| | |  | How2 Obtain Orders from B2B Buyers’ Problems
Buyers use their company’s budgets to solve problems - sometimes they spend a lot, and other times, they spend very little. So, as a supplier, some problems are more ‘desirable’ than others. Find out how to identify which problems match your particular strengths.
Even better, find out what problems your products or services can solve more effectively than your competitors. First of all, make a comprehensive list of all the problems your target market faces, and highlight those that you can solve. Then ask yourself some searching questions: | 
Bookmark with
What are these?
| | | | | | Examine the list - Speak to existing customers and ask them what might have been the result if they had not bought your product or solution
- Speak to your internal sales team – they often have a very good understanding of prospects’ problems
- Get feedback from prospects in your target market about the problems they face (focus groups are excellent for this sort of feedback)
- Ask a “co-operative” prospect to explain how they prioritise their budget for the year. Find out what happens if they don’t use their budget
Examine the list and then make a note of all the problems that you have a solution for. Ask your technical department about the current problems they are trying to solve - they will be able to inform you about the benefits of a particular product or service. Discover what could happen if the prospect does not use your solution.
Now add to this list the problems your sales channel have discovered. Ask them these questions: - What type of problems have they been successful at revealing in the past?
- Which problems come up regularly?
- Which problems do they occasionally uncover in their day-to-day activities?
|  Put the list in order of priorities | Now it’s time to make some decisions - assess the merits of each problem in terms of the potential revenue for your business. Look at the reasons why one problem could be more financially attractive than another, and score each one. Does any particular problem have more of an adverse affect on businesses than any other? Is the problem growing quicker than others? Will the competition be greater or lower? Is the nature of the problem changing?
The next step is to assess your organisation’s strengths in terms of the ability to solve these problems. Do you have a particular solution that stands out more than any other? Is this solution well-established in the marketplace? | | Choose the “most advantageous” problem | This analysis might appear to be theoretical and overly complex, but this research is essential: - If you focus on prospect problems that are not financially beneficial, you will not help your company’s bottom line
- Alternatively, if you focus on the most financially rewarding problem but you are weak against the competition, you won’t win many orders
|  | | These three options are best | - Select a problem that’s financially rewarding and which you have a strong solution. Focus on this opportunity
- If you find a problem that offers potentially excellent financial rewards, but you don’t currently have an excellent solution for, overcome the weaknesses as a longer-term strategy
- If you can only find problems you are well-able to solve, but are not very financially rewarding, treat them as a short-term option only
Remember – prospects are happy to spend their budgets on eliminating problems. Choose the right problem and your company will benefit financially. | | | | "as a supplier, some problems are more ‘desirable’ than others. Find out how to identify which problems match your particular strengths" |  | | | | | | "If you focus on prospect problems that are not financially beneficial, you will not help your company’s bottom line" | | | | | | | "Remember – prospects are happy to spend their budgets on eliminating problems. Choose the right problem and your company will benefit financially" | | | | |  | | | 
Lead generation | | | 
Lead Qualification | | | 
Lead Nurturing | | | 
Lead Management | | | 
Strategy & Planning | | | | | | | For more information on our services and products: | | | | | | |
|
Marketing Programmes 
Know How 
)
Join me on Linked-In
|
Delicious
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Furl
Blinklist
Reddit
Spurl
Fark
Newsvine
Simpy
call +44 (0)1256 834 040
