1/19/2009
B2B Sales and the Problem of Pain
For seven months, I suffered with some extraordinarily severe knee pain. Thankfully, the doctors fixed me up on New Year’s Eve and now my knee is back to normal. I’d like to share a few things I learned during my experience with pain, and then try to relate it to sales in the b2b sphere. I think there are a few connections.
It’s hard to think rationally when you’re in pain. When something unwelcome is in your head all the time – like pain, for instance – it starts to affect your thinking. I noticed I wasn’t thinking straight at times, mainly because the pain was almost continuously distracting me.
It’s hard to stay on an even keel. The ever present distraction affected my mood, too. It tended to exaggerate my grumpiness, and on those rare occasions when I was relatively pain free, I became euphoric.
Pain made me cautious. Now, I’m not a big daredevil to begin with. My idea of adventure is using a pen on the Saturday New York Times crossword. Be that as it may, when you’re in pain, the last thing you want is more pain. So I became more protective of my knee, less inclined to do simple things like walk down to the mailbox when the driveway was icy. I passed up several rounds of golf in the fall because I didn’t want to risk an injury. (As an aside, the one time I did play, I shot a 79, my best round in about ten years. That also led to euphoria.)
Pain becomes the new normal. After a few months I had adapted to my condition – avoiding stairs, avoiding long car trips, etc. I accepted the fact that I might have to live this way for a while, perhaps indefinitely. Most significantly, I began to forget what it felt like to be normal. The compromises I was making in my activities became acceptable and natural.
Normal becomes pleasure … for a time. Today, now that I’m fixed up, normal feels better than normal. However, with each passing day, I have to remind myself of how good it feels to climb stairs or get out of the car without wincing. I was always conscious of the pain, but I’m not always conscious of the absence of pain.
B2B Sales and Pain
Are there any lessons here? I think so.
First of all, I think it’s safe to say every company has pain – those nagging problems that just don’t go away. So, when prospects seem irrational, or reluctant to move away from their pain, perhaps it’s the pain itself that’s causing the behavior. Like it did to me, the distraction of pain might be messing with their head. Perhaps they are wedded to their pain. Above all, don’t be put off by negative vibes – it may be the pain talking, not your prospect.
So how do you talk to a customer in pain? You can’t assume that in the mind of the customer, normal is a given. Perhaps they’ve forgotten what normal feels like. So paint them a picture. Show them, remind them, take them through step by step, what life is like when backorders are under control and servers aren’t crashing every other day. And put emotion into your words. Pain has trouble grappling with pure ideas. Pain needs comfort and reassurance and perhaps the distraction of a good joke or cartoon.
Don’t assume satisfied customers will stay satisfied. Pain is always top of mind. But like me, a customer who is not feeling pain may take normal for granted. Reselling customers is important – we all know that. But what we may not know is that customers want to be resold. You shouldn’t feel as though you’re wasting the customer’s time or annoying him when you resell your wares. I would love to have a little sales rep on my shoulder saying “Brad! Notice how cool it feels to get out of the car without cringing!” every time I get out of the car. Don’t overdo the reselling, but do it.
Sellers don’t need to make extravagant claims. When you’re in pain, you don’t need ecstasy. Normal is just fine, thank you. My doctor didn’t have to suggest I’d be slalom skiing in the Winter Olympics to sell me on the arthroscopic procedure. All he had to do was tell me I would be able to “resume normal activities”. In the same way, if you identify the prospect’s pain, don’t oversell your cure, thinking it will inspire action. It might not. On a certain level, pain is comfortable because it is a known quantity and it is familiar. The more radical the cure, the more unbelievable the outcome, the more likely the prospect will stay with the familiar. On the other hand, we all want to be normal – that’s not risky. And it’s realistic. And it’s buyable.
Sellers know it’s easier to sell on the basis of relieving pain than offering gain. However, for a company, just like for me, the pain is always there. So when you’re selling gain, you still have to deal with pain, even if it’s completely disconnected from what you are selling. When I was a b2b buyer, I can recall many internal conversations about a knockout sales proposal that went something like this -
“It sure is a great idea, but we’ve got so many problems going on over there and over there, we just can’t take on any more risk.”
“But it’s a great idea!”
“Yeah, but let’s clear up all this other stuff first.”
Remember – when a prospect in pain, the last thing they want is more pain. And risk, after all, is an opportunity for pain. How do you deal with that as a sales person? I’m not really sure. How would you handle this problem of pain with a prospect?
