“Your Current Solution…”

I’ve noted that when vendors describe customer “pain” in terms of “Your current solution…” the apparent pain may be reduced – and can contribute, unintentionally, to “No Decision” outcomes. 

Using “Your current solution” suggests that the customer’s current situation, while perhaps unpleasant, is still a solution – offering a potentially reasonable alternative to making a change.  This is one reason why I recommend using terms such as “Problem”, “Issue”, or “Problems/Reasons” on Situation Slides at the beginning of a demo. 

[For those needing a refresher, Situation Slides crisply describe the customer’s situation and are presented at the very beginning of a demo.  They include key elements of Discovery – and are a leading indicator for successful demos and demo outcomes.]