#random

Taking an interesting class at Stanford called "Fundamentals of Effective Selling." The entire class is about learning to lead with curiosity in the sales process. It provides an excellent framework that can be applied to everything from formal sales to hiring talent to raising money, and more.

The framework has two components:
1. Five buckets of questions
2. Process of layering (where the differentiation is)
The five buckets of questions include:
• Current situation: What is the world the other party finds themself in
• Problem defined: the past, present, & potential problems
• Impact; the impacts of the defined problem (quantitative if possible)
• Ideal: what would the ideal solution look like
• Benefit: if the person gets to their ideal, what's in it for the customer?
The process of layering involves digging into each bucket with questions that:
• Explore and expand on what the person means
• Quantifies specific points (impact, scope, relevance)
• Provides examples the person has experienced
Going through this process can help customize the pitch, presentation, conversation in a way that anchors the information in a personalized way for the other party