Every client has a problem. Sometimes they don’t know it, but they ALL have problems. Your job is to figure out what their problem is and solve it. Don’t focus on selling; focus on finding your client’s problems and then inform them that what you have to offer will solve the problem. Selling is not the main job; selling is the final step to solving the problem.

So, have you identified your client’s problem? And no, it’s not that they need to buy my glass; ANYONE can sell them glass. Price is also not the problem; it’s always the excuse, never the reason you’re not getting the business! What problem(s) do they have? What problems do they have with their current supplier? What problems do they have that you could solve today?

You want to ask your client: “If I had a magic wand, what would you change to get the results you’re looking for?” In other words, learn about the problems they have. You then need to figure out what you can do to help get them to get the results they’re looking for.

A few words about price.

I always get a little pushback on my stance on price because if a customer tells me I lost business because of price, then I know I did a poor job of selling what value I’m offering. People never buy only based on price, they buy based on value. If that’s all you’re hearing, maybe that’s all you’re selling. Try to change the conversation. Maybe try saying, “Of course, we’re going to be competitive, but other than price, what’s the next most important reason?”

Does this make sense? What if someone says they want to buy a Honda, Toyota or Mercedes. Two of those cars are much cheaper than the Mercedes, but Mercedes sells many cars, and they’re not the cheapest, so how does Mercedes stay in business? Because Mercedes doesn’t sell price, they sell something else!

I would take the price off the table as soon as possible because people buy value; price is never a reason; it’s only an excuse.

Back to finding your client’s problem.

Ask your clients questions about what problems they face. They often won’t come out and tell you what their problems are because, as I said earlier, they don’t even know they have a problem.

Once you think you’ve found your client’s problems, you need to craft a well-worded question, such as this: “What would your business look like if I could deliver ‘X’ so that you would be able to achieve ‘Y’?”  This is where you use the magic wand example. When you craft that question, you identify where your client is today and what the future would look like if you can solve their problem, then they might consider doing business with you.

Once you’ve done this with one client, you can repeat the same process with others.

My 2 cents.