Turning Pain into Measurable Value

When I first started in sales, I would ask, “Why do you want to buy our product?” I’d get a list of emotional statements: frustrations with colleagues, daily irritations, and personal pain points in their day-to-day work. I tried selling based on these problems and quickly discovered that no one with the authority to sign off on budget cared about these “personal problems.”

It became clear that I needed to pivot to deeper discovery: examining the business process, identifying bottlenecks, and uncovering who else was impacted by these operational problems. By focusing on simple process inefficiencies that occurred every day, I could translate those into a measurable business metric over a year, which would clearly justify the investment in my solution. This approach shifted the conversation from subjective frustrations to tangible business value, gaining attention and approval from the right decision-makers.

Reframing the Questions

Instead of asking “why” a problem exists, focus on what, how, when, and who to uncover measurable business outcomes:

• What processes are impacted by this challenge?
• How does this problem affect day-to-day operations or project outcomes, based on observable data rather than opinions or blame?
• When does the issue have the greatest impact, and what measurable consequences occur during those periods?
• Who is most affected by this problem or decision, and what roles are accountable for outcomes rather than for past missteps?

The goal is to collect empirical data points that illuminate the true impact of the problem. You want to understand what outcome the organization is trying to achieve, rather than focusing on who is responsible for past mistakes or political dynamics that created the current situation. These questions encourage exploration of the value chain in an objective way, helping uncover measurable outcomes that matter most to the business.

Mapping the Value Chain with Operational Models

Finding the true business impact often requires analyzing processes, operational models, and dependencies. Whiteboarding is a practical way to do this:

1. Draw the process flow: Capture the steps from input to output.
2. Identify pain points: Mark where delays, errors, or inefficiencies occur.
3. Trace consequences: Show how these issues propagate to other departments or projects.
4. Highlight constraints: Identify resource limits, system dependencies, or procedural bottlenecks.
5. Link to outcomes: Connect these process impacts to business metrics, like revenue, cost, or risk.

By visualizing the full operational model, clients can see how one problem cascades through the organization, and you gain clarity on the metrics that matter most.

Techniques for Uncovering Business Value

• Ask iterative, operational questions: For example, “What happens next in the process when this step is delayed?” or “Who is responsible at each handoff?”
• Look for bottlenecks and inefficiencies: Identify where time, resources, or errors accumulate.
• Engage multiple stakeholders: Capture different perspectives to uncover hidden impacts.
• Translate impacts to business metrics: Link outcomes to measurable revenue, cost, or risk indicators.

Practical Exercise

Next time you’re in discovery:

1. Pick a problem the client mentions.
2. Whiteboard the process: Draw the workflow and identify where issues occur.
3. Ask targeted questions using what, how, when, and who to trace the operational impact and gather empirical data.
4. Identify the metric that captures that impact (e.g., revenue lost, project delay, customer satisfaction).
5. Confirm with stakeholders that the metric is meaningful to the business.

Practicing this exercise sharpens your ability to turn vague complaints into measurable value, making your conversations more credible and actionable.

Summary

Finding the business metric behind a problem requires process insight, operational modeling, and asking the right questions. By mapping the value chain, engaging stakeholders, and focusing on measurable impacts rather than subjective blame, you move from solving symptoms to addressing the business outcomes that truly matter, building trust and making your solutions indispensable.