Your product or service solves a problem for the customer, right? Does your customer understand the problem you’re solving? Have you been able to put or involve numerical relationships in this problem-solving process?

Go back-to-school for a second, maybe even as far back as grade school and think about solving mathematical word problems. Remember word problems, each problem described a situation that involved numerical relationships. However, the situation and those relationships had to be first interpreted and understood. That was really just a matter of simple arithmetic computations needed to be performed to get the answer. But, how good were you at it?

Many of the computations were simple and even the use of algebra or other formulas were not required. The problem required that you understood and spelled out precisely the situation that was being described. Once a problem had been set up properly in arithmetic, it was typically very easy.

Here’s a take-off for solving math word problems that simply could be applied to solving your customers problems:

First things first, don’t try to do it alone. Do your analysis with a partner, the customer. This is a joint effort, so blasting your message in the hope someone will understand does not work.

Try to do all of your thinking as part of a conversation lot. Communicate all of your thoughts, decisions, analysis, and conclusions. Communicate how you’re starting the problem, questions you’re asking yourself, steps you’re taking a break in the problem in parts, conclusions you are drawing — everything. If you perform any mental operations even translating an unfamiliar word, or visualizing a picture of a relationship, communicate these operations. Letting each other know what you’re thinking is just imperative.

Use step-by-step analytical procedure. Use the techniques that good problem solvers use, break a problem into parts. Work one part accurately and then move on to the next part. Translate unfamiliar phases into your own words and/or visualize or make diagrams of the relationships presented verbally. Simplify problem by substituting easier numbers, making a table of successive computations, or referring to an earlier problem.

Be extremely accurate. Continually check your thinking. Your thoughts should drive questions like: Is that entirely correct? Is that completely accurate? Never work so quickly that leads to errors. Give efficient time to all parts of the problem. Never just give up on the problem and get some answer. Always try to reason the problem out.

While your customer is working through the problem, keep checking the accuracy so that you will learn to think with more precision and thoroughness. In addition, in your own mind contrast the methods with the way the problem was attacked. How might you break the problem down more completely into some problems? What other steps might you take? How might you visualize or diagrams or relationships making it more effective? Would you work more carefully? In other words, try to imagine ways in which you might attack the problem more effectively.

If your customer uses inaccurate information or computations that lead to wrong answers or maybe does not spell out situations with full understanding try showing them a table or diagram which illustrates, step-by-step, the relationships between the facts in the problem. Stopping your customer and requesting a full explanation of certain computations is your responsibility in helping both of you to fully understand the problem.

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Ok, how good are you? John can run 7 feet in the time that Fred runs 5 feet. How far will John run in the time that Fred runs 15 feet? Show your work?

Reference for this post and a great book for learning Problem Solving & Comprehension techniques.