‍

Imagine you’re at a doctor’s office. You sit down, expecting to describe your symptoms. But instead, the doctor doesn’t ask you a single question. They just walk in and say, “You know what’s amazing? This new miracle cure! It’s going to change your life.”

Sounds ridiculous, right? And yet, this is exactly how many sales reps approach their craft today—like a solution looking for a problem.

Let’s talk about a real trend happening right now. You’ve probably heard every sales rep talking about Data, AI, and more specifically, Generative AI. It’s the buzz in every sales deck, the shiny promise on every slide. The pitch goes something like this: “GenAI is incredible—it can analyze data, generate content, automate tasks, predict outcomes—you name it, it can do it!”

And all of that is true. GenAI is incredible. But here’s the issue: sales reps are spending so much time talking about what GenAI can do that they’re forgetting to ask the most important questions of all.

  • Who are they selling to?
  • What problems are those potential clients actually facing?
  • What keeps those clients awake at night?
  • What challenges are they navigating day to day, and most crucially—
  • How could AI specifically alleviate that pain?

Without that understanding, it’s just hype. It’s just a solution looking for a problem to fix. It’s like the doctor, pushing a miracle cure before even understanding what the illness is.

We need to shift our thinking in sales.

We need to start with the problem—the human element, the real challenge. I call this: “A solution for a problem.” And it’s more than just a catchy phrase. It’s about re-centering our approach so we start from empathy and understanding, not technology. It’s about sitting down with our clients, asking questions, listening closely, and really diving into the struggles they face.

Because when we do that, two powerful things happen. First, we gain the kind of insight that lets us target our solutions precisely. We’re not just offering a shiny GenAI tool, we’re offering a tailored solution that addresses a specific pain point—whether it’s reducing customer churn, optimizing supply chain efficiency, or boosting employee engagement.

Second, we stop being salespeople, and we start being partners. We stop being the person trying to push the latest trend and start becoming the person who understands the client’s challenges inside and out—who sees them, who gets it, and who has a way to help.

If we’re truly going to tap into the power of Data, AI, and technologies like GenAI, we need to start with the basics: understanding problems before we propose solutions. Because in the end, nobody wants a solution looking for a problem. But everyone wants a partner who can help them solve the problems they’re actually facing.

‍