Working out a business problem and how YOU can fix it

by Davina Schonle | Jul 15, 2021 | Business

A corporate client, or any client for that matter will only work with you if you can help them with a problem they have.

So identifying what PROBLEMS you help with is essential if you are going to offer your services as a SOLUTION to that problem and be able to explain that. 

Here is an exercise we get our clients to work through by answering the following questions:

• What problem or problems do they have?
• Why is it important to them?
• What is the risk of not solving it?
• How does it impact their business goals?
• How does it impact the organisation’s individuals, what’s the impact on the team and the impact on the organisation as a whole?

For example, if you have the problem of staff retention. That impacts on the hiring manager, on the team that has to pick up other work, on the recruitment and training of the individuals (time and process). 

After reading this, you might say to us – but I haven’t spoken to this prospect before, how can I work out their problem?  

And we would say – You don’t need to know specifically about that business and what their problems are – this is hard to find out without speaking to them. However, what you can do is research and gain an understanding of what problems the industry is facing, what problems does this result in for the individuals and teams within the company.  Importantly what problems could you help with and what are the risks of these problems if they are not solved. 

Try it now with one of your current corporate clients that you know a lot about – what problems are they facing, have you spoken to them about all the ways your business could help them rectify these issues?  Can you find any research to show them what might happen if they don’t fix these issues soon?