How to sell research
How to Sell User Research / Chris Do
0:00 / 0:00
Timecodes:
welcome to the third video of this
series where Krystal and I are helping
you to sell serve design with confidence
if you have no clue who this guy is
where this guy is and what we're doing
here check out this playlist and make
sure you check out the first video where
everything will be explained now we got
a few questions from the service design
community about sales challenges and now
we've picked the one we're going to
explain what we we've paid let's let's
paint the context Chris you and I are
engaged in a proposal stage you're the
service designer you're the creative I'm
the client I'm still running a
construction business and we're now sort
of going over your proposal and one of
the things in your proposal is we need
to do some form of research we need to
understand the problem before we
actually start solving the problem and
that's where we run into use our
conversation ready yep we're going to do
this the first time the way shouldn't do
it and the second time in our way that
might be more effective
all right so Chris I've been going over
this proposal and I'm really excited to
do this man I really believe that this
will be beneficial to the problem that
we want to solve there's just one one
one small thing you know I saw that
quite big of a chunk of the resources in
the time in this project is allocated
towards research and I was like man we
will know so much about our customers
already and last year we did market
research so can we can we squeeze that
to you like maybe 5 or 10% and just move
into you like the ideation stage mmm I'm
not comfortable doing that mark I think
it's really important to do research and
maybe you don't know your customers as
well as you think you do or or do this
I've been in the business for 20 years
and I can't walk into the
room saying that I don't know my
customers right and again we we did a
research but we did a survey that's mom
we did service mom I've got to I've got
their paper over here so we know we know
a lot yeah but I I really believe that
it's vital for us to do discovery and I
think it's important that we not cut
corners and I just I'm not comfortable
doing it that way I think is gonna
really compromise the results mark and
do you want to kind of rethink this
what's the problem here
yeah you know I I'm going to need to
sell this to the CEO and when he sees
this it will be like talking to me we
know our customers why are you spending
a quarter of your budget on research man
okay what if we dis candidate mmm will
that help you with you yeah the time
we're gonna price what what's the holdup
yeah I just the holdup is that I feel
that we just can't move into we can just
move into the next stage of generating
ideas and scenarios and solutions with
the data that we already have so it
feels redundant for what we're doing I
say okay well since you've done the
survey and I see that you're not
comfortable moving forward why don't we
just take it out we can start with
design okay sounds great man sounds
great okay so this was I think pretty
common scenario but let's try to reshape
the situation after having taken a
business master class from the Jedi
Master Chris now let's jump in and do it
once again Chris I think going over this
proposal man it's awesome I'm so excited
and the whole team is excited to get on
board and we can't wait to start well
thank you yeah man I'm super excited
you're delivering already upon the
promise that you gave us there's just
only one thing that we sort of need to
iron out and that is I saw that pretty
big chunk of the budget and also the
timeframe is allocated towards doing
customer research and everybody in the
team hairs like
but we already know so much about our
customers we we just did a survey last
month and last year we've got a market
research report can we just move into
the next stage like the ideation and
generating the ideas that sounds so much
more logical mm-hmm okay so let me let
me see if I understand this correctly so
you feel like by doing additional
research it's gonna be really redundant
and it negates the work you've already
done in the survey is that what I'm
hearing yeah yeah why should we do and
do we really need more research right
what is it that we don't know it you
know what I really like the fact that
you are so inquisitive and that you're
your pusher you're like you but you push
back on things because you want to be
very thorough it sounds to me like
you're very responsible person and it
also sounds to me like you know exactly
how you want this to go is that right
like you know how to get here you want
to go I do know the things Chris I need
to sell this to the CEO later and I know
how he will respond so I'm just you know
I'm hearing up here how will he respond
if you could pretend to be the CEO for a
second and we submit this to the CEO
together what would his concerns be oh
yeah he for sure he will start asking
questions about research you know do we
we we already know so much about our
customers we work with them day in day
out I've been in this company for 20
years is there anything we don't know
about them so you will be probably
pretty skeptical okay
so here's here's kind of what I know
about this in working with other clients
just like you there's an assumption
because we've been in business that we
know our customers really well when in
fact they come in the door and if we
might even take it for granted why to
come in the door and why they choose us
and most people will say things like
because we give great customer service
we're responsive but we just really
don't know so I respect the fact that
you've done a customer survey can you
tell me off the top of your head five to
ten key inside
that you've learned from the survey
because you know there's a quote that I
love to share with people that having
the there's no such thing as having the
right answers to the wrong questions and
it begins there so if we're asking the
wrong question to begin with it doesn't
really matter then if the answers come
back as our way or not so so you want me
to give the top ten insights from their
survey yeah my the ten things that you
that only you guys would know about your
customers that are deep insights hmm can
you do that now I'd have to look it up
but I sort of my gut feeling tells me
yeah my gut feeling tells me that we
we're doing redundant work I understand
your god we need to respect a gut and I
can see that you're hesitant to it but
in in the past if you base your
solutions on the information that is
flawed you will have a flawed product
hmm and considering the size of this
engagement the goals that we've outlined
to success metrics that we've outlined
are you willing to gamble by not doing
the proper research and discovery hmm
are you that kind of risk taker because
we're upset or we think we might be
upset when the boss sees this and says
I'm not gonna do this but would more
upset when we wind up at the end and not
much has changed at all hmm all right
which situation terrifies you more hmm I
don't know yet that's that's like
choosing from two to two evils let's go
let's got it here Chris okay what
happened what's the difference what's
your different approach in situation one
into a couple of different things one is
I want to express empathy I want to
listen to see like where the pushback is
and we also understand that you are the
deal maker
but the deal breaker is more important
in a situation that there's a force
greater than you know dress that and to
understand the psychology like for you
this is your job your livelihood so I'm
going to start thinking about well
what's at stake for you well
you might get fired hmm you might get
demoted you might get a lashing from
your boss and I want to be sensitive to
that I can't ignore that other things
that I'm doing differently on the second
try the things that you should do is I
need to play back I need to identify the
emotions the fears that you have and and
I could do better and I think I'm
getting caught up in like the service
business and who you are and being on
the show but I need to really be able to
label the emotion that you're going
through and talk about that so you feel
like Chris has hurt me hmm and towards
that and I started to get there because
you do something scared hmm what is the
greater fear for you is it presenting
something and making sure we we've
invested our time and money wisely or
when we're done and nothing has changed
and I think that's gonna hurt you more
right all right so you have to dig you
have to dig into the resistance of why
people why clients don't want to invest
in research right that you have to
understand what's what's holding them
back deep yeah and in in this case yes
that's what it is so whatever it is that
you're afraid of we need to identify
that and understand it first and the the
first objection that I draw to you and
that is that it's redundant
right that's that's not the objection
I I don't think it's that ultimately
that's a symptom of your fear and the
fear is my boss is not gonna like this
at all hmm and I don't want to appear to
be stupid yeah yeah so I need to help
you find a better reason yeah you need
to help you need to help me sell it to
my loss right yeah in a very much yeah
okay yeah all right let us know if
you've ever encountered a similar
situation where you had to sell research
discovery problem definition and run
into similar challenges I know I've had
tons of times leave a yes down below and
let us know what the situation was in
the next video we're going to talk about
the third sales challenge we got from
you from the community and that will be
about
clients who demands a guarantee who want
to see wanna now when will we get
results from the work and effort we put
in here's how Chris will handle death
you know what to do click this next
video see you over there