Why Being a Problem Solver is Important in Sales

Some salespeople have one thing in mind when it comes to sales: closing the deal.

But what they don’t seem to understand is that closing is only one, tiny part of the transaction.

Salespeople need to realize that strictly focusing on closing won't help them in the long-run, especially with a consultative sale.

The truth is: nobody wants to be sold on something. They would rather you express that you care and are able to help.

And to best communicate that you care, you need to have empathy, ask the right questions, and most importantly, be a problem-solver.

Why is being a problem solver important in sales?

Problem-solvers are exceptional salespeople that are able to quickly identify what the prospect really needs.

Being a problem solver in the eyes of your prospective buyer will help you enable buying.

Your prospective buyer likely won't enjoy being “sold” on something – and may very well see through the act.

Aggressive sales tactics, for instance, aren’t appropriate for every industry and many people don’t respond well to them.

However, if you learn how to paint a picture of how your product or service can help solve or prevent the buyer's problem, you are more likely to win them over.

By doing so, you are pretty much leading the horse to the water and increasing the likelihood that it will drink.

Asking good questions will help you uncover problems.

The art of being a problem solver entails getting good at interviewing your prospect, thoroughly.

Alongside building good rapport, the interview/questioning process will help you uncover problems that your potential client is facing.

And, it will also help them realize that they made a good decision by choosing to move forward with you.

Being a good problem solver involves planting seeds.

Sometimes, you can ask the best questions in the world and uncover all sorts of problems – both actual and potential.

But, it may not necessarily click with your prospect that they should move forward with you.

Don’t despair if this happens. If you have truly presented yourself as a problem solver, the prospect is likely to come back to you in the future for help with solving other problems.

Sometimes, regardless of what we do to enable buying and move forward with closing, there may still be hidden obstacles in our way that we won't be able to clear immediately.

Being genuine and planting the seed that you may be able to help in the future, if not immediately, will help increase the size of your sales funnel overtime. Remember, not everything has to close right away!

Keep the above in mind and see for yourself why being a problem solver is important in sales!