My daughter needed some new clothes. She said she needed shorts. However, I quickly discovered there was more to the story as we wandered through the racks at Target (Tarjay).
I put my sales hat on and started with some simple discovery questions.
“You need some shorts, huh?”
Yes – I’ve outgrown most of mine.
“What are you thinking you’d like?”
Well – I need some clothes for Ninja training.
“So, some shorts and some new training clothes?”
Yes – and I need some regular summer clothes.
“Okay – anything else?”
Well, I really like these dungaree shorts – they match Katy’s (her sister).
“So, let me recap. You need some clothes for Ninja training. You need some regular summer clothes, and you’d like the shorts that match Katy’s – anything else?
No that’s it.
“What’s the most important of the three?”
Oh, definitely the Ninja training clothes. I have a competition coming up.
“Okay – let’s start there?”
– – –
In sales, understanding a prospect’s pain is important. However, there are often multiple things on their minds. Plus, prospects may be overwhelmed, confused, and/or lost in a sea of choices.
Helping them sort out their priorities is important.
My daughter was most concerned about her training clothes because she had a competition coming up. The regular summer clothes, while needed, were secondary. The matching shorts were a nice-to-have.
After we solved her most important concern, the rest fell into place. That is, with the worry of the training closed solved, she could focus her attention on her other needs.
Discover what’s most important for your prospect. Work from there.