What’s the Problem?

Whether they are referred to as problems, challenges, issues, glitches, gremlins, snags, obstacles, troubles, or an industry-specific euphemism, if your client is suffering from them, you can call them opportunities. Because that’s what you do: solve your clients’ problems. And they know that. Right?

Well, here are three strategies proven NOT to work when helping your clients solve their problems.

Decreeing from above
When people feel like they are being dictated to or, worse, told they are wrong, they automatically stop listening. Remember when your mom told you to do the dishes? Even if, at that moment, you were on your way to the kitchen to take care of them, as soon as she told you to, you probably stopped in your tracks and wanted to run the other way.

Beating around the bush
Just as it is usually not a good idea to tell people outright that they are wrong, you also don’t want to sugarcoat the story so well that your customers and prospects are unable to see themselves or their issues in it. The fact is most people do not enjoy the effort of having to figure out what you are trying to tell them. At most, they’ll give you a few seconds to make a connection and then stop trying.

Bragging
There is a fine line between making sure the light of your product or service is not hidden under a bushel and bragging or gloating. The truth is that no one cares about you or your company. What they do care about is what you can do for them: how you can help them save their company money or find the long–sought-after solution to their problem or look good in their boss’s eyes and get promoted. One good way to do this is to make your story relevant to their situation, not to talk about the wonders of your product or service.

These are just a few things to think about as you create content for your customers’ consumption.

-June 2011