What\u2019s in this article for you?<\/p>\n
Understanding Critical Business Issues (CBIs) can make the difference between successfully closing business vs wasting your time with No Decision outcomes. Helping your prospects recognize their own CBIs can accelerate their buying processes and bolster their business cases.<\/p>\n
If you are unfamiliar with Critical Business Issues or you\u2019d like a refresh, you may want to start with the \u201cWhat\u201d portion of this article, followed by the \u201cWhy\u201d section which explains their importance and the impact of failing to capture them.<\/p>\n
If you are an existing Great Demo! or Doing Discovery practitioner, or if you are already familiar with CBIs but sometimes struggle to identify or collect them, I invite you to jump to the \u201cHow\u201d segment.<\/p>\n
Finally, if you find it hard to differentiate between CBIs and Problems\/Reasons, you are invited to review the \u201cWhat\u201d section as well!<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with a question: Are you on track to achieve your objectives this year?<\/p>\n
Prospects may articulate their challenges at two distinct levels:<\/p>\n
The wise vendor will want to understand both of these and be able to differentiate between the two.<\/p>\n
A Critical Business Issue (CBI) is best defined as an individual\u2019s objective that is at risk. Typically, these align to one\u2019s quarterly, annual, or project-based objectives.<\/p>\n
Consider: How are you<\/em> measured? How will you know, at the end of the year, that you have been a success? In most organizations, you\u2019ll meet with your manager and discuss whether you achieved, exceeded, or failed to meet your objectives for the previous time period. Hopefully, you are also tracking your progress along the way, as well!<\/p>\n Summarizing, it is these checkpoints when you assess your personal status and progress towards your objectives that yield two possible outcomes:<\/p>\n It is this second situation that presents you with a Critical Business Issue: The risk of failing to meet your quarterly, annual, or project-based objectives. Your prospects operate the same way and are much more likely to act when they are at risk of failing to meet an objective, particularly a key objective.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s explore some simple example situations that your prospects may encounter:<\/p>\n CBI: \u201cAt risk of not achieving quota.\u201d<\/li>\n For example, they could produce the required output, but if there is a need for substantial rework, then they would be at risk of missing the required timeframe for delivery and running over budget as well. Any of these results in a Critical Business Issue.<\/p>\n CBI: \u201cAt risk of not producing the required output on time, within budget, and on spec.\u201d<\/li>\n If their SLAs are not being met or are at risk, then they have a Critical Business Issue.<\/p>\n CBI: \u201cAt risk of not achieving agreed SLAs.\u201d<\/li>\n However, if any one or more of these three parameters is not met, then they have a Critical Business Issue. Note that they could deliver on time and within specification, but still not meet their objective if the project runs over budget.<\/p>\n CBI: \u201cAt risk of not completing the project on time, on spec, and within budget.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n CBIs are personal, based on an individual\u2019s specific objectives and the risk of not achieving them. CBIs are simple, but precise \u2013 just as an individual\u2019s objectives are precisely defined (or should be!). CBIs are typically time-bound and, most importantly, they have specific measurements to differentiate between success and failure.<\/p>\n Note that several individuals may share<\/em> a common objective. This occurs in some presales organizations, for example, where a presales team shares a revenue quota objective. Each individual team member is still<\/em> subject to the success or failure measurement, in spite of the objective being shared.<\/p>\n CBIs are not<\/em> squishy or ill-defined. \u201cDo a good job\u201d or \u201ccontribute to the effort\u201d are not well-written objectives. How can one tell if a person has met the \u201cmeasurement\u201d of a \u201cdoing a good job\u201d? Could \u201ccontribute\u201d simply mean \u201cshow up?\u201d You may occasionally encounter prospects who lack specific well-drafted objectives. These people are rather unlikely to have Critical Business Issues and, correspondingly, are unlikely<\/em> to seek solutions.<\/p>\n Changing gears slightly, you\u2019ll notice that we haven\u2019t discussed the cause \u2013 the Problems or Reasons \u2013 that puts each of the above four example prospects at risk. That\u2019s the next level down.<\/p>\n Most prospects when they express pain do so as a description of one or more problems. Let\u2019s use an enterprise software salesperson as an example.<\/p>\n You ask, \u201cSo what seems to be the trouble?\u201d The response might be, \u201cWell, I don\u2019t have enough good leads\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n They are expressing \u201cpain.\u201d \u201cPain,\u201d however, is poorly defined. It could be a CBI, or a problem or reason that is causing<\/em> the CBI. \u201cPain,\u201d therefore, needs to be qualified.<\/p>\n Is it a CBI? Yes, if it maps directly to an objective that is at risk. No, if it is an underlying problem or reason that impacts the ability of the prospect to achieve their objectives.