The Pain Funnel

I think one of the major takeaways from class if understanding the pain funnel and taking that knowledge to meet the customers needs. To do that and really find about what the customer needs you have to be a great curator. Like any large-scale musical performance or play there is someone that understands what needs to be accomplished so that the performance can reach its full potential. In class we talked about how as a salesperson you need to become a curator. For me I think that starts with knowledge of the customer. We’ve talked a lot in class about how just a little background knowledge can pay dividends in gaining trust with customers and making the sales pitch more conversational and comfortable. Then once you “get the ball rolling” its really up to you where the conversation goes. As the curator you have to think on the fly and ask relevant and probing questions so that you find the customers problem and determine if you can fix it. So too many salespeople have their pitch planned out in advance and don’t let the flow of the conversation take the lead. The salesperson should be very adaptive and thinking on the fly should be second nature. You really never know what the customer is going to say, but if you listen to them and ask the “right” questions you can lead the in a direction where you can find out the real problem. This may take some practice, just like anything you want to get good at does, but if you reflect on past conversations and outline what you did right and what you need to work on, maybe asking more open ended questions, you can become more efficient in finding out the customers need. As the curator you are in control and its really up to you on how the conversation goes. Just remember after asking the question “shut up and listen”.