Don’t Repeat the Problem

The Concern

Imagine a client reaches out to you and you are requested to provide a solution? You may have 100 things in mind. But, main action plan should NOT simply echo the problem back to the client.

To showcase yourself as a smart person, the job is to move the conversation from “What’s wrong” to “Here’s how we’ll fix your problem.”

Client already knows the problem. That’s why they reached out.

Most Importantly, who is the client?

They could be our client, our peers, people who consider us as solution providers.

---

The Pattern we should avoid

Most people unknowingly fall into this loop:

1. Restating the