I have three claims to make, this fine Corona Del Mar morning:

First, most of you have heard of the term “product/market fit.”

For those that don’t know… 

Product/market fit is when you have found the right features for a target market that compels them to buy.

Second, fewer of you have heard the term “message/market fit.”

That’s what you find the right sales narrative that resonates with your target market.

Third, none of you have heard the term “impact/market fit.”

Yet it’s arguably the most powerful way to stoke the fires of urgency.

What do I mean by “impact/market fit?”

Well first, you’re familiar with the concept of “impact questions,” yes?

Just to make sure we’re on the same page…

Impact questions ask about the negative consequences of your buyer’s problem.

They do so in a way that amplifies pain, urgency, and willingness to spend.

If you’ve been around the block in sales, you know what I’m talking about.

But here’s the problem with them…

Everyone uses them generically. 

You could go from company to company, market to market, and industry to industry, and you’ll find that just about all B2B salespeople are asking (more or less) the same impact questions.

“How is that impacting the business?”

“What are the consequences of the challenges you shared with me?”

“How is this impacting you personally?”

There’s nothing wrong with these questions (for the most part).

In fact there’s a lot that’s right with them.

But if you want to take your game a level up, here’s what I’m suggesting:

Every buyer has a predictable set of specific negative consequences they care deeply about. Find out what they are, and ask about them.

That, my friend, is what I mean by “impact/market fit.”

These are questions that ask about the predictable, repeatable set of negative consequences that each ‘buyer persona’ you sell to cares about and feels intensified pain around.

These are the ultimate form of impact questions.

Let me give you two examples…

If I’m selling a pclub.io team plan to a VP Enterprise Sales, they might share that they have a deal size problem. 

And I know that if they have a deal size problem, there is a high likelihood they have a retention problem in their enterprise accounts. Why? Because small deals with single use cases in big accounts often churn. It’s a predictable problem in SaaS.

So, armed with this knowledge, I ask an impact question about it:

VP Enterprise: “We have an ASP problem. We’re selling $75k deal sizes with single use cases and we’re struggling with the skills to close bigger deals.”

Me: “When I hear this issue with other companies trying to go upmarket, it usually has an impact on net retention rate. You’re closing smaller deals with less sticky use cases, and those customers are more likely to churn. To what extent is net retention rate an issue from this?”

VP Enterprise: “You just read my mind….”

Are you starting to see the power here?

When you ask specific questions about predictable negative consequences, you’ll earn untold dividends.

Here’s another example.

If I’m selling a pclub.io team plan to a Series B CEO, they might share that they have a win rate problem.

And I know that if they have a win rate problem, there is a high likelihood that they have a customer acquisition cost (CAC) problem and that CEOs care about that. 

So… once again… armed with this knowledge, I ask an impact question about that one:

CEO: “Our reps are struggling with the new skills they need to sell in this economy; win rates have dropped from 20% to 16%”

Me: “When I hear this issue with other CEOs at your stage of business, they worry about the impact this has on customer acquisition costs (CAC) and they’re usually getting a lot of pressure from the board because they can’t scale efficiently. To what extent is that showing up for you?”

CEO: “That’s where I was going next….”

See the pattern?

I’m not just asking generic impact questions.

I’m asking about the specific negative consequences that I know predictably show up.

And I’m suggesting you find a way to do the same.

Your commission checks will thank you for it.

Ok.

Speaking of people thanking you for things…

How about doing something your future self will thank you for today?

Inside The Underground SaaS Sales Scripts, you’ll discover 10 scripts for deal-closing discovery, 10 scripts for demos that sell, and 10 scripts for closing motions that convert.

When you get your hands on these scripts?

Your commission checks will thank you for that as well.

So will your future self.

I’ll show you a repeatable, 3-step framework for asking impact questions that sell.

But I have one ask…

If you use these and go on to make gobs and gobs of cash…?

Just remember where you came from.

And never tint the windows on your future Porsche.

That defeats the purpose.

(kidding…)

Grab your (almost free) copy of the Underground SaaS Sales Scripts here and get ready to thank your past self.

Chris Orlob

P.S. If you build your skills like others won’t, you’ll soon get to live like others can’t.