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# “How do you know you have a problem?” — Kelford Labs Daily
- URL: https://kelfordinc.com/how-do-you-know-you-have-a-problem-kelford-labs-daily/
- Published: 2025-09-19T10:24:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-01-18T15:14:22.000Z
- Description: The answer tells you everything.
- Author: Joel Kelly
- Tags: challenge, curiosity, Daily Labs, pain point, questions, struggle

When we hop on a call with a prospect, that’s often my first real question:

**“How do you know you have a marketing problem?”**

You might think, “What if they realize they *don’t* and you lose the sale?” Well, that’s good, then, because it means we would have wasted each other’s time.

But, honestly, that’s never happened.

What happens instead is the prospect outlines exactly what’s going wrong, exactly why they *feel* it’s a problem, and exactly what would need to change to feel better.

You already know, as a consultant and communicator, that sometimes this information is hard to get! But if you ask it upfront, before the project starts, you get candour, honesty, and accuracy.

**So, the next time you’re on a call with a prospect, ask them: “How do you know you have a \[your service offering\] problem?”**

The answer they give will make the project itself clearer and easier to achieve, but it will also help your *marketing*. Because now you have a real-world example of the challenge your ideal clients experience, and exactly what would help them overcome it.

And then you know what to put in your next ad, your next piece of content, your next outreach:

*A creative and compelling description of the problem your prospects face, and a demonstration of* [*how you help them*](https://kelfordinc.com/your-process-is-your-position-kelford-labs-weekly/) *solve it.*

Because marketing isn’t about the *mass*, it’s about the [individual](https://kelfordinc.com/kelford-labs-daily-individual-marketing/).

**So you need to ask individuals the right questions to know what to put in your marketing to everyone else.**

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*Reply to this email to tell me what you think, or ask any questions!*

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[***Kelford Inc.***](https://www.kelfordinc.com/) ***shows communicators the way to always knowing what to say.***