Needs analysis – sales jargon, a phrase which will often put people off, as they mistrust sales and related phrases.

Meaning: Needs Analysis – How may I help you? It I can be as simple as that. Simply put it means to find out what your prospective client wants, ideally completed before even attempting a ‘sale’.

How can you possibly expect yourself to sell something if you haven’t found out, understood or asked what the recipient needs? We need to find out what problem they have before we can offer a solution!

A needs analysis can be as complex as you want it to be, I prefer a simple honest open approach how can I help, what issue do you have, what problem can I solve?

Only when you understand what the need is, can you hope to fulfill it.

In 2013, I took on a sales apprentice. I was most surprised to find out that the national qualification Sales NQV level 2 talks about and trains delegates on the difference between features and benefits, it tells you how to handle objections and a number of really useful sales processes including communication techniques. However there is no section in this nationally recognised qualification on the needs analysis. So is it any wonder with the national vocational qualifications standard omitting this why there is a distinct shortage (not at TLH) of great sales people? The training taught our apprentice how to sell at people, not to find out what they need. The training taught them how to argue with people, which might be irrelevant if the correct needs analysis has been performed! Rather than start at the end of the sales cycle, perhaps the beginning would be more beneficial.

Needless to say our apprentice did start at the beginning – do you?

Needs Analysis – it can be such a simple phrase! How may I help you?