Pain Point Identification and Resolution

How do you and your teams synthesise and select which customer needs or pains to progress in your #product, #design, or #innovation projects? Imagine you've just completed some great customer discovery research, including observing, interviewing and being the customer. You've built some good empathy for who your customers are, what is important to them, what pains them, and what delights them. Then you unpack your findings into some form of empathy map, and you've got 100s of sticky notes everywhere. You've then started to narrow them down to the most promising and interesting observations, but this still leaves you with a sizeable collection and you want to add some rigour to your intuition on which ones to take forward first. Well, here are 3 different methods that I’ve used and iterated over the years: Number One – The Opportunity Scale This first one is the simplest and is inspired by how Alexander Osterwalder et al rank jobs, pains and gains in their book Value Proposition Design, 2014. As a team, you take your short list of observations from your empathy map and rank them from how insignificant/moderate to how important/extreme the need/pain is for the customer with the most important/extreme being prioritised to explore further first. Number two – The Opportunity Matrix A The opportunity matrix increases the rigour and confidence of your prioritizing by adding ‘strength of evidence’ as another dimension. Strength of evidence at this stage of journey can be determined by the number and type of data points. For example, if you heard from several customers that a pain point was extremely painful then you could be more confident this was worth solving than one highlighted by only one customer. Likewise, observing customers do something provides stronger evidence than customers saying they do something. Here you prioritise the most important needs with the strongest evidence first. Something to watch out for is when your team selects an observation that has strong evidence but isn’t that important of a need or pain to customers. Teams can be blinkered by numbers and end up over-investing in time wasting-opportunities. Number three – The Opportunity Matrix B The third method swaps out evidence for fulfilment of the need - how satisfied are customers with their ability to fulfil the need/solve the pain with the solutions they use today? By matching this with the importance of the need/pain we can select those observations that we understand to be the most important and unmet for our customers. You can then overlay the strength of evidence across this ranking to make your final selection even more robust. And to take it to a whole new level and really de-risk your selection you can test your prioritised observations, written as need statements, in quantitative research with customers. This is something that Antony Ulwick shares in his book Jobs To Be Done, 2016. I hope you find these methods useful. #designthinking #humancentreddesign

As Business Analysts, our job doesn’t start with solutions — it starts with questions. But here’s the truth: Not every question leads to clarity. Some open the door to real insights, while others push stakeholders into confusion, assumptions, or worse — wrong requirements. Let’s break this down with realistic examples 👇 ✅ 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 Scenario: Report Automation Project The client says: “We want to automate our monthly reports.” 🔍 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐀 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬: Right Questions: “What challenges are you currently facing with manual reporting?” “Which steps are most time-consuming or error-prone?” “Who are the end-users of these reports, and what decisions do they make using them?” “Can you walk me through your existing process from start to end?” 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭: ➡️ You learn that: Reports are manually created from 5 different systems. Data consolidation errors cause delays. Decision-makers need real-time insights, not monthly snapshots. 💡 Real Pain Point Discovered: They don’t just need “automation” — they need real-time dashboards integrated across systems. 📈 Business Value: Now you’re solving for faster, error-free, decision-enabling reports — not just automating an outdated process. ❌ 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 Scenario: Same Report Automation Project The BA asks: Wrong Questions: “Which tool do you want for automation — Excel macros or Power BI?” “Should I assume you want the same report template, just faster?” 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭: ➡️ Focus shifts to tool selection without understanding what’s broken. ➡️ Stakeholders assume you understand their problem and agree quickly. ➡️ A shiny new automated report is delivered... but it's based on outdated, irrelevant data. 🚩 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦: The solution looks technically right but business wrong. Adoption fails. 🚀 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐀𝐬: Right questions uncover hidden needs, real frustrations, and business goals. Wrong questions trap you into premature solutions, missed pain points, and failed projects. 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Focus on process, pain, and people — not tools and features right away. 🔑 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫: Don’t assume the problem — help the stakeholders discover it with you. The quality of your questions will decide the quality of your solutions. BA Helpline

