You think that your superior supervised/unsupervised AI combo is the killer app, but what they really care about is whether bringing in this young startup is going to be a career ender, a prescient career-making move, or even whether they can get home to their kids on time.

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“If we can guarantee you’ll go home three hours earlier to make bedtime with your kids, is that something you would want?”

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Rob Patterson, EVP of Growth at payments startup OPN recalled a story on The Podcast:

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“One of my first major wins selling a security product early in my career was coming out of a pitch where the entire board was there. We did our whole dog and pony show, but my sales director wasn’t totally confident we had our clincher yet.

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“The person who would be responsible for implementing the winning solution walked us to the lift. My sales director casually said, ‘Gee, this whole thing must be a lot of extra work for you,’ to which she replied, ‘I just had a baby and I’m getting home so late, I miss tucking her in.’

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“Without skipping a beat he said: ‘If we can guarantee you’ll go home three hours earlier to make bedtime with your kids, is that something you would want?’

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“‘Of course.’”

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They won.

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Unexpected Gains

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Such opportunities won’t arise in every scenario, but the lessons learned here are important ones: 

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1. Be able to identify the unexpected gains

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Unexpected gains is something Strategyzer describes as gains the customer “wouldn’t even come up with if you asked them.” The best way to gather insights is by spending time with your clients–making office visits, observing them in action, and engaging in casual conversation to unearth unspoken needs.

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2. Understand how to communicate those gains

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Effective storytelling, centred around emotions, becomes crucial. As you identify unexpected gains, adapt how you frame the problem and solution. While the function and application of your product may not be all that different from one client to the next, the insight that triggers an emotional response will be.

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3. Help the client make the connection

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Remember that unexpected gains won’t always be top of mind for clients. Point out the added benefits that address these unspoken needs, demonstrating your understanding not only of their business but also them as individuals, and ask, "Is that something you would want?" This helps connect the dots between your solution and what matters to them most.

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For B2B clients, bringing you into their organisation is a major career gamble. If it goes well, they’re a hero for a day, if it goes badly, they’re a pariah for life. So remember this one rule: all actions and decisions are deeply personal and full of emotion.

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