#019: Avoid this discovery mistake

Read time: 5 minutes

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The most common mistake we see with sales reps is the pain and pitch. Everyone from beginners to experienced sales reps struggle with this to some extent (I know I still do).

It may not seem like a big deal. You may not think you’re guilty of this mistake. But it’s one of the main reasons your deals stall after a “great” discovery conversation.

The pain and pitch

When your prospect mentions a pain, problem, or challenge they are facing, then you jump into how you can solve that problem.

On the surface level, it makes a lot of sense.

“They have a problem I can help solve. Let me tell them how I can solve it.”

There are 2 reasons this approach doesn’t work.

1. Not every problem is worth solving or worth solving right now.

2. The solution has to match the root cause.

If you miss these 2 points, your pitch may fall on deaf ears.

High priority & urgent problems

Not every problem is worth solving right now. Without understanding the downstream impact of the problem, your pitch could solve a problem that isn’t a top priority. In this market, the money is only going to follow the high priority AND urgent problems.

Here is a 3-step framework to find high-priority and urgent problems.

Step 1: Ask open-ended questions that get them talking. These questions would start with phrases like:

• Can you help me understand…

• Where are the gaps with…

• Walk me through your process for…

Listen to their response to find the problems you can help solve.

Step 2: Ask targeted follow-up questions to determine how big of a problem this is.

• How long has this been going on?

• Who else does this problem affect?

• How big of a problem is this?

Step 3: Determine the level of urgency to solve this problem.

• What’s causing you to try and solve this now?

• Is this THE biggest problem you’re facing? Or are there others?

• Is there a deadline you need to fix this by?

After this 3-step process, you’ll either have determined this is a high-priority and urgent problem that you can solve or it may not be the right deal for you to pursue.

If it’s worth pursuing, you’ll need to uncover the root cause of the problem before you can pitch your solution.

This Wednesday (Jan 17) we’re kicking off the 30-Day Pipeline Challenge.

It’s a small, group-based, program where we’ll show you how to book 20 new meetings in the next 30 days. We’ll cover everything from building targeted lists, what tools to use, how to write compelling messaging, and how to get that message to your ideal customers.

We are limiting the number of people who join to keep the engagement as high as possible. Join the 30-Day Pipeline Challenge space inside Succession to enroll.

Root cause analysis

The solution has to match the root cause of the problem. I’ll give you 2 examples of why you need to know the root cause before you can accurately pitch your solution.

Problem 1: Multiple sales reps are missing quota

There are multiple reasons why reps miss quota and they each have different solutions. You also have to dig multiple layers deep to find the real root cause of the problem.

At the surface level, the problem is that reps are missing their target.

Either they don’t have enough opportunities to close or they aren’t good at closing. But that isn’t enough detail to determine the right solution.

Bad messaging has a different solution than reps that don’t prioritize outbound prospecting.

Problem 2: Your prospect has a failed experiment.

There are many reasons that an experiment has failed. It’s important to dig into the root cause of the problem before you can discuss the right solution

Choosing the wrong assay (as part of the experimental design) has a much different solution than getting a bad batch of reagents.

Opinion-based questions: One of the best ways to get your prospect to open up about the root cause, is to ask opinion-based questions. People love to give their opinions (especially when things are broken).

Instead of asking:

• “What problems do you have?”

• “Why is that happening?”

• “What are you doing to fix it?”

Ask opinion-based questions:

• “What’s your opinion on the biggest problem?”

• “Why do you think that’s happening?”

• “Do you think [insert typical root cause] could also be a reason?”

These opinion-based questions will receive richer responses from your prospect.

By now, you fully understand the problem, the root cause of the problem, and the urgency they have to solve it.

I guarantee that your solution will have a greater impact if you position it to solve the agreed-upon root cause that rolls up into the highest priority problem.

Not everyone will be comfortable making this shift right away. So I want to leave you with one simple question you can use to stop yourself from reverting to the pain and pitch.

One simple question

When a prospect mentions a problem or pain point they have, here is what you do.

1. Pause and slow down (don’t get happy ears)

2. Say “Can you tell me more about that?”

This simple question will take you out of pitch mode and get the prospect to expand on whatever problem they just shared with you.

It’s so simple! Use it on your next call and let me know how it goes.

Need some inspiration on how to find the root causes of the problems you solve? Ask ChatGPT! Give it the simple prompt below and then ask it follow-up questions based on the response.

What are the top 5 root causes of why [Insert problem you solve]? Please give specific answers that focus on the [the main way you can help solve it].

Here is an example:

I could continue the conversation by digging into the root causes of each of these different problems.

Now I’m armed for my next conversation with a prospect and we need to discuss root cause analysis of their problem.

Learn what it takes to close deals in 2024 by crafting a winning sales process tailored to today's challenges. Learn strategies to disrupt the status quo, overcome indecision, handle tough objections, and effectively navigate a complex buying committee. Join us to master the art of closing deals in an increasingly uncertain market where the right skills make all the difference.

January 31 at 12 pm ET

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