No matter what kind of service or product a business sells, what they’re really selling are solutions.

If you’re having trouble getting people to invest in your offerings, it’s very likely that you’re not in your prospects’ heads.

Translation? Your offers aren’t fulfilling an emotional need.

To find out what they need, you simply need to ask them (your prospects, clients and customers).

Whether the conversation takes place via email, phone, or Skype, the goal is to find the unmet need that lines up with what you can provide.

There are several key questions you can ask, including:

• When it comes to _____ what are your biggest challenges?
• If you could have the perfect solution to this, what would that look like?
• What have you tried thus far that hasn’t worked?
• How would it feel to get this problem solved right now?
• If you could put a dollar amount on what this problem is costing you, what would that be?
• On a scale of 1-10, how critical is it for you to get this solved?
• Have you ever spent money on a product or service like this before?
• What did you like best about it? What was frustrating about buying this kind of service or product?

You’ll find that asking these kinds of questions can be very revealing, and that the information that you uncover will be extremely valuable.

(By the way, if you work one-on-one with clients, these are also great questions to ask in a Discovery or Get Acquainted session.)

Be sure to listen carefully to the answers you receive, as this will show you truly care about what they need. It’s important to note the phrases and words used, especially the repeated, common terms. You can even create a file where you store these words and terms. That way, you can use that same language in your marketing and sales conversations–and reposition your offerings as solutions to the needs you’ve uncovered!

(Remember to emphasize benefits over features, as benefits are what make you money! They help you address customers’ interests, hopes, fears, needs and desires.)

In my own business, I make it a habit to ask for feedback that will help me create new programs, services and products based on my market’s needs. I do this via an autoresponder that goes out when anyone new joins my email list, as well as by surveying my list regularly.

When it comes to offering solutions to your clients and customers, it really comes down to this:
The most important thing is not what you THINK they need; it’s what they say they WANT! People buy based on emotions, so position your offerings to make them say, “I need to have that!”

Next time you create or re-design your offerings, do so by keeping people’s deeper unmet needs in mind… and watch your bank account grow!

(Photo Credit: Stuart Miles)