Find problems so big that decision makers want
to become your customer now, NOT later.

Problem Bingo

Buyers give 10X more business to founders who have a painkiller that solves at least 3 of the 6 characteristics of a problem worth solving.

If you solve problems that only have one or two of the problem characteristics below, your solution is viewed as a nice-to-have (aka a vitamin) that they put off until later. And sometimes later turns into never.

To be a must-have (aka a painkiller) that customers want to buy now, you need to solve problems that have 3 or more problem characteristics.

The six problem characteristics are:

  1. Urgent: Does the customer need the problem solved now, or can they wait until later?
  2. Popular: Do many people have this problem? 
  3. Growing: Are more and more people having the problem, OR is it getting worse for the people that have it?
  4. Frequent: How often does the problem happen — yearly, monthly, or weekly?
  5. Mandatory: Are there any legislation, regulations, or compliance requirements that force people to fix it? 
  6. Expensive: Does the current solution cost significant time, money, effort, or resources, OR is doing nothing about the problem expensive?

Seven-Part Problem Statement

If you can write a problem down clearly and specifically, you have solved half of it

When ICP has a PROBLEM after a TRIGGER EVENT,

they have QUANTIFIABLE IMPLICATIONS, and they feel an EMOTIONAL IMPACT.

Currently, they use ALTERNATIVES (your 'competition') despite SHORTCOMINGS.

  1. ICP — Who specifically has this problem and has the money, authority, and influence to pay for it?
  2. PROBLEM — What specific negative outcome do they experience?
  3. TRIGGER EVENT — When does the problem become urgent?
  4. QUANTIFIABLE IMPLICATIONS — What does it cost them in time, money, or resources?
  5. EMOTIONAL IMPACT — How does the problem make them feel?
  6. ALTERNATIVES — How are they solving it today? (your real competition)
  7. SHORTCOMINGS — Why do current solutions fall short?

3 Common Mistakes

  • Skipping Quantifiable Implications. Buyers won’t spend $50 to solve a $100 problem. They WILL spend $50 to solve a $500 problem. That’s why Quantifiable Implications matter.
  • Married to your solution instead of in love with the problem. Founders fall in love with what they built — the platform, the algorithm, the workflow — and start describing features. Customers don’t care. They care about their pain.
  • Opening your pitch with “we built” or “we’re a platform” instead of with the pain your customer is in right now. People react with “interesting” or “neat” — but no one says “yes, that is exactly me.”

What’s Next

Download the fillable Traction Canvas template

Work on Box #2 – Bifurcation. How to use three simple questions to identify your Ideal Client Profile (ICP)