The BIG DISCONNECT
This happens all the time in business to business sales, in service marketing, in getting along with your boss and even in hiring someone.
One side thinks they have figured out a solution. They spend a long time talking about the solution, architecting it, refining it, pricing it, pitching it, delivering it. The other side ends up not liking what they get. The disconnect: the first side says, "this solution is exactly as we described it!" the other side says, "it doesn't work right."
The disconnect is caused because people focus on the solution instead of the problem you were given to solve.
It's a lot easier and much more fun to talk about features and hours spent and someone's resume and a lot more difficult to dig into the problem itself. The problem becomes avoidable but simply discussing all the features and benefits that solve multitudes of problems, regardless if this current problem in included.
This is where the obligating question becomes so critical. "If we can deliver a dam that stops the water flow, will you be delighted?" "If I can hire someone who can answer ten calls an hour and keep customers coming back, will that work?" "If this book cover receives an award for best design, will that be a win?"
The difficult conversation about the problem is far more useful than the endless effort on solutions. The reason is that people don't tell themselves (or you) about the problem they're actually solving.In many cases too many clients do not know what they are truly trying to solve. Many times they simply have a problem without even knowing it!
Sure, they'd like an employee that does x, y or z, but you know what, they'd also like that person to be really good looking and willing to do our bidding, waiting on us hand and foot. Sure, we'd like a personal computer with a lot of computing power, but we'd also like it to be light and sexy and low cost...
You must get more clarity about what a successful solution looks like, the more likely you will be to have a delighted and satisfied customer when you're done
Good Luck and Happy Marketing
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