Have you ever spent a large amount of time with a prospect who didn’t go ahead? Of course, you have.

Is it fun? Nope, of course not.

But the thing is, you could just be asking the wrong questions to get to the root of their problem. Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. Below are 5 questions to ask potential clients to uncover their pain points, allowing you to help them in the best way possible.

Firstly, let’s take a look at some pain points, before considering the questions we must ask.

Positioning pain points

What company doesn’t need to acquire more or better business? However, this end goal is often easier said than done. Many businesses may understand — or think they understand — what’s holding their marketing and positioning efforts back. 

Here are some examples of what you might hear from prospects who have positioning pains: 

• “Until now, we haven’t considered digital marketing, so we’re behind.”

• “The market is changing, and we feel like we’re falling behind.”

• “Our competitors are outspending us.” 

• “No one knows who our company is.” 

Because acquisition is so closely aligned with revenue, successfully identifying a positioning pain and your solution for it is a great way to prove value.

Financial pain points

Money is a big topic in business, and many business pains are caused by a lack of it and solved by more of it. Here are some examples of critical financial pain points that require serious solutions: 

• “We’re not selling enough to pay for things like our office.”

• “Revenue is up, but profitability is low.”

• “We don’t have enough visibility to know if we’re making good financial decisions.” 

• “We may be overpaying for equipment and tools, but we don’t know what to cut.”

Your services may help businesses who want to reduce spending or better manage cash flow.

People pain points

People are at the heart of every business, often constituting both the greatest expense and largest asset. If there are people problems (such as the following), it can cause problems in other areas, too:

• “Employee morale is relatively low…”

• "We lose our best employees to higher-paying positions elsewhere."

• "We can't trust our middle managers to train and motivate." 

With these in mind, there can be a whole range of solutions. But how do you find out what these pain points really are? Identifying them is your first task.

Start by asking some of the following questions.

1. What's your biggest inhibitor to company growth?

This is a classic soundbite that cuts straight to the heart of the matter. Every company is in the business of growth, so the biggest obstacle to growth is generally a serious pain. 

Helping prospects talk through their current business situation can increase your understanding of the company while demonstrating your expertise.

Often, business pains fall around revenue, employees, customers or product - Get to the root of the issue by following up with these:

What’s your current plan to tackle X pain?

When is your deadline to solve this problem?

Is there anyone currently working to fix this issue?

2. What is your biggest hairball?

It may sound a little odd, but bear with us… This question will help stir up your prospect’s emotion and get to their core needs. How? Because it brings out their biggest frustrations in an easygoing way.

It is also more personal. You're asking your prospect how the pain affects them. Based on their answer, you'll be able to determine if they have a potential personal win that can give you some extra support to get the deal through.

3. What takes up the most time in your day?

You’re here to not only improve their business, but hopefully lighten the workload. This angle will help you to understand what your prospect spends most of their time on - it could be posting on social media is too time-consuming, or maintaining their website. This will help to uncover it.

Salespeople hear over and over again that buyers care more about value than features, and this question reveals the concrete value your product could have to your prospects on a personal level.

4. Why are you losing customers?

Losing customers - or failing to attract them - can be a huge issue for many businesses. It can also be caused by any number of problems.

This question can give you insight into how their business operates, and the challenges they may be facing.

5. What are your gripes?

This might seem petty, but the responses you'll earn with this question can be extremely telling.

What begins as a complaint about not enough coffee might lead you to a bigger pain point.

But what else? While there are many more questions you can ask, knowing how to ask (and often who) is key. So here are 3 quick tips for addressing business pain points.

1. Use your prospect's language when talking about pain.

2. Find out who is responsible for any buying decisions - re budget/decision making.

3. Identify additional key stakeholders as early on as you can.

Are you struggling to identify key pain points?

We’re here to help move your business forward. Get in touch and let’s make it happen.