Pain/Gain

The Rock 17:01, 1 March 2007 (CET): @Harry: Wil je voor mij onderstaand s.v.p. aandachtig doorlezen en je mening hierover geven. Ik pleit voor de mogelijkheid om de "pain" en/of de "gain" te kunnen beschrijven in het "probleemdeel" van een patroon. Onze verschillende standpunten hierin leiden—interessant genoeg—tot een nieuwe situatie/context. De krachten die hier optreden zijn (o.a.):

• rücksichtloze standaardisatie (of/of) kiest voor één van de twee om reden van mogelijk toegenomen helderheid;
• kiezen voor en/en geeft meer ruimte voor tekstuele vrijheid en creativiteit;
• kiezen voor en/en komt tegemoet aan de (persoonlijke) contextuele beleving van de situatie.

Mijn "gain" zou zijn dat we zowel de pain als de gain kunnen beschrijven. Eén van de consequenties is dan mogelijk dat we die sectie dan niet meer "probleem" moeten noemen maar iets beters.

Verlangend naar jouw inlevingsvermogen, flexibiliteit en scherpte.

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Solutions Have No Inherent Value

Everything the client asks of you, and everything you offer a client, is an intended solution. When you walk in the door and they ask you for something, anything, it’s likely to be a request for a solution (We need a…, We want..., We’re looking for…, Do you…, Can you help us with…).

When you offer them something, it’s likely to be a solution. Solutions have no inherent value. Solutions only derive value from the problems they solve and/or the results they produce. Understanding this guides everything else we do.

Duidelijk: alleen een oplossing die werkt voor de probleemeigenaar ( de vragende partij) is waardevol. Elke ander oplossing is een waardeloze oplossing, dan is het probleem niet volledig opgelost in het niets.

Some behavioral psychologists say that human beings make all decisions based on either moving away from pain (something they don’t want), or moving toward gain (something they do want). And they also say the motivation to move away from the pain that is immediate is greater than the motivation to move toward the promise of gain in the future.

The pain/gain continuum is contextual—people will be motivated differently in different situations. In the same situation, different people will have different motivations.

People who are trying to “move away from pain” will interpret issues as pain, and may give us a list of problems, frustrations, and dissatisfaction. They may even use physical or emotional pain phrases like: “It’s killing us…,” “We’re bleeding…,” “It’s a pain in the neck…,” “It’s a real headache…,” “It’s a nightmare…,” “It’s like pulling teeth….”

People who are “moving toward gain” will interpret issues as results (i.e., objectives, goals, and outcomes). They may use phrases like: “What we’d like to see…,” “What we think is possible…,” “Our vision is…,” “What we’re excited about is…,” “Our end in mind is…,” “We’d like to create…,” etc. Their language will give us some hints about where they would like to start. We’ll just need to be aware of the language.

If you cannot uncover a pain or gain, then you have a "yellow light", meaning you have to slow down and dig deeper.

If we are going to get real, we have to find the motivation driving the solution—the problems it is supposed to solve, the results it is meant to achieve and with which issues. (And please use any synonyms with which you’re more comfortable that accomplish the same purpose). If we cannot uncover significant pain or gain, then we have a yellow light. In which case we say, “I have a concern!” or “I’m confused!” or “I think we may have a problem!”

Sound Bites of Pain and Gain

Successfully getting a complete list of the issues will require you to listen carefully to what people are telling you, and capture the issue in a key word or phrase that describes a problem (pain) or result (gain). The issue, ideally, should be in their words. If their solution were the title of a book (Customer Relationship Management at General Express), the key words or phrases they use would be the chapter headings. Sometimes the client will speak in chapter headings.

Sometimes we have to listen to the client read the entire chapter before we can assign the heading. One way or the other, we want to end up with a complete list of issues.

Peeling the Onion

If we start with a problem—something the client wants to remove, avoid, or move away from—then we will “peel for pain.” If we start with a result—something they want to achieve, obtain, or move toward—we will “peel for gain.”

Peeling for Gain

The key phrase when peeling for gain is, “What would that allow you to do?” To peel for gain, listen to what the client says they want. Key phrases you’ll hear that cue you to peel for gain include:

• “Our goal is to…”
• “The objectives we are striving for are…”
• “We are looking to accomplish…”
• “Our targets in the future are…”
• “In the ideal world…”
• “The improvements we’re looking for are…”

Peeling for Pain

Many times we’re working with people who are hoping to eliminate pain. They’re telling us what they don’t want or where it hurts. They may even use words of physical or emotional pain:

• “It’s killing us…”
• “We’re bleeding…”
• “We have to correct…”
• “It is so painful when…”
• “What’s hurting us is…”
• “What’s stopping us is…”
• “We are suffering from…”
• “We’re concerned about…”

Source: The Demise of 20^th Century Selling—Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play—Mahan Khalsa.