The 4 Most Important Questions?

The 4 Most Important Questions

What are the four most important questions you need to ask before you try to sell anything? When we consult with a potential client, we ask them all the same four vital questions. The answer to these questions helps us frame, position and communicate the value of what they sell and qualify (or validate) the opportunity.

#1 What Problem Do I Solve?

Perhaps a better question is, “what problem would I like to solve?” If sales is about one thing, it’s about solving problems. The product or service you provide, solves a problem for your customer, in exchange for money. Each customer profile, vertical or persona you serve will have a problem or a series of problems, which you can help solve. Without a problem to solve, you don’t have a product/service to offer! You might also consider ‘is the problem worth solving?’

#2 What’s Your Value Proposition?

Many companies struggle with fully understanding or communicating value proposition. However, what is value proposition? Wikipedia defines Value Proposition as “a promise of value to be delivered, communicated, and acknowledged. It is also a belief from the customer about how value will be delivered, experienced and acquired”. In all fairness it’s a particularly good definition. As Margaret Wolfe Hungerford said “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” in other words beauty is subjective and Value Proposition can also be subjective. Find out more detail about Value Proposition HERE

#3 Who’s Your Target Market?

OK, so you solve problems for your customers but not everyone has that problem, so you need to refine who are your customers, what do they look like. The more detail here the better whether it’s: sector, employee count, turnover, location, or even attitude to new solutions.

#4 What’s Your USP or differentiator?

One fact is certain, if you solve a problem for a group of people, someone else will also provide a solution, so you need to be able to stand out from the crowd. USP, unique selling point, unique selling proposition or differentiator is intricately linked to sustainable competitive advantage. What makes you different from the others, or better again what makes you better and can you substantiate or communicate that difference.

See further discussion of this topic HERE