In this article the author, Dan Tyre, sets the scene by explaining that it is imperative to have a prospect that is genuinely interesting and one that is able to buy the solution that you are selling. From then on it is just the seller’s job to ask good questions to get to the main pain to solve, he calls these pain points. There are different kinds of pain points when comparing a customer and a business. Tyre goes on to explain what he means by pain points which is, “Pain points are persistent problems with a product or service that can inconvenience customers and their businesses. Or to simply put it, they’re unmet needs waiting to be satisfied. Any type of customer can have pain points, on an individual level or for companies on a large scale.” The first step in addressing pain points is knowing how to identify and eliminate them. The best way to do this is to hear what the customer has to say and asking good questions. First, lets look at customer (B2C) pain points and how to address them.
In a customer scenario, they are the bread and butter in the whole operation; they’re a priority whether they are purchasing a product, or a service to help run their operations. Finding their problems is easier than finding business problems because they are likely going to tell you, which makes it easier to identify. The problem is eliminating that problem, customer problem is often more fluid than business problem, and this process will need good questions asked as well as a relationship between seller and buyer. Addressing pain points for a customer is much different than addressing pain points for a business.
“Business pain points are problems causing pain in an organization in need of a solution.” These pains are serious when it comes to the functions of the business, they are board meeting decision problems that effect the bottom line. Some examples Tyre gives are market positioning pain points, financial pain points, people pain points, process pain points, productivity pain points, and small business pain points. Going back to the first step in helping a prospect with their problem is to identify the problem.
That being said, the seller will have to identify which category the problem for the business is and start asking questions in that area. It may be likely that the business doesn’t know where the problem stems from, so good questions will need to be in order again. Once you identify the pain, you can determine how to solve it for your prospect.
In this article Tyre gives 4 tips for addressing business pain; use your prospects language when talking about pain, find out who’s empowered to solve the problem, identify additional key stakeholders as early as possible, and frame your offering to reflect the prospects dilemma. Like the customer-based selling this is about relationship, but it’s going to be a deeper relationship because there’s there that goes into the prospects problem. What is different from the customer-based selling is that it’s a more in-depth process rather than talking to one person about their issue. In the business selling process the seller will need to reach multiple people, have more meeting, and get more involved into the prospects business and situation.
There are many similarities and differences when it comes to selling to B2C or B2B, but it imperative that the seller understands the difference between the two prospects. This is so important because the problems will inherently be different problems and the sales process will be much different. But at the base its still about the prospect, understanding their issues by asking good questions and being on their side to find a solution.
https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/uncover-business-pain