<\/p>\n In the example above, Great Demo! practitioners will recognize (I hope!) that this prospect has articulated a Problem\/Reason and not<\/em> a CBI. Your job is to (gently, but firmly) help the prospect associate this Problem\/Reason with a CBI.<\/p>\n A simple example would be to ask, \u201cWhat is the impact that insufficient leads is having on your objectives?\u201d<\/p>\n The salesperson answers, \u201cWell, without good leads I don\u2019t have enough opportunities to pursue\u2026\u201d This response is getting closer, but it is not quite there!<\/p>\n Why? Because \u201cinsufficient opportunities\u201d is not how the rep is measured. Quota is the metric, so you need to dig deeper (or push higher).<\/p>\n Accordingly, you ask, \u201cTell me, how are you measured? How will you know that you have been a success at the end of the year?\u201d<\/p>\n The salesperson replies, \u201cOh! If I make my quota \u2013 if I achieve my quarterly and annual numbers\u2026!\u201d Now<\/em> you\u2019ve uncovered a CBI!<\/p>\n Your next step is to associate the Problems\/Reasons with the CBI:<\/p>\n You explore, \u201cSo If I understand correctly, the lack of good leads is impacting your ability to make your numbers\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The salesperson concurs, saying, \u201cExactly\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n Congratulations \u2013 you just uncovered the information you need for the first three items on a Great Demo! Situation Slide, and<\/em> you have clearly differentiated the CBI from the underlying Problems\/Reasons:<\/p>\n Job Title and Industry:Enterprise Software Salesperson<\/p>\n Critical Business Issue:At risk of not achieving quota<\/p>\n Problems\/Reasons:Insufficient number of good leads<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u201d you may be thinking, \u201cWhy isn\u2019t simply uncovering \u2018pain\u2019 sufficient for a sales process?\u201d The answer is that \u201cpain\u201d alone is often an inadequate driving force.<\/p>\n People will live with the pain they know forever<\/em>, unless it is associated with a Critical Business Issue!<\/p>\n I love to tell the following story to illustrate this idea. The setting is a Great Demo! or Doing Discovery Workshop<\/a>, and I\u2019m working to communicate the difference \u2013 and importance \u2013 of CBIs vs Problems\/Reasons:<\/p>\n I ask the participants, \u201cDoes anyone here have a car that has been making a noise or a sound for a period of time?\u201d<\/p>\n Invariably, someone responds, \u201cYes, my car has been making a weird noise for a while\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of sound is it?\u201d I inquire.<\/p>\n \u201cKind of a screeching noise coming from the left front wheel when I make turns\u201d the participant replies. Other people in the room nod their heads \u2013 they have had similar issues.<\/p>\n I ask, \u201cDoes the noise bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it did for a while, but I\u2019ve learned to get used to it\u2026\u201d is the response.<\/p>\n I probe, \u201cHow long has this been taking place?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I\u2019d guess about nine months\u2026\u201d responds the participant.<\/p>\n Nine months! This is a terrific example of a Problem\/Reason \u2013 a \u201cpain\u201d that this person has been living with for nine months. It is not<\/em> a Critical Business Issue because it hasn\u2019t impacted their ability to achieve their objectives (Well, not yet<\/em>!)<\/p>\n I explore, \u201cWhat would cause you to get this repaired?\u201d<\/p>\n The participant replies, \u201cOh, I don\u2019t know, I guess if I couldn\u2019t drive the car anymore\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n I say, \u201cPerfect example! Imagine you are on your way to the airport to fly to the biggest demo of your career. It is stormy, with heavy wind and rain. You are halfway to the airport when suddenly your left front wheel starts to fall off the car! You immediately pull off the highway, but now you are at risk of missing your flight.\u201d<\/p>\n I ask, \u201cNow, would you get it fixed or find an alternative mechanism to get to the airport?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely!\u201d is the response.<\/p>\n I continue, \u201cSo, now it has become critical?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026 Ah Ha\u2026! Now<\/em> I see the difference between a pain or Problem\/Reason and a CBI\u2026!<\/p>\n (How is your <\/em>car doing, by the way?)<\/p>\n Think about your own business life: How many things frustrate you, or that you complain about, but you never act? These things just seem to linger and are never addressed. These are perfect examples of \u201cpains\u201d or Problems\/Reasons. We don\u2019t like the situation, but we often live with them \u2026 forever!<\/p>\n They bother us but we don\u2019t address them. They aren\u2019t important<\/em> enough to address. Why are they not<\/em> important? Because they don\u2019t impede our ability to achieve our objectives (or they don\u2019t impact our ability to achieve our objectives enough<\/em>, compared with other problems). Problems\/Reasons that don\u2019t impact our ability to achieve an objective are just \u201cpains\u201d that we live with.<\/p>\n Now ask yourself, what does <\/em>impact your ability to achieve your objectives? It is those particular Problems\/Reasons that are putting your specific objective(s) at risk. The objective that is at risk is the CBI, and the underlying \u201cpains\u201d are the Problems\/Reasons.