Empathy in Sales: Embracing Your Customer’s Pain for Better Solutions

John Kaplan

I recently talked about how crucial it is that sellers adopt the "coat of pain" to embrace an outside-in approach, centering on the customer's needs before discussing their solutions.

By learning to prioritize their perspective, you shift the focus from your own agenda to truly understanding their pain points. Simply pointing out their problems can create some resistance, but by asking the right discovery questions, you’ll help customers fully recognize and articulate their challenges by standing in their moment of pain. This empathetic approach not only fosters trust but also positions your solution as a natural fit, ultimately increasing the likelihood of closing the deal.

How have you found success in helping customers articulate their pain points, and what strategies are you using to help ensure your approach remains customer-centric rather than solution-focused?