Are You Selling the Solution Before Your Customer Understands the Problem?

I was reading something recently about psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky and their research on something called loss aversion. Basically, they discovered that people tend to feel the pain of losing something more strongly than the pleasure of gaining something of equal value.

That’s interesting when you think about it. We don’t like losing things, whether it’s money, time, possessions, or something we’ve worked hard to build. Sometimes we’ll even hang on to something that isn’t doing us any good simply because we don’t want to admit we’ve lost something in the process.

Of course, my mind immediately went to marketing and copywriting. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve spent nearly 30 years working with websites, businesses, and helping people sell things online. Somehow, just about everything I read eventually finds its way back to marketing.

But this particular thought got me thinking about how we present our products and services and why so many businesses might be approaching the sales process backward.

The Problem With Selling Yourself First

Over the years, I’ve looked at thousands of websites, and one thing I’ve noticed is how often businesses start by telling visitors how great they are. People Don’t Care!!!

You know the type. “Welcome to ABC Company, where we’ve been providing exceptional service and innovative solutions for over 25 years.”

Okay, great. Congratulations on 25 years in business. That’s certainly something to be proud of, but is that really what the person visiting your website wants to know first?

More than likely, they arrived at your website because they’re looking for something. Maybe they’re having a problem, trying to find a better way to do something, or looking for someone who can help them accomplish a particular goal.

They’re not necessarily interested in how wonderful your company is, at least not yet. They’re interested in finding out whether you understand what they’re dealing with and whether you might have an answer.

And yet, so many businesses jump straight into talking about their products, their services, their accomplishments, and why someone should choose them over the competition.

I’ve probably been guilty of that myself more times than I’d care to admit.

The problem is, we’re trying to sell the solution before we’ve even established that the customer understands the problem.

A Different Way to Look at PAS

If you’ve studied much copywriting, you’ve probably heard of the PAS formula. It stands for Problem, Agitate, Solution, and it’s been used by marketers and copywriters for years.

The concept is pretty simple. You identify a problem someone is experiencing, make them more aware of the frustration or consequences of that problem, and then introduce your solution.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that approach, and when it’s done well, it can be very effective. But I’ve always looked at it a little differently.

I tend to think of it as Pain Point ? Understanding ? Solution.

To me, there’s an important difference between agitating someone’s problem and demonstrating that you understand what they’re going through.

I don’t necessarily need to make someone feel worse about their situation to convince them they need help. In many cases, they’re already frustrated enough. What they really want is someone who understands what’s happening and can help them figure out what to do about it.

Think about someone whose website isn’t bringing in the leads or sales they expected.

I could tell them their website is outdated, they’re losing potential customers, their competitors are doing a better job, and every day they wait is costing them money.

That might get their attention, but it could also make them feel like I’m just trying to scare them into buying something.

Instead, what if I approached it more like a conversation?

Maybe they’ve invested a considerable amount of money into their website, but it isn’t producing the results they expected. They’ve tried making changes, listened to advice from different people, and perhaps even hired someone to help. But they’re still not sure what’s wrong or what they should fix first.

If I can describe what they’re experiencing in a way that makes them think, “That’s exactly what I’m dealing with,” I’ve accomplished something pretty important.

I’ve demonstrated that I understand their problem, and now they have a reason to keep listening.

Understanding Comes Before the Solution

One thing I’ve learned from working with businesses over the years is that the problem someone thinks they have isn’t always the problem that needs to be fixed.

I’ve had people come to me wanting a completely new website when, after looking things over, I realized their existing website could probably do the job just fine. The real issue might have been their messaging, how their products were presented, or simply making it easier for visitors to take the next step.

Now, I suppose I could have sold them a new website. After all, that’s what they came asking for, right?

But would I really have solved their problem, or would I have just sold them something?

That’s where understanding becomes so important, and I think it’s something we sometimes overlook in our sales copy.

Before presenting a solution, we need to demonstrate that we understand what the customer is experiencing. We need to recognize their frustrations, concerns, and what they’ve possibly already tried to do about the situation.

In a face-to-face conversation, that’s usually accomplished by asking questions and listening. On a website or sales page, we have to accomplish much of that through the words we write.

When someone reads your copy and feels like you understand their situation, you’re beginning to build trust. And I’ve always believed that trust plays a pretty significant role in whether someone decides to do business with you.

Explain the Solution Before You Sell Your Solution

Here’s another area where I think we sometimes get ahead of ourselves. Once we’ve identified the customer’s pain point and demonstrated that we understand it, we immediately start explaining why they should hire us or purchase our product.

But I think there’s an important step missing.

Before explaining why they need your solution, help them understand what the solution actually is and why it makes sense.

Let’s go back to our website example. If someone’s website isn’t producing results, I might explain how unclear messaging can confuse visitors, how difficult navigation can cause people to leave, or how a poorly positioned call to action can prevent someone from taking the next step.

Maybe their website doesn’t need to be completely rebuilt. Maybe they simply need to make it easier for visitors to understand what they offer and what to do next.