12 Responses to B2B Sales and the Problem of Pain
Brad, firstly, I am so glad that you are no longer feeling the pain. Secondly, this is a brilliant comparison. The first point, “It’s hard to think rationally when you’re in pain,” made me sit up and take notice and each subsequent point made an equally compelling argument. It is hard to think rationally when you are in pain and this is true of buyer and seller. I wonder how many business owners are in pain today from the economy and making decisions that are not rational? This was a great post Brad! I’m sorry that it was inspired by your own pain but so glad that you are now on the other side.
Karen Swims last blog post..What I Learned From Crying on My Blog
Brad, glad to hear you’re pain free! I started the new year with quite some back pain, so I think I pretty much feel your comparison
. It’s indeed a great one, I have to agree with Karen. Every single individual working in a company has some pain to deal with, be it work related or personal, and dealing with it properly and not letting it get the best of them or lead them to have false perception of what’s going on around them is a daily task. Your post is a perfect reminder of this reality.
Alina Popescus last blog post..Monday Reading Roundup Take #19
Hi Karen, Yes, today some companies are in extreme pain because of the economy – you would know that better than most being in Detroit. Isn’t it true that many companies in this situation pull back on advertising and marketing? Really, that is not good business, but it happens time and time again.
Alina, You’ve expanded on my point in a way I never thought of! I was thinking about company pain, associated with company activities and processes. You add a whole new layer of personal pain, which also has tremendous impact on company decision making.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..B2B Sales and the Problem of Pain
Brad, glad to hear you’re on the road to recovery. Good point about the things we get used to… I guess part of the solution is to break state (to jolt out of the state of numbness or being accustomed to pain) without doing it so abruptly that you break rapport or remind someone of their pain and make it worse!
Joanna Youngs last blog post..Audacious Faith in the Future
Hi Joanna, I think you are right. From a sales perspective you have to get a prospect to start thinking differently, envisioning a different future. Or perhaps simply envisioning a future. Today, with the economy in a shambles (as Karen points out so well), companies develop a bunker mentality and stop even thinking about what comes next. This I think is a normal human response. It is hard to think ahead when you are suffering.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..B2B Sales and the Problem of Pain
Brad, I think I’ll miss your “normal” grumpiness! But on a serious note, you did a brilliant job of teaching a business skill through the story of your bum knee. Keep it up.
Bill
Hi Bill, Thanks (I think)!
Don’t worry – I have a whole other knee waiting in the wings for future grumpiness and blog posts.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..B2B Sales and the Problem of Pain
Brad, I did not realize you were in such pain, but oh how glad I am that you are now out of it.
I thought your insights about possibilities the best way to move into action. here’s just one that is so appropriate coming from you… “Pain has trouble grappling with pure ideas. Pain needs comfort and reassurance and perhaps the distraction of a good joke or cartoon.”
A good belly laugh can change your mood and I look forward to more of your cartoons upcoming.
Robyn McMasters last blog post..No Holding Back Ella Mae Johnson from Inauguration
Hi Robyn, Yes, there is definitely healing power in humor! My post today features a cartoon … it’s so nice to know you like them.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..The Lighter Side of Banking?
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Hi Brad,
I’m sorry I missed this post whilst I was on vacation, but I am glad to hear that you are feeling a lot better.
As a youngish man, I have not really thought a great deal about the issue of physical pain, and I guess I have taken a lot of things related to physical well being for granted.
But no doubt as people progress through the natural aging process, the concept of experiencing physical pain during the performance of relatively simple tasks is an issue which virtually everybody person has to learn to grapple with. I myself was born with scoliosis (abnormal curvature in the spine), and whilst I am able to perform simple physical tasks with ease for now, I have no doubt that I will start to experience a significant level of back pain during the next few decades as I get older.
In addition to the lessons about B2B sales pain, I think that your recent experience also highlights a very important lesson for all adults of whatever age who enjoy good health. That is to not wait – to get out and do some take advantage of physical capabilities whilst we have them. Because one day, our health may deteriorate to the point when we can no longer do them.
Recently, I was hiking up a decent sized mountain (about 1,000m above sea level) close to where I live. I passed by a lady in her sixties on the way up, and it was obvious that the climb was causing a degree of physical challenge to her. I could see the look on her face as I bounded past her as she struggled up – it said “Boy, I wish I had young legs!”
Whilst I had great admiration for her efforts in climbing the mountain in spite of her challenges, the thought also occurred to me that one day, I will be in her shoes, and I, too, will struggle to be able to go hiking.
Andrews last blog post..How healthy is Apple’s disclosure?
Hi Andrew, You are right about enjoying it while you can. Good health is a real blessing and you never know what tomorrow will bring. On the other hand, people can overcome all kinds of physical challenges and do the most amazing things. Your attitude makes a world of difference. I hope your back holds out for a long, long time.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Put a Little Love in Your Marketing