I want to talk about solving problems. It’s a pretty simple conversation and yet it’s one I get into all the time businesses who meet a certain need feel like they’re doing a good job, and maybe they are let’s just challenge that a little bit if you have a need you are going to have a look at how.
I might meet that need, and how others might meet that need you’ll read my information, you’ll talk to my sales people and you’ll test whether we can meet the need if we solve a problem for you whether it’s a current problem or a problem you’re likely to have in the future you’ll happily spend money they both sound good; if you do have a need, you’ll spend time if you do have a problem you’ll spend money here’s the problem if you do have a need but do not have a problem you’ll spend time with me but you won’t spend money with me and that’s the tire kicker syndrome why we lose deals often, to nobody because the buyer has a need, but they haven’t yet bought into the pain of inaction give an example, recently, I got an email from one of our funnel coaches who said, I’m in a conversation with a customer who says, they don’t solve problems, they meet needs okay I’ve had this conversation lots of times before and thought.
I knew where it was going and the prospect said we help companies make more profit that’s what they need, they need to make more profit, and that’s why they engage us that’s not solving a problem that’s giving them a good thing it is you’re absolutely right more profit is a need but if you’re already making enough profit they you’re not troubled, you won’t act, you won’t change what you’re doing or spend money the problem is insufficient profit or, unstained profits or, fear of insufficient profit that’s a future problem.
the problem is gap a deficiency an impediment it’s something bad and you won’t spend money with me unless you believe that there’s something bad that’s going on or might go on in your business on our case we help companies who have an underperforming sales and marketing engine if your sales and marketing engine is working as well as it should be then frankly you’re not going to spend any money with us, you might spend time looking at our stuff and listening to our blogs but if you don’t fundamentally believe that your engine is underperforming then you’re not going to spend any money.
it’s the same for your prospects until you can find out what problem they have that you can solve uncommonly well then you’re just pandering to what they think they need and you’re letting them self-diagnose. It’s kind of like going to the doctors and saying doctor, I need an injection right here I need two milligrams of a particular drug right here in this left elbow please we don’t do that, we say doctor, my elbow’s hurting and the doctor says, I know what the solution is likewise when you’re dealing with your prospects whether you’re in marketing or sales basically it’s the same thing not what do you think you need but what’s the problem you’re trying to solve or avoid if it’s a future problem and when we know that and we can convince them that we have the best ability to solve that problem.
that’s when they pay us the money so a problem can be either too much of a bad thing, like spending too much, it’s taking too long too much of a bad thing, or not enough of a good thing.
I’m growing, but I’m not growing fast enough I’m performing, but I’m not performing well enough I’m profitable, but not profitable enough either too much of a bad thing or not enough of a good thing, we need to know what that is what problem we can solve better than anybody else on the planet and we need to be fixated on finding people with that problem helping them realise that they have it and then helping them solve it hope that helps.
https://www.proadvertisingclub.com/splashpage.php?id=5&r=baezalid145rtd
The Freedom Crusaders Manifesto
https://s3.amazonaws.com/tagraudios.com/Freedom+Crusaders+Manifesto.pdf
In our last video, we considered possible models for implementing our regression estimation problem. In later lessons, we’ll discuss in much greater detail which models are most appropriate to take advantage of structure that might exist in data. At this moment, let’s choose linear regression.
To maintain data integrity, tables utilize constraints. Primary keys uniquely identify each row, while foreign keys establish relationships between tables.
Date and time functions handle operations on temporal data, like GETDATE for the current date/time or DATEADD for modifying dates. Aggregate functions (COUNT, MIN, MAX, etc.) summarize data across multiple rows. They are often used with GROUP BY and HAVING clauses for advanced analysis. For example, you could use COUNT and GROUP BY to get the number of orders per customer and HAVING to filter only customers with more than 10 orders.
