Can It Really Be That Simple?

You may recall me telling the story of Phil Fisher, one of the founding partners of the Midwest Family Broadcast Group and an early mentor in my sales career. If Phil were still with us today, and I were to walk into his office and say something like: "Phil, these tariffs, the economy, interest rates, the political climate, the feeling that traditional media is dying, people are just not interested in meeting me or talking about advertising!" Phil would look over his little round glasses and say, "Schmitty, that's your problem." Then he would follow it up with a question, "What's THEIR problem?"

Phil's lesson, brief and lacking tact, was a poignant reminder of my purpose: to solve client problems. Can it really be that simple?

In a recent article on the Hardware + Building Supply Dealer website, Brian McCauley, director of sales training for Cornerstone Building Brands, says success in sales is about two simple concepts:

Solve people's problems

Be Honest

That's it.

We spend a great deal of time worrying about our competitors, our ratings, what people think of advertising, how to prospect, how to qualify and all the usual sales metrics to which sellers and managers seem to be addicted. The only metric that will determine our success is whether we solved a problem for a client or prospect today.

In my experience, people don't buy things unless they have a need, and you can demonstrate that what you're selling can fulfill that need (aka, solve the problem). The problems can include competitors, low name awareness, a lack of employees, an inconvenient location, higher pricing than their competitors, insufficient inventory, an ineffective website and a nonexistent social media presence.

There is no shortage of problems with which your prospects and clients are dealing. The key is to identify the ones where you can have an impact. Have a conversation about not only what the problem is, but also how it is impacting the client personally and professionally. See our tip from July 11 here.

Once you've identified the pain point and helped the client see the cost of the pain point, you can provide a solution. Ideas and solutions sell better than slick presentations or smooth-talking sellers.

Bottom line: Focus on client problems, and your problems will go away.

Think Big! Make Big Things Happen!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on X and LinkedIn.