When my daughter has a cold, she settles into the living room sofa, and I – just like any other parent in that situation – assume the role of butler.
Upon request, I arrange, for example, toast, hot chocolate, an apple, and sparkling water on a serving tray, which I have to carry with both hands.
But, since the door to the living room is usually closed, I have to maneuver the doorknob with my knee or elbow.
This maneuver often leads to me risking tipping the tray. With all that that entails.
And so I’ve carried on. It became routine.
Until it hit me – isn’t the serving tray a remarkably bad solution?
And why haven’t I noticed this problem before?
Year after year, I’ve balanced the tray and maneuvered like a circus artist to open doors without dropping the tray. Once I noticed the problem, the solution was just a Google search away.
You see, there are serving trays with a carrying handle, so the tray can be carried with one hand.
I realized then that I had long been aware of “one-handed trays”, but I hadn’t connected the solution to the problem.
My point is, to successfully solve a problem, you must first notice it.
The same goes for your customers!
They have countless problems – and just as many opportunities! – that they simply haven’t noticed. They’re also stuck in a routine.
Our job as salespeople is to use our experience, imagination, and not least empathy, to identify our customers’ problems and show them ways to solve them.
Have you experienced a similar situation where a simple solution was close at hand, but you weren’t quite aware of the problem?
Here you can read more about how to conduct a needs analysis of your customer.