<\/p>\n The essence of the importance of a Critical Business Issue is that it does<\/em> represent someone\u2019s inability to achieve their objectives. Failure to achieve objectives can result in innumerable negative outcomes, ranging from personal consequences such as reduced compensation, loss of a promotion opportunity, or movement out of a position of authority. Failure to achieve objectives for senior members of a company can have organizational<\/em> negative impact as well, such as layoffs, inability to pursue acquisitions or mergers, or falling stock price.<\/p>\n Finally, for presales and salespeople pursuing individual sales opportunities, the lack of a CBI has another likely result: A No Decision outcome. This is where your prospect chooses<\/em> to remain as they are and does not move forward with a solution. This happens because their \u201cpains\u201d are at the Problem\/Reason level and are unattached to a CBI. Those \u201cpains\u201d will continue to be Problems\/Reasons \u2026 forever!<\/p>\n So, \u201cpain\u201d alone is insufficient. It must be attached to a CBI for a sales opportunity to move forward productively.<\/p>\n Earlier you saw an example of moving someone from the Problems\/Reasons level to uncovering the associated CBI in the case of the salesperson with insufficient leads resulting in their risk of missing quota. Let\u2019s explore other methods of uncovering CBIs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d questions are particularly useful when you need to surface your prospect\u2019s CBI. Let\u2019s say that you\u2019ve invested considerable time discussing their Problems\/Reasons, Specific Capabilities, and other discovery parameters, but your prospect has yet to articulate a CBI. \u201cWhy?\u201d can be an elegant method to shift the conversation up a level. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n You say, \u201cWe\u2019ve been discussing your situation for a while and I\u2019m beginning to feel like I understand it reasonably well, but tell me, why<\/em> did you reach out to me in the first place? Are there specific goals or objectives that you need to achieve, or that are at risk?\u201d<\/p>\n Your prospect responds, \u201cOh! Yes, I was assigned this project, and I\u2019m concerned that I won\u2019t complete it on time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n You follow-up with, \u201cThanks \u2013 I understand. And when do you need to have it done?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy December 1 this year. It needs to be complete and tested for a kick-off at the beginning of the year,\u201d replies your prospect.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when do you currently expect completion, if you don\u2019t make any changes to your current trajectory?\u201d you ask.<\/p>\n \u201cLikely it won\u2019t be done until the following April\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Congratulations! You just uncovered both a CBI and a Critical Date<\/a>, plus a key Delta<\/a> (a measurement of value)! The prospect\u2019s CBI is to complete the project by December 1; the Delta is the four-month difference between completion in April (and missing an important objective) vs finishing on time by December 1 (and achieving their objective).<\/p>\n That only took one use of \u201cwhy?\u201d to accomplish. In other cases, you may need to ask \u201cwhy?\u201d multiple times to unwrap the layers hiding your prospect\u2019s CBI.<\/p>\n For example, your salesperson prospect says, \u201cI don\u2019t have enough good leads\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n You pursue this, asking, \u201cHelp me understand, why<\/em> is that a problem?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d responds your prospect, \u201cwithout enough leads I typically don\u2019t have enough opportunities to fill my pipeline\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see,\u201d you reply, \u201cand what does that cause? Why do you need to fill your pipeline?\u201d<\/p>\n Your prospect clarifies, \u201cI need a good number of leads to work with because only a few will become real opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOK,\u201d you note, \u201cBut why is that<\/em> important?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d your prospect explains, \u201cI\u2019m not going to make my numbers if I don\u2019t have enough good opportunities\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n (Ding ding ding ding ding\u2026!) \u201cOK,\u201d you say, \u201cNow<\/em> I understand. Your real issue is your risk of not making your numbers this quarter. Is that correct?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely!\u201d exclaims your prospect. \u201cThis quarter is already at risk, and my full year quota is looking \u2018iffy\u2019 as well!\u201d<\/p>\n Note that you can harvest three sets of discovery information from this conversation:<\/p>\n This conversation took three \u201cwhy?\u201d questions to reach a CBI. That\u2019s not unusual for staff-level prospects. Does that change when interacting with managers?<\/p>\n The higher your prospect\u2019s job title, the more likely they will directly articulate a CBI. C-Suite members and other executives tend to operate<\/em> at the CBI level. \u201cAchieve X in revenues.\u201d \u201cManage costs below Y.\u201d \u201cLaunch the new product by Z.