Sunday, 9.43pm
Sheffield, U.K.
Study the past, if you would divine the future. – Confucius
For the last eight years I have been working on one deceptively simple problem.
How to find out what people want?
The world is full of people that experience problem-situations.
That is, they are in a situation they consider problematic.
For example, they want to know what impact regulation is going to have on their business, what their next career step should be, which technology they should invest in, and many other such questions.
I get involved in such situations as a consultant, either because it’s a field I know about, or because I’m working with someone else who can help.
I use a particular technique to listen to people called Rich Notes.
I’ve been refining this technique as part of my research programme, but I still wasn’t quite sure why it worked or what I actually did.
Until now.
I’ve come up with a 4P Discovery Model.
If you mistype the 4 you get a $, and that unintentional and arguably crass mistake makes another point, if you get Discovery right you’ll probably make some money.
Let me explain.
If you run a business, a service business or a product business, it helps to know what your market is willing to pay for.
Finding out starts with Discovery – an interaction with a prospect that tells you what you need to know.
Think about the last sales meeting you were in.
What happened?
Did the salesperson come in with a presentation and tell you all about what their firm did?
How much time did they spend listening to you and what you needed?
I’m willing to bet that 80-90% of the meeting was about them, with the rest left for you to ask questions about them.
There probably wasn’t much time in there that was about you.
My approach reverses that, the Discovery meeting is about listening to you.
And I’m interested in learning about four things – using what I call the 4P Discovery Model.
This is a model that I’ve followed largely unconsciously for a while, but have had to unpack and label so I can write about it.
First, the present.
Where are you right now, what’s the current situation?
Where are the pieces on your chessboard?
Second, let’s talk about the past.
How did you get here, what decisions led to this point, and what have you tried along the way?
It’s important to know what was tried and whether it worked or failed, and why, before we try and do something else.
Third, we need to find the pain, what needs fixing right now?
People rarely do things unless they really have to – it’s got to really hurt before they’re willing to buy some medicine.
And then finally, what are your preferences?
People are ready to buy certain types of products and services and not others for a range of reasons.
You need to find you what those reasons are – what kind of approaches are preferred.
This is especially important when it’s a group in the situation – they’ve all got different wants and have to negotiate a preferred one.
If you’ve followed the yellow brick road (or the purple arrows) then you know what to offer your prospect, and there’s a good chance they’ll sign up to your proposal.
And unlock a flow of $s.
Cheers,
Karthik Suresh
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