And it’s true: Science can definitely help us understand our thoughts, feelings, and actions. But on this particular journey, we’re going to be exploring aspects of the human condition that can’t be explained only by hormones or neurotransmitters, by personal experiences or hereditary conditions. Because all of those chemicals and experiences that make us who we are, can actually raise as many questions as they answer. Like, if all of my decisions really are just the result of, say, how I was raised, and what chemicals I have flowing in my brain, then are any of my choices actually free? And if I’m not truly free to make my own decisions, or choose my own actions, then how can I be held accountable for them? Yeah. It’s going to be that kind of journey.
Like, is the world just made up of matter and energy, or is there something else going on? And if it is just matter and energy, then where did it all come from? Is there a God? And if so, what is he, she, or it like? And for that matter, when you’re asking about the world, can you also be asking about the nature of yourself, as a citizen of the world. So…what kind of being am I? Do I have a soul? Is there something immaterial about me that will survive after I die? All of these questions are ways of exploring what philosophers call metaphysics one of the three main branches of philosophy an effort to understand the fundamental nature of the world, of the universe, and of being. Now, if those questions aren’t heady enough for you, we, as students of philosophy, also have a whole separate set of questions, that are about how we know the answers to any of this stuff.
When somebody tells you about losing a $50,000 deal because they responded 6 hours late and the prospect signed with a competitor, that’s way more powerful than them saying, “I just need faster response times.” Here’s another technique that works. And this one feels a little bit weird the first time you use it, but it’s incredibly effective. Permission-based vulnerability. You say something like, “I know this might feel like a weird question, but humor me for a second. If you could wave a magic wand and completely eliminate one frustration from your business tomorrow, what would it be? The phrase, “Humor me,” gives them social permission to answer honestly without feeling like they’re being interrogated. And the magic wand question is huge. But here’s what most people miss. And this is the difference between good discovery and discovery that closes deals. The first answer is almost never the real answer. You have to dig. When they say, “I want more leads,” you follow up with, “Okay, imagine that you have all of the leads that you could ever want.” What changes? Now, they have to think past the surface.
This framework makes them feel heard, diagnosed, and confident that you can solve their problem. When someone reflects back to you your exact problem with precision, your brain thinks, “Finally, someone who gets it.” That feeling is rare. That feeling is what closes deals. Here’s the trust equation. And I want you to remember this. Understanding plus competence equals trust. Most people try to prove their competence by talking about their technical skills. But understanding comes first. Once they trust that you understand the problem, they’ll believe you can solve it. Now, I also need to tell you when to walk away because not every call should end in a proposal. And knowing when to disqualify might actually make you more money. Here are the red flags that I watch for. If they can’t articulate a clear problem, just a vague I want to explore AI energy, that’s a red flag. If they’re shopping with five different service providers and want you to compete on price, that’s a red flag. If they push back hard on every question and won’t share anything about their business, that’s a red flag. And if they ask if you can just give a quick price before you’ve done any discovery, that is definitely a red flag. Here’s what I say when I see these signals, and this will feel uncomfortable the first time you do it. I politely end the call early. I say something like, “I appreciate you taking the time to chat, but based on what we’ve discussed, I don’t think I’m the right fit for what you need right now.
And that’s a completely different feeling than chasing someone who’s ghosting you. One more example to show you how this works across industries. And this one really drives home the power of the reframe. I had a coaching client that was talking to his staffing agency owner. On the call, they uncovered that the owner was spending about 3 hours every morning manually matching candidates to job postings. Time that he could spend closing more deals. Using the framework, my client reflected back, “So, you’re essentially doing data entry for 3 hours a day when you should be on the phone with hiring managers.” The owner literally said, “I’ve never thought about it like that, but yes, that’s literally exactly what I’m doing.” The reframe from I need help to I’m losing money every morning. That changed everything. It wasn’t about automation anymore. It was about getting his mornings back, being present for his team, and doing the work that only he could do. That conversation led to a $4500 project for an AI matching system. And that’s the counterintuitive thing that I mentioned at the beginning. When you don’t pitch on the call, when you just diagnose and reflect, they sell themselves.
