One of the greatest rewards of coaching comes from when I see the business owner acting on the outcomes of our conversation and achieving an immediate positive outcome.

Recently, a painter reached out for a conversation as he felt his pipeline of new work was drying up and wanted help in refilling that pipeline.

During our conversation, a critical insight emerged: when quoting for work, he was making the process of quoting about himself by defining what he thought the client required. This approach inadvertently projected neediness — and as we all know, nobody buys from someone who comes across as desperate.

I suggested a fundamental shift in perspective. Rather than focusing on what he does, I encouraged him to reframe his approach around two key questions:

1. Understand what was the problem the prospect wanted him to solve?
2. Once the problem is defined, is the prospect willing to pay you significant money to solve that problem?

This simple reorientation moved the focus from the painter himself to having the painter concentrate on understanding and responding to the needs of the prospect. When the conversation focuses on understanding the prospect’s problems and how we can solve them, the prospect will not see us needy but as a valuable asset who can solve the problem.

The results? Just days after our conversation, I received this email:

“I followed most of the things you’d said (some I forgot) and I landed one of my biggest paint jobs I’ve done in months! Thanks a million looking forward to our next chat.”

This success story highlights a universal business principle: when we shift our focus from ourselves to our customers’ problems, we position ourselves as problem-solvers rather than vendors. We demonstrate value rather than need.

Sometimes the most powerful business transformations don’t require complex strategies or expensive tools—just a simple shift in mindset that places the customer’s needs at the centre of every interaction.