First is the Technical Problem.
This is about what is broken.
For example: "Our customer data is siloed across three different platforms."
This is where most salespeople focus. They love to show how their product can fix this tangible issue.
Second is the Business Problem.
This is about the financial pain the technical problem is causing.
For example: "Because our data is siloed, our marketing efforts are inefficient, costing us $500,000 in lost revenue last quarter."
Here is the critical mistake:
Executives don't approve large budgets to solve technical problems.
They approve budgets to solve business problems.
Don’t sell a platform that integrates data.
Instead, sell a solution that recovers that lost $500,000 in revenue.
Frame every conversation around the business impact,
because that is the language that secures a signature.