Every Employee Impacts Your Bottom-Line

Every member of an organisation has something to contribute to generating sales and improving the bottom-line of your organisation. 

What does that mean? Well, it means that whether you are a salesperson, or not, it’s crucial for everyone to understand their customers’ needs.

Do You Really Understand the Problems Your Customers Face?

Now as much as you may want to, you can’t take the easy option of just pushing a solution in front of your potential customers (unless you want the same ‘ol results of not making the sale). You actually need to take the time to understand your target audience’s problems.

31 Questions to Ask Your Customers to Knead that Knot

Much like alleviating that deep-seeded knot in someone’s shoulder during a shiatsu massage, you can knead the problem and break it down through a structured, but comfortable chat with your prospect.  

So how do you do this? Here’s a list of 31 questions that you can use to gauge the pain points of your potential customers. They are best used in conversation, but can be sent via email too. You don’t have to use every single question. I recommend picking and choosing based on how the conversation is progressing. 

When you have identified a prospect whom you think could benefit from the business solutions you have to offer, ask them the following Customer Pain Point Questions: 

1. Can you tell me more about the present situation/problem?
2. How long has it been an issue/problem?
3. How is it impacting your organisation/customers/staff?
4. How much is the issue/problem costing you in time/money/resources/staff/energy?
5. How did these problems/issues first come about? What were the original causes?
6. What’s your role in this situation/issue/problem?
7. When do you need the issue/problem fixed by?
8. What kind of return or payoff will you be looking for if you get a successful resolution of the problem?
9. Who is ultimately responsible for this?
10. Why have you been dealing with this for so long?
11. Why do you think it is happening?
12. What bothers you the most about this situation/issue/problem?
13. What are the long-term effects of the problem?
14. What are the intangible effects of the problem?
15. Does the issue cause problems with employee morale?
16. Does the issue cause problems that negatively affect the motivation of your staff?
17. Can this problem affect productivity?
18. How does the problem ultimately affect your current customers?
19. How does the problem ultimately affect your prospective customers?
20. How does the problem ultimately affect your sales teams and your sales process?
21. How does the problem ultimately affect your other employees?
22. How does the problem ultimately affect your reputation/goodwill/brand?
23. Can you see how this problem/issue can give your competition a competitive advantage?    
24. What are you currently doing to address the problem? What alternatives have you considered?
25. What have you done in the past to address the problem?
26. What has made you want to look into this now?
27. What three key outcomes do you want from this?
28. How does this <insert solution name> look/sound/feel to you?
29. Is there anything I have overlooked?
30. Have you got any questions you’d like to ask me?
31. How soon would you like to move with this? 

Equipped with the knowledge of the details of the pain your prospect is experiencing you can align a solution that best caters to their needs.