The pain point is the way to your potential clients saying YES.

I know pain may not seem like the most pleasant topic in the world.Who wants to think about struggles, frustrations, and angst? Doesn’t sound like much fun to spend your time going over and over the things that are wrong, does it?

But as a business owner, entrepreneur, or service provider, pain is actually key. When it comes to the things that make the difference between your prospect whipping out the credit card or your prospect saying, “No, thanks,” pain is a huge factor.

The amount of pain your client or customer is in will determine whether they buy now or later.

You’ve probably heard it before, but I wouldn’t be bringing it up if it weren’t that important. People are most likely to buy when they’re at the end of their rope, see no other options, and are desperate for a way out.

Makes it pretty obvious, then, that in order to make more sales, you’ve got to know what your ideal client’s pain is all about.

The good news is that you don’t have to dwell on the bad stuff. All you have to do is be AWARE of it. Then comes the fun part.

After you know what the problem is and the major pain point for your client, you get to determine the solution. Then you can create it, provide it, and change lives for the better.

Nothing quite like saving the day for someone, is there?

Recall what we talked about last week with the four stages from the book “Strategic Selling.” Your clients are either in pain, gain, status quo, or overconfidence. And it’s the “pain” part that is most likely to bring them to your door seeking a solution.

You might know that my partner and I work with Major League Baseball teams providing high-quality catering. That entails working closely with team dieticians. Not too long ago, I reached out to one of the dieticians for the Texas Rangers. We met, hit it off, and started building a genuine rapport and a favorable relationship.

Did she say “yes” to my pitch on the spot, though? No.

But then a few months into the season, I got a phone call. Turns out that her workload had skyrocketed and her stress level had tripled. Just like that, nothing sounded better to her than picking up the phone and having the team’s catering needs completely covered.

In other words, she went from status quo to pain pretty fast, and that was what made her think of me and make the next move to get the deal started.

That’s exactly why knowing the pain point for your clients is so crucial. Figuring out what the pain point is, knowing your client’s struggles thoroughly, and using them to make your solutions the best that money can buy is what we’re going to talk about right now!

When it comes the pain point, there are two things you need to know.

First, you need to get your people to open up and be honest about what they’re going through. Then you need to determine why they’d come to you for a solution.

How do you even start to get people to open up and share what would really make their lives better? It all comes back to our old friends rapport and relationships.

You’ve got to learn what your clients are going through. Ask them questions. Show them that you understand. And do all of this with honesty and authenticity.

Luckily, this is not hard at all. All it takes is a little bit of probing, a lot of listening, and an abundance of empathy. You can do this, and I’ll show you how!

Step #1: BE with your client.

People know whether you’re just asking a series of leading questions just to ask them or you genuinely care about the answers. What makes the difference? BEING with someone, honestly and authentically.

Eliminate the distractions (including ones in your own head). Put away the cell phone and actually focus on the person in front of you. It might sound like common sense, but with all of the distractions in the world today it’s not that common anymore.

When you enter into a conversation, drop the distractions, drop the agenda, and silence your own inner commentary. Then simply listen when the other person is talking.

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, believe it or not sometimes it takes practice! And I’ve got a great tip to up your skills in this area.

Try this: grab a friend, set a timer if you like, and practice simply being with another person. Open your eyes, close your mouth, and stare into the other person’s eyes. Not in a weird way. Not in a humorous way. Just simply let go of expectations and agendas and look into the other person’s eyes.

It’s actually harder than it sounds!

But if you can master this one, you’ll become a pro at getting potential clients to open up and share their biggest frustrations and challenges with you. It’s well worth the effort.

Step #2: Repeat back what they say to you.

As your client starts to reveal what’s going on, clarify along the way. You want to let them know that you’re listening and hearing what they’re saying. Clarifying their concerns and pain points as you go along by repeating them back is a great way to begin.

Doing this helps you to find common ground, too. Take the dieticians that I work with, for example. Most of them are female. We have a lot of common interests. I make it my business to know what’s going on in their world and relate to them as people as well as clients.

All of this makes them a lot more likely to trust me. If they trust me, they are a lot more likely to tell me what pain points are keeping them awake at night.

Step #3: Genuinely care about what they say.

No faking it ‘til you make it here. You’ve got to genuinely care. But if you follow steps one and two, you’re already there.

Getting back to my dieticians, for example. I know one of them is pregnant. I know one just got married. I’m interested in knowing them as people as well as clients. I’m not making it all up just to get the sale down the road.

Ultimately, when you’ve gotten to know them as people, they’re going to share their pains and challenges with you. And when you have the solution to help them get that stress and frustration off their plates, everyone wins.

Once you get your clients to tell you their true stories, what do you DO with it all? Now it’s time to break it down into what LKR Social Media calls “The Five Whys”. We touched on this a little bit last week, too. Recall that we said the client has a “why” for seeking your help. Today we’re taking that all to the next level. (Or the next five levels!)

Here’s how that all breaks down. Think about the person that you want to work with the most. Why do I want this person to work with me? Why would I want to work with them? And what would we ideally accomplish in working together?

Ask yourself these questions:

• What is their overall problem?
• What do they need the most right now?
• What outcome do they want the most?
• What is their ultimate pain point?

Let’s use the Pitch Queen as an example. What would my answers be to the five questions?

For me, the overall problem my ideal client has is attracting enough people to even try to sell their product or service. The thing they need the most right now is to get more sales and make more money. The outcome they want the most is to be successful in their business. Finally, their ultimate pain point is not being able to do what makes them happy and not feeling satisfied with the lifestyle they currently have.

My challenge to you is this: first, consider someone who you’ve never worked with before but you believe might be an ideal client. Take an opportunity to connect with them, listen to them, and encourage them to share what they need the most help with. From there, come up with a list of the five whys for yourself.

This is the time to think like a doctor and get your diagnostic skills going. What is going on in your client’s life? What is keeping them awake at night? Get your prospects to tell you their “why,” then expand on the why with the five questions above.

This is your opportunity not only to get to know your ideal client a lot better, but also make a bigger difference in their lives. And make a lot more sales, too!

Be with your prospects. Show them that you understand. Repeat back what they say and communicate clearly. Most of all, take all of these steps because you genuinely care.

Ask yourself what your client’s five whys are and put them into action.

It’s not always fun to dwell on the bad stuff, but once you know what kind of bad stuff your clients are going through, you get an opportunity. Taking someone else’s pain away and bringing relief, joy, and happiness into their life is just as gratifying for you as it is for the client. Why not give everyone an opportunity to win big?

Know your client’s pain points. Solve them with gusto. And know that you’re bringing just a little bit more happiness into the world, one client at a time.

If you want even more tips and tricks for making pain a thing of the past for your clients (and totally rock your bottom line while you’re at it), check our this video and my FREE guide, “The Point of the Pain Point: Two Steps To Selling What They REALLY Want” right HERE!