In the course of selling and doing business you will come across many challenges and issues.
- Some problems you need to solve in order to move forward
- Some problems you need to be aware of ahead of time to avoid falling into them
- Some problems present you with viable business opportunties
When addressing any problems, or perceived problems, you need to make sure you are viewing it as honestly as you can.
Is it a real problem?
Are you sweeping it under the rug so you don’t hurt someone’s feelings?
Should you address it now, later, or not at all?
Is there a larger opportunity somewhere here?
This is not as easy as it looks. People are often very reluctant to address issues honestly and head on. In addition it is very easy to take a problem and think it presents a larger opportunity than it does in reality.
So here are 3 steps to test whether a problem presents a larger opportunity:
1. Asses the problem honestly and without emotion. It’s not a blame game it’s about identifying and solving an issue
2. Now that you know what the issue is, determine the steps to “true” resolution. What is the cost? How easy is it to solve? How quickly can you move?
3. Once you have the solution, and figured out a way to monetize, validate (sometimes this needs to be done carefully), with other customers that the problem and solution make sense to the market.
If you do all of these steps, and the customer & market validation comes back positive, then you probably have the chance at a larger opportunity!
Whatever you do, don’t make the Dilbert mistake above of thinking that every problem is an opportunity!
Leave a comment and tell us about your experiences with problems that were, or were not, opportunities…
