The secret to finding pain is to be able to anticipate the problems the prospect might have and then to ask good hard tough questions to get the prospect to share them with you. That is the real value of subject matter expertise and industry knowledge and experience. If you have that expertise you can anticipate what problems they might have, and so you know where to probe for pain and you know what questions to ask. A novice in the industry or the product line is reduced to asking random questions or general questions and is less likely to get to the real pain or the real issue with the prospect. Do not make the mistake of anticipating what problems the prospect might have and then leaping in with a solution. This might be the origin of that old saw about what happens when you assume … ass/u/me.
