What Are the Only Two Things Customers Ever Buy?

Attendees at my workshops often answer, "product and service." That's a good answer but I have a better one.
Customers only buy solutions to problems and good feelings. You don't really buy a newspaper...you buy a solution to an information need; you don't buy tires you buy the solution to a safety need; you don't buy a quarter inch drill you buy a quarter inch hole. If you're talking more and selling less, you many be on the verge of the greatest breakthrough you've ever had in your sales career. Listen, listen, listen! Ask good questions and tune in to the customer's problem or need. One of my friends, who makes his living as a consultant, often spends several days at a company just listening before he makes a proposal. I asked him, "what are you listening for?" He said, "pain." "Until I understand the pain in the organization I don't have anything to offer them." With customers, the old adage about having two ears and one mouth is a great reminder to listen twice as much as we speak.