“Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.”
There’s a voice in my head whenever I review a website or hear someone describe their business.
It has two questions. [ And zero manners. ]
So what?
Who cares?
Sorry if that stings a little. It’s also the voice of every prospect who lands on your homepage … and then bounces without you knowing they were there.
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Most service businesses say what they do. They almost never describe the problem they solve.
“Helping businesses achieve sustainable growth”
“Providing strategic consulting”
“Optimizing operational efficiency”
Nice statements … with absolutely no impact on a real human. Because none of them names a problem someone can recognize in themselves.
So a prospect does what prospects do. Reads for two seconds. Feels nothing. Closes the tab. See ya never.
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That’s why there’s a set of questions I use to uncover what WILL resonate.
Who actually has the problem you solve?
Not “service businesses.” Not “growth-minded leaders.” A specific human, with a specific challenge, at a specific point in their life. If you can't picture them sitting across from you having coffee, you haven’t found them yet.How are they solving it today, without your help?
They’re probably not sitting there wallowing in self-pity doing nothing. They likely cobbled together some sort of workaround. What does that inefficient, Frankenstein solution look like?What’s the cost of them staying that way?
This is where it gets interesting. They probably don't feel the cost (most of the time.) Your job is to make what’s invisible to them — suddenly, painfully, impossible to ignore.
Because clients don’t make a big change based on a hypothetical upside. They change because staying put HURTS.
Most websites lean on features and a wall of proof that things could be better. All of it aimed at a reader who hasn’t even admitted they have a problem worth solving.
The better strategy is calling out what’s happening to them right now. In language they use, that they can’t un-see once it’s in front of them.
“Change nothing, and this is what it’s costing you, every day you let it continue.”
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Every prospect has a version of “So what? Who cares?” rattling around in their brain when they’re trying to solve a problem.
When your website gives a compelling answer, they arrive on a call already half-sold. They ask about your timing, not price.
When your site doesn’t answer those questions, YOU carry the weight.
Spending the first half of every sales call explaining what your homepage should have already answered.
Over-selling to wrong-fit prospects, because generic copy attracts generic interest.
Hearing competitors land deals you never even knew about.
Navigating a pipeline that stays capped at whoever your network introduces you to that month.
That’s your painful cost of inaction.
Which leaves one question worth answering right now, before the end of 2026:
What’s it costing your business?
Not hypothetically. In deals. In months. In the size of business you’d be running if your brand and website were actually carrying their weight.
If you’re ready to explore Plan B … my virtual door is open.
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Make it a great week! 🙌
Partner resource of the week:
New Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report: why most AI tools fail at B2B customer service, and what to ask before you invest. Get the free report.
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