Blink-182 says, "Work sucks, I know." Most of us just accept this. We don't have to. The truth? The daily task you dread is a symptom of deeper organizational issues—issues that quietly drain your energy, productivity, and passion. Here’s how to fix what sucks at work, starting small but scaling big: 1️⃣ Identify the Everyday Thing That Sucks – Manually downloading the same report every morning – Sending identical status-update emails each week – Hosting 70-person Zoom calls where almost every camera is off – Keying data from one system to another, line-by-line – Calling Tom from Accounting every third Wednesday to get numbers 2️⃣ Understand Why It Sucks (Diagnose) – No clarity of purpose: “Wait, why am I even doing this?” – Unclear ownership: “Whose job is this supposed to be?” – Zero visibility: “Does anyone realize how much time we're wasting?” – Lack of automation: “Surely there's a better way—API, macro, webhook?” 3️⃣ Connect the Small Pain to a Bigger Organizational Breakdown (Zoom Out) Use a thoughtful systems-thinking approach to map symptoms to root causes: – Example: – Symptom: Manually downloading a report every morning. – Root cause: No coherent organizational data strategy, causing bottlenecks as junior staff manually scrape data to satisfy ad-hoc executive requests. – Example: – Symptom: Hosting frequent, oversized Zoom meetings with disengaged attendees. – Root cause: Lack of clarity around decision-making structures or clear team accountability, resulting in endless “alignment” meetings without actionable outcomes. – Example: – Symptom: Regularly chasing data from other departments (like Accounting). – Root cause: Poor cross-functional collaboration processes and absence of transparent knowledge-sharing tools or culture. 4️⃣ Find People Who Also Hate That it Sucks (Build Your Coalition) – Who else is frustrated by this dysfunction? – Who else feels the pain downstream? – Who would immediately benefit from addressing the root cause? 5️⃣ Go from Suck → Scale (Solve & Improve) – Clearly articulate the deeper pain & impact – Form a compelling business case with colleagues who share the pain – Prototype and showcase a small fix (e.g., automated reporting) – Expand your fix to address the systemic issue, causing multiple related frustrations to fade away Great teams don’t just accept what sucks. They identify root causes, collaborate on solutions, and scale their impact. 🔍 What's one thing you'd fix at work tomorrow if you could? 👇 Comment below & tag someone who's ready to fix it with you.

A major mistake salespeople make is: Treating Pain as being company-specific. It is stakeholder-specific. For example, if you sell a solution that prevents ransomware, you’ll find that the Pain will change from stakeholder to stakeholder. You could have a 𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗢 as a Champion, and their Pain will relate to the responsibility of the security failure that led to the attack and the strain that will come in how their team responds. Working on Implicating the impact of these Pains with the 𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗢 and quantifying them into Metrics is a great way to build them into being a Champion… But the work on Pain discovery has not finished. It has barely begun! There will be other stakeholders, and we are yet to Identify their Pain… For example, across the C-Suite, the Identified Pains could look like: 𝗖𝗥𝗢: Loss in revenue while their teams are locked out 𝗖𝗠𝗢: Damage to the brand if data is leaked 𝗖𝗙𝗢: Cost of the ransom and the potential fines if any data is leaked 𝗖𝗣𝗢: Risk to intellectual property that may be leaked 𝗖𝗢𝗢: Business continuity Just through this lens, you can already imagine the strength of a seller's proposition if they can go from having the Identified Pain of their Champion to the whole C-Suite. But we are still only at the Identified Pain level. This is yet another reason why we say #NAMIE (Not All MEDDIC Is Equal) because we don’t believe merely Identifying Pain is enough. We believe the customer has to feel the Implications of the Pain, otherwise urgency will be absent. ✅ Identified Pain ❌ Indicated Pain ❌ Implicated Pain The first step from Identifying Pain toward Implicating it is to Indicate the cost of the Pain. Indicating the Pain is where we work with the customer to quantify the cost of the Pain to their business. Let's look at three stakeholders: 𝗖𝗥𝗢: Loss in revenue = $500k per 24 hours 𝗖𝗙𝗢: Cost of the ransom = $250k ransom 𝗖𝗘𝗢: Pressure from shareholders = -30% share price ✅ Identified Pain ✅ Indicated Pain ❌ Implicated Pain Indicating Pain will increase urgency and the perception of the value your solution can bring… But we still have another level to get to. Implicating the Pain! 𝗖𝗥𝗢: What are the Implications of losing $500k in revenue a day for a week? What will that mean for your revenue goals? What cuts will need to be made to cover the shortfall in revenue? Layoffs? Cancellations of Initiatives? 𝗖𝗙𝗢: If you pay the ransom, where will that budget come from? What other investment will be cut or delayed? What will the knock-on effects of that be? 𝗖𝗘𝗢: What would these extra costs and losses in revenue mean for your goals this year? Which Initiatives will be impacted? What is the best/mid/worst case scenario? ✅ Identified Pain ✅ Indicated Pain ✅ Implicated Pain Selling this way won't only increase your likelihood of winning... It'll also: • Increase deal size • Decrease time to close • Create more sponsors who have skin in the game #MEDDIC #MEDDICC #MEDDPICC

