How do you identify the most urgent and important customer needs in presales?

1 Use a discovery framework

A discovery framework is a structured approach to asking open-ended questions that uncover the customer's pain points, goals, challenges, and priorities. You can use a framework like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing), SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff), or MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion) to guide your conversation and gather relevant information. A discovery framework helps you avoid making assumptions, focus on the customer's perspective, and uncover hidden needs.

2 Listen actively and empathize

Listening actively and empathizing with the customer are essential skills for understanding their needs and building rapport. You should listen more than you talk, use verbal and non-verbal cues to show interest and attention, and paraphrase or summarize what the customer says to confirm your understanding. You should also empathize with the customer's emotions, challenges, and motivations, and use phrases like "I can see how that would be frustrating" or "That sounds like a great opportunity" to show that you care and relate.

5 Follow up and update needs

Customer needs are not static. They can change over time, depending on the customer's situation, market conditions, or feedback from other stakeholders. You should follow up and update the needs regularly, by checking in with the customer, asking for new information, and monitoring their behavior and actions. You should also update your documentation and communication accordingly, and adjust your value proposition and strategy if needed. This way, you can stay relevant, responsive, and proactive in meeting the customer's needs.

6 Learn and improve

The last tip is to learn and improve from your customer needs analysis in presales. You should review your performance, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and seek feedback from the customer, your manager, or your peers. You should also analyze the outcomes, such as the win rate, the deal size, or the customer satisfaction, and compare them with your goals and expectations. You should then apply your learnings and insights to improve your skills, processes, and tools for future customer needs analysis.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?