How much pain does your prospect really feel?

Most sellers find the problem. Fewer prove the value. Only the best make the prospect feel it.

If you've read the MEDDPICC book (and you should!), you'll know there are three levels to pain:

1️⃣ Identify - find a situation the prospect has that you can make better

2️⃣ Indicate - agree with them the direct value in doing so; the business case

3️⃣ Implicate - ensure that all relevant people are wishing they could solve it fast

Most sellers handle 1️⃣ well enough. They know their product, they know their clients' likely challenges, and they can spot where something isn't working - an inefficient process, a gap in information, an operational headache. They have a good conversation about it. The prospect nods along.

And then nothing happens.

Highlighting a problem isn't enough to move a deal. Which is why most sellers know they need to get to 2️⃣ - a clear articulation of the value the prospect will get by fixing it. Usually in cost or revenue terms, sometimes in risk reduced. A compelling ROI helps, but it still takes significant work to get the prospect to truly believe in it and act on it.

The holy grail is 3️⃣. You socialise the challenge across the organisation, validated by the prospect's own team and by external references. You show them the future - what their world looks like on the other side of the decision. Once the relevant stakeholders are talking amongst themselves about where they want to get to and what's standing in their way, the deal takes on its own momentum.

Implicated pain is about emotion. This is the critical insight. Your prospect doesn’t just understand the problem - they feel it. They want it gone. They're excited about the future you're describing.

It's tempting to think the logic leads to the feeling - that the challenges, the lost revenue, the ROI analysis adds up to a conviction that change is necessary. But it works the other way round. People feel the pain. They feel the pull of a better future. Then they reach for the facts to justify what they want to do.

Our job is to make sure our buyers feel the pain of staying still and feel the potential of where we can take them.

That starts with great discovery - listening carefully, asking questions that go deeper than the surface problem, and finding a champion who can show you where the organisation is really suffering.

I’m happy to discuss how to get there in practice.