By explaining those things, I’m helping them understand what needs to change and why making those changes could improve their results.

Notice that I still haven’t told them why they should hire me.

I’m simply helping them understand the problem and what a reasonable solution might look like. Once we’ve reached that point, explaining how I can help becomes a natural part of the conversation rather than a sales pitch that showed up before they were ready to hear it.

Now Let’s Talk About the Money

This is where my original thought about loss aversion started getting even more interesting.

Let’s say I’m offering a website improvement package for $1,500. To the business owner, that’s $1,500 they already have in their bank account, and spending it means giving up something they currently possess.

Remember, people generally feel the pain of losing something more strongly than the pleasure of gaining something of equal value.

So even though they might understand that improving their website could help their business, they’re still faced with the decision to part with $1,500 of their hard-earned money. And depending on their situation, that might be a pretty difficult decision.

Now, I could spend a lot of time telling them about all the improvements they’ll receive. Better design, faster loading pages, improved navigation, stronger calls to action, and whatever else might be included.

Those are all good things, but are they really what the customer is buying?

I don’t think so.

What they’re really buying is the opportunity to eliminate a problem that’s preventing their business from performing the way it should.

Suppose we’ve already determined that their website is making it difficult for potential customers to contact them. Maybe they’ve even had people mention that they couldn’t find the information they needed.

Now let’s consider what that problem might be costing them.

If fixing the issue helped them gain just five additional customers each month, and each customer represented $300 in revenue, that could mean an additional $1,500 in monthly revenue.

Obviously, those are hypothetical numbers, and I’d never recommend making up potential results just to convince someone to buy. But when you can reasonably demonstrate the financial impact of a problem, you change how the customer evaluates the cost of solving it.

Instead of looking at a $1,500 expense, they can begin comparing that investment against what the unresolved problem might already be costing them.

And that’s where I think understanding loss aversion can make a difference in how we present our offers.

The Price Isn’t Necessarily the Problem

I’ve heard people say that customers won’t buy because something is too expensive. Sometimes that’s absolutely true. Not everyone has the budget for every product or service, regardless of how valuable it might be.

But other times, I think the problem isn’t necessarily the price. It’s that the customer hasn’t been given enough information to understand the value of what they’re purchasing.

If I don’t understand why I need something, even $50 might seem like too much money.

On the other hand, if I clearly understand a problem, recognize what it’s costing me, and believe a particular solution will help correct it, spending $1,500 might make perfect sense.

The price didn’t change. My understanding of the problem and the value of fixing it did.

There’s another side to this as well. Loss aversion can actually work against us when we’re trying to sell something.

Even if a business owner realizes their website might be costing them potential customers, they’re still being asked to give up money they already have in exchange for results they haven’t experienced yet.

That’s why I think it’s so important to establish understanding and trust before getting into the cost of the solution.

We need to help people understand not only what they’re getting for their money, but why solving the problem is worth the investment.

And I don’t think that requires pressure, exaggerated claims, or some carefully crafted sales gimmick. Sometimes it simply requires explaining things in a way that makes sense.

Maybe We’re Starting the Conversation in the Wrong Place

The more I thought about this, the more I realized how easily we can get caught up in talking about what we offer instead of why someone might need it.

We’re proud of our products and services. We know how much work went into creating them, and we understand the value they can provide. So naturally, we want to tell everyone about them.

But the person on the other side of the screen doesn’t necessarily have that same understanding.

They’re approaching the conversation from a completely different perspective. They’re thinking about their needs, their problems, their budget, and whether spending money on something is going to make their situation better.

Maybe instead of immediately telling people what we sell, we should spend a little more time helping them understand the problem we’re capable of solving.

Start with the pain point and demonstrate that you understand what they’re experiencing. Explain what needs to happen to correct the problem and why that solution makes sense. Then, once they understand those things, explain how your product or service can help them accomplish it.

When you finally get to the price, don’t just tell them what it costs. Help them understand the value of solving the problem and, when appropriate, what leaving that problem unresolved might continue to cost them.

To me, that seems like a much more natural way to approach selling.

It’s not about manipulating people into spending money. It’s about helping them make a decision based on a better understanding of their situation and the solution being offered.

I think that’s what I like most about looking at the traditional PAS formula as Pain Point, Understanding, and Solution. It changes the focus from trying to convince someone to buy something to helping them understand why they might need it in the first place.

And once you’ve accomplished that, explaining how you can help and what it costs becomes a whole lot easier.

So here’s something to think about the next time you’re working on your website, writing a sales page, or putting together an email promoting your products or services.

Take a look at where you’re starting the conversation. Are you immediately telling people how great your business is and what you have to sell, or are you first helping them recognize the problem you can solve?

You might discover that a few changes in how you approach that conversation can make a pretty significant difference.

After all, people aren’t necessarily looking to buy what we’re selling. They’re looking for a way to solve a problem, accomplish something, or make their situation better.

And sometimes, the best way to sell something is to stop trying to sell it quite so quickly.