\u201d<\/p>\n For example, a head of sales knows they need to achieve the required revenue numbers to enable the business to succeed. A head of operations similarly knows they need to deliver the required goods or complete the necessary projects on time, on spec, and within budget. CEOs and heads of business units are typically measured by profit or growth metrics, which combine the objectives of the head of sales and head of operations.<\/p>\n C-Suite and similar executives often communicate their objectives (and hence their organizations\u2019 overall objectives) in quarterly meetings or statements. They want to make it absolutely clear what needs to be accomplished and how their organization will be measured.<\/p>\n The higher the job title, the more likely they will communicate directly in CBIs. The lower the job title the more you should expect to hear Problems\/Reasons.<\/p>\n There is often a direct linear relationship between managers and their teams in terms of their CBIs. Very simply, a manager\u2019s Problems\/Reasons may be their staff members\u2019 CBIs. You can read more about this idea in the Great Demo! Third Edition book<\/a>. You can learn (much!) more about doing discovery in the book (cleverly titled), Doing Discovery<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Another very<\/em> good way to uncover a CBI is to ask, \u201cTell me, how are you measured \u2013 how will you know at the end of the year that you have been a success?\u201d There is a very strong tendency for people to recall their objectives when you ask this question!<\/p>\n One day, a head of sales called me, out of the blue, and opened the conversation with, \u201cOur demos suck\u2026!\u201d This was one of the most fascinating openings I had ever heard coming from a prospect. We moved into a very productive discovery conversation that ran for about an hour.<\/p>\n We had largely completed our conversation, and we were in the wrap-up phase. However, while I had terrific insights into his team\u2019s demos, related factors, his organization\u2019s culture, products, sales process steps and more, I hadn\u2019t actually heard him articulate<\/em> a Critical Business Issue.<\/p>\n Even though I was confident I already knew his CBI, I wanted to hear it from his<\/em> lips.<\/p>\n I asked, \u201cSo, tell me, what caused you to pick up your phone and call me today?\u201d<\/p>\n He answered, \u201cWell, I\u2019ve been given a sales quota for next year that is 20% higher than this year\u2019s \u2013 and I know we won\u2019t make those numbers with our current demos\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n Fabulous! In that one sentence he communicated both<\/em> his CBI and a Delta \u2013 what a delight\u2026!<\/p>\n It is extremely helpful to have an idea of likely CBIs for each prospect\u2019s Job Title prior to a discovery conversation. This enables you to tell whether the responses you hear are reasonable, or if your prospect is simply articulating Problems\/Reasons-level issues. For example, we know ahead of time that anyone in sales will likely have \u201crevenue quota\u201d or \u201cmaking the numbers\u201d as a CBI.<\/p>\n Many organizations that have implemented and adopted the Doing Discovery and Great Demo! methodology have generated enablement assets to support their practices. One terrific asset is a listing of high-probability prospect Job Titles with corresponding CBIs.<\/p>\n This enables sales, presales, marketing, and customer success staff to very quickly gain an understanding of their prospects\u2019 and customers\u2019 likely CBIs. As new prospect Job Titles appear and CBIs are collected for these, they are added to the enablement library.<\/p>\n What should you do when you encounter an unfamiliar Job Title and have little or no insight into their likely objectives or CBIs? Do some research ahead of your meeting. Go online and search for job descriptions or job openings for that specific Job Title. You\u2019ll likely find wonderful examples detailing that Job Title\u2019s expected objectives or measurements of success. ChatGPT (and similar AI engines) can be an excellent source for this information.<\/p>\n Prospects tend to articulate their challenges at two distinct levels:<\/p>\n Now you should be able to uncover both levels and differentiate between the two. Doing so will improve your sales stage conversion metrics, reduce No Decision outcomes, and encrispen your sales process and your buyers\u2019 processes, as well!<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2023 -2026 The Second Derivative \u2013 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n To learn the methods introduced above, consider enrolling in a Great Demo! Doing Discovery or Demonstration Skills Workshop. For more demo and discovery tips, best practices, tools and techniques, explore our blog and articles on the Resources pages of our website at https:\/\/GreatDemo.com<\/a> and join the Great Demo! & Doing Discovery LinkedIn Group<\/a> to share your experiences and learn from others.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Never Stop Learning! Article What\u2019s in this article for you? 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Example Scenarios<\/h5>\n
\n
Problems\/Reasons \u2013 \u201cPain\u201d vs CBIs<\/h5>\n
WHY<\/h4>\n
Enduring Pain vs Seeking Solutions<\/h5>\n
HOW<\/h4>\n
Using \u201cWhy?\u201d Questions to Uncover CBIs<\/h5>\n
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The Higher You Go\u2026<\/h5>\n
The Chain of Pain<\/h5>\n
\u201cHow Are You Measured?\u201d<\/h5>\n
A True Story<\/h4>\n
Enablement<\/h5>\n
Summary<\/h4>\n
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