I recently found a book titled Winning the War in Your Mind by author Craig Groeschel. I highly recommend this book, particularly to those in sales and leadership positions. Craig also puts out a Leadership Podcast periodically that has become a regular listen for me. In his most recent episode, he made the statement that “your value is based on the size of the problems you solve.” I instantly began to think about how that applies to sales and leadership. I came up with 3 ideas around this quote.
First, problems are opportunities. Craig makes the observation that every business and every organization exists as a solution to a problem. Think about that. When someone starts a business, it’s because they see a problem or need that is not being addressed or they feel they can address better.
Most of us would prefer not to have a problem. In fact, we tend to avoid problems. What if we change the way we think about problems and see them as opportunities? Every problem you and I encounter could be the seed of a new skill, a positive habit, or even a relationship we would have never built had we not had the problem. When seen this way, problems can be helpful to us, our families, and our organizations.
The second insight was how important it is for salespeople to identify customer problems that they can solve. In a sales scenario, the value of the solution is weighed against the cost. If the problem is big enough, and the solution is good enough, the cost doesn’t matter. If the salesperson does a good job of needs analysis followed by a proper explanation of their product or service, the customer should be willing to pay whatever the price is because they can’t imagine living another day without the solution.
Often, I hear sales representatives wanting to discuss strategies for overcoming objections. The truth is, if you correctly identify the customer’s problems, pain points, or opportunities they want to take advantage of, and then build value in your solution, there won’t be any objections. Unfortunately, too many salespeople try to persuade prospects to buy based on how good their product is. Seek first to understand before trying to be understood. Selling is not telling, it’s listening. Listen for the problem first, then offer the solution customized to that problem.
Finally, for those involved in leadership, Craig’s quote about your value being based on the size of the problems you solve is absolute gold. If you want to be more valuable to your organization and take on bigger roles, you must show that you can solve bigger problems. Start where you are. Figure out what problems need solving and become the best at solving them. It won’t take long before you will be asked to step up and take on bigger responsibility and bigger problems. The point is, become a great problem solver and you will go far.
Need help with improving your value as a problem solver? Reach out and let’s have a conversation. Become a world-class problem solver!