Ah, the early-stage founder. We strut in with revolutionary ideas and an unwavering belief in our ability to change the world. But somewhere between the initial funding round (drink's all around!) and the first product launch, a crucial truth dawns: we actually don't know sh*t. Yes, that flippant phrase, "assume," takes on a whole new meaning in the startup trenches. We may have an inkling of value, but the real question is: how much is that value worth to the customer? Will they shed a tear if our service disappears when the budget tightens? And more importantly, are there enough of these willing martyrs to make this a viable business? But before we jump into solutions, let's truly understand the problem we're solving. Here's a 10-point framework to get you started: 1. Identify Your Target: Who are you solving this problem for? Define your ideal customer profile (ICP) in detail. 2. Pain Point Pinpoint: What's the specific problem your ICP faces? Talk to them, conduct surveys, understand their frustrations. 3. Job to be Done: What is the task your ICP is trying to accomplish when they encounter this pain point? 4. Existing Solutions: What are people currently using to address this problem? Analyze their strengths and weaknesses. 5. Alternative Solutions: Are there solutions from seemingly unrelated industries that address similar frustrations? 6. Frequency & Severity: How often does this problem occur for your ICP? How severely does it impact them? 7. Decision-Making Process: How does your ICP typically make decisions about solutions? Who influences them? 8. Willingness to Pay: How much would your ICP realistically pay for a solution to this problem? 9. Desired Outcomes: What are the ideal results your ICP hopes to achieve by solving this problem? 10. Metrics for Success: How will you measure the effectiveness of your solution in addressing the problem? Beyond the Framework: Learning from Others This framework is a starting point. Look for creative ways other solutions address problems, even if they're not in your industry. 1. Competitor Analysis: What are your direct and indirect competitors doing? Learn from their successes and failures. 2. Industry Trends: Stay updated on industry trends and innovations that might impact your solution. 3. Customer Feedback: Actively listen to customer feedback, both positive and negative. It's a goldmine of insights. The Power of Humility So, fellow founders, don't fear the "I don't know sh*t" moment. Embrace it. Ask questions, listen intently, and be prepared to throw out your initial assumptions. Because it's through this constant learning and adaptation that we'll turn our "I don't know sht" into a thriving, profitable company that keeps customers coming back for more – and maybe, just maybe, allows me to build something of value with a team of people I actually enjoy spending my days with (because frankly, the only unicorns I know right now are the sparkly ones my daughter is obsessed with).

Often marketers chase messaging templates as though it will unpack a holy grail. As far as I know, most templates out there will do a fine job. However, it is vital to excel at articulating customer pain. Let me explain with an example from my domain: In vulnerability management, it’s easy to confuse operational challenges with true pain points. Let’s break this down. We often hear from our customers say: “𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.” This feels like a pain point. It seems like they are describing a visceral and recurring challenge. But in reality this is just a surface problem. Teams are overwhelmed, but why does this matter? What’s the deeper impact? The real pain point looks like: “𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.” Alternatively: “𝘊𝘐𝘚𝘖𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴.” Often as marketers we are advised to use the same language as our customers but IMO that’s not always correct. First, if you ask what are your pain points, a prospect will never tell you. Second, it is much easier to describe the process than think of words to describe the pain. So as marketers, here are a few questions to ask to uncover pain points (it may be different for you based on your industry). 1/ Explain how you do this today 2/ How do you feel after each cycle 3/ What’s the impact of status quo Through these questions we are simply trying to get to the heart of their pain and understand the consequences. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘵 And so on.. In a nutshell, use any messaging framework, you will be ok but don’t skim on the due diligence to identify and go deeper on the pain because having the right emotions will separate you from the pack.

Stop Fixing Symptoms—Solve the Real Problem 🚨 Most businesses waste time fixing the same issues over and over. Why? Because they treat symptoms, not root causes. 🔍 If you’ve ever said: ❌ “We keep getting defects, let’s retrain the team.” ❌ “Our machine broke down again, let’s repair it.” ❌ “Customers keep complaining, let’s offer a discount.” You’re patching the problem, not fixing it. Here’s how top companies identify and eliminate the root cause: 🔥 5 Why’s – Ask “Why?” five times to drill down to the true issue. (Spoiler: The first answer is rarely the real problem.) 🔥 Fishbone Diagram – Map out possible causes (People, Process, Equipment, Materials, etc.) and uncover hidden culprits. 🔥 Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) – Work backwards from a failure to see how different factors contributed. 🔥 Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule) – 80% of problems come from 20% of causes. Fix the biggest pain points first. 🔥 FMEA (Failure Modes & Effects Analysis) – Find problems before they happen and prevent future failures. 💡 The difference between top companies and struggling ones? The best don’t just solve problems—they eliminate them permanently. What’s the biggest recurring problem in your industry? 👀👇

