Executive Summary:
Sales reps that can identify a buyer’s goals and objectives will be in an ideal position to
uncover obstacles that are creating pain. Sales reps must understand that a buyer’s pain is
their opportunity. The bigger and more urgent the pain, the better reps can properly identify
the buyer’s pain classification, and therefore be able to effectively lead with an aligned
solution that meets their needs.
Classifying Buyer Pain
SLiA Group
Sales Leadership in Action Group
Sales reps that follow a disciplined approach to identifying and highlighting the gap
of need that the buyer is experiencing, while differentiating their solution from any
competition that may exist, will effectively move opportunities through their funnel.
Bottom Line & Business Impact:
Page 1
© 2010 SLiA Group Inc., sliagroup.com
Lay of the LandFixing the Buyers Pain Creates Opportunity
All buying organizations experience pain on some level. Pain can affect a single individual,
department, or be experienced company wide. Obstacles cause many pains within an
organization. Obstacles are also what stand in the way of buyer goals and objectives. Since
obstacles create many pains, it is important that reps do not rely on fixing one pain, but
the many pains that comprise the entire obstacle. Solving one pain for a buyer is only a
part of the solution.
When creating these solutions, reps must be conscious of the different levels of pain that
buyers can experience. It is imperative that sales reps act accordingly depending on the
buyer’s pain classification. These actions are based on the buyer engagement process.
By proceeding accordingly, a buyer-centric sales process is created where reps focus on
helping their buyers achieve their goals by identifying:
• Suppressed Pain
• Recognized Pain
• Removing Obstacles
Suppressed Pain
Buyers who experience suppressed pain are generally not actively seeking a sales solution.
This is usually the case because buyers have:
• Not found a solution to suit their needs: When buyers