANXIETY A great way to set up PAIN questions is to say to the prospect, "Because I want to truly become your partner, one of the things I want to discover is what keeps you up at night?" What keeps people up at night is what they are anxious about. It may be meeting the next payroll or paying for a product that has already been sold. The more anxious your prospect becomes the greater your chances of an immediate sale. INTERESTS Just as you can fairly accurately predict what problems a business may face, you can also predict what interest they may have. If you are calling on an automobile dealership chances are fairly high that they will be interested in trends in the oil industry. Prices of oil and gas can have a direct impact on car sales. If you are calling on a shipping company, governmental regulations can impact their bottom line and profitability. Being able to discuss outside influences on a particular industry will separate you from your competition that is selling only the features of their product. NEEDS What is the difference between a want and a need? A want is something you would like to have whereas a need is something you have to have. A Company may want a new phone system but be unable to justify the expense. If you can show a company how they are losing customers and therefore revenue, then that same phone system can become a need. Look for ways in which your product can directly impact revenue or expenses and then you can show how your product is needed. I'M NOT FEELING VERY SICK! A great exercise for a salesperson is to role-play asking PAIN questions. Have a third person announce after every question how sick they perceive the prospect is. I might ask a question such as "How is your business going right now?" To this question the prospect responds "Pretty well." At this point I haven't uncovered any PAIN and the third person might respond, "Looks like they are feeling fine to me." Keep trying until you start to get comments like, "Uh oh, they're looking pretty sick." TWO REASONS YOU MAKE EVERY DECISION IN YOUR LIFE Many years ago I attended a training session in Atlanta, Georgia for IBM. The focus of the training was "Why people buy?" What we learned is that people make decisions for one of two reasons. The first reason people make a decision is to avoid PAIN or because they are afraid they will lose something if they don't make the decision. If I am afraid my car is going to keep breaking down and I may lose my job I may look at buying a new car. The second reason people make a decision is because they feel they may gain from the decision. If I am twenty-two years old and want to look good to the opposite sex, I may also look at buying a car. A helpful exercise for a salesperson is to list some of the negative consequences a prospect may face if they don't buy your product. Converse to that, it may be helpful to list some of the things a prospect may gain if they do buy from you. WHO IS IN CONTROL? Most salespeople feel like it is important to control sales calls. Many times I have asked a salesperson after a call "How do you think that went?" To this they reply, "I though it went great." Then I will ask, "Why do you think so?" Full of excitement they will say, "Well, it seemed like they really liked the frame relay we discussed, and the Internet, and the long distance, and local services, etc." Then I'll ask, "Who do you think was in control of this appointment?" Once again, with excitement, they will say "Oh I was." "Who did most of the talking?" The salesperson replies, "I guess I did." Finally it begins to sink in. THE PERSON WHO ASKS THE QUESTIONS IS IN CONTROL OF THE APPOINTMENT! GOAL OF A SALES CALL Your goal as a salesperson should be to find out as much about the prospect as you possibly can while talking as little as you can. When I was in high school a very successful local business man in Panama City, Florida, Tommy Thomas, would give every graduating senior a copy of the book How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life. He said that the number one reason he did this was because the book clearly communicated the message, "The person who asks the questions is in control." Most salespeople suffer from the old school mentality that sales is "show up and throw up." Provide people with so much information they will have to buy. Invest time getting to know your client. One of the most exciting things about being in the profession of sales is the opportunity to learn about so many different types of businesses. Learn as much as you possibly can about the clients you are working with. People can sense when you are genuinely interested in them and their business. Whether you are in a one call close business or a one-year close business treat each appointment as a chance to learn something about your client's business. MAKE THEM SICK AND THEN MAKE THEM WELL The better a salesperson becomes at finding PAIN, the more sales they will make. Given a choice between a salesperson that can ask great questions and a salesperson that has great closing skills, I will take the salesperson with great questions any day. EXAMPLES OF GREAT PAIN QUESTIONS