The key to mastering discovery has nothing to do with asking questions. Here's a flip in perspective that recently changed my discovery calls: Before deciding which question to ask...you need to know what you're trying to get your prospect to say in the first place! When you know what you need them to say...it's much easier to reverse-engineer what to ask. Great discovery requires that you understand the relationships between: 1. The most common prospect "types" you'll encounter. 2. The most common problems for each type of prospect.  3. The broader business impact each given problem creates. When you know the flow of how situations --> problems --> impact, you can just authentically ask questions that lead the call in that direction. But if you just ask questions for the sake of asking questions, you come off as canned and don't even guarantee you'll "discover" what you needed to. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲: Define in advance what you need to "discover" for YOUR sale. 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝟭: 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 What information do you need to know about your prospect to determine what problems they are likely to have? --- 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝟮: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 Based on the "type" of prospect you're meeting with, what problems do they usually have? If you know the top 3 pain points you solve for this type of prospect...just ask if they have any of those 3 problems. --- 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝟯: 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 "Pain points" are usually 4-5 figure problems. You won't sell a 6-figure deal solving a 5 figure problem. Map out in advance why the "pain" you discovered might actually matter to an Exec. Hint: You can usually tie the operational problem to 1 of these things: 1. Help them make $ 2. Help them save $ 3. Mitigate risk --- 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝟰: 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 You probably won't get here on the first call. But if you can eventually get your prospect to articulate how the Exec problem impacts the entire business, you have a much stronger business case. Look for things like: 1. A C-Level Metric 2. A Board-Level Priority  3. Existential Business Risk ____ TL;DR Knowing where you need to take the call is FAR more important than knowing the "perfect" discovery questions to ask. Liking this concept and want help building out your discovery plan? You may enjoy the new 30 Minutes to President's Club discovery course where we teach you step-by-step how to build this for whatever YOU sell.

The best AI companies aren't built on algorithms. They're built on agony. I used to believe otherwise. As a technical founder, I thought superior AI capabilities would naturally find their market. Two ventures and countless customer conversations later, I learned a hard truth: technical brilliance without pain recognition leads nowhere. The pattern is unmistakable. The B2B AI companies that scale are NOT those with the most advanced models. They were the ones that could articulate a specific, burning pain point with crystal clarity. This realization transformed our approach: → Instead of starting with model architecture, we documented specific workflows where people visibly winced. → Rather than pitching capabilities, we reflected customers' frustrations back to them in their own language. → We measured our initial success not by technical benchmarks but by how often prospects said "that's exactly our problem." Your GTM efficiency is determined before you write a single line of code—it's set by how clearly you've defined the problem. When your problem statement resonates: → Sales cycles shorten dramatically → Marketing speaks directly to real pain rather than hypothetical benefits → Product development has clear priorities based on pain severity → Customer conversations shift from "convince me" to "show me how" → Pricing discussions center on value rather than cost In B2B AI, your unfair advantage isn't your technology—it's the clarity with which you describe the pain you eliminate. The irony? The more precisely you define the problem, the more focused and effective your technical solution becomes. Starting with pain creates better technology, not despite technical considerations, but because of them. AI entrepreneurship is fundamentally about translating human pain into computational solutions. The algorithms are just the means. The end is always human relief. #startups #founders #growth #ai

3 key elements to qualify your prospects (without chocking them using BANT) 👇 This post will help you understand: 1- What’s the role of a salesperson 2- The “N” from the BANT is what matters 3- Your prospects’ needs (in 7 questions) - - - 1-What’s the role of a salesperson To me, BANT is not a one fits all. BANT stands for: - Budget - Authority - Need - Timeline It’s amazing on paper To me, it’s limiting Salespeople. Qualification is not just 4 pieces of info you collect It looks quite transactional It doesn’t prioritise the relationship creation, However, way too many companies requires BANT before giving anything to prospects It’s not aligned from how buyers buy. Let me explain. The role of a seller is to: - Give - Educate - Earn potential buyer time and attention Not the opposite - - - 2- The “N” from the BANT is what matters Most of the time the person salespeople start engaging with might not: - Necessary be the right one or decision-maker - Have a clear idea of the timeline - Have a budget in mind However, people in a department knows what need to be improved and why. That’s why, salespeople should focus on the prospects’ needs In the BANT framework, the letter that matters is N (Need) We (Salespeople) should systematically qualify and discover around the need and the pain point(s). Then, tell a beautiful story around our product that could solve their problem. Knowing the Authority, Budget and Timeline will matter at some point, but not at first. Keep to genuinely give to the prospects with a need. The rest of the info (B.A.T.) will follow. - - - 3- Your prospects’ needs (in 7 questions) 1- What are your biggest business issues / challenges this year? 2- How critical or time-sensitive is resolving these issues for the overall success of your organization? 3- Can you describe your ideal outcome or solution in addressing these needs? 4- How would this solution integrate with your existing systems and processes? 5- What has your growth been to date? 6- What are your business growth goals for this year? 7- Where do you see the gaps in where you’re at and where you want to be? Not having a clear knowledge of the budget, authority and timeline doesn’t mean you should disqualify without thinking Follow - Arnaud Renoux - if you want some Sales Navigator, general sales and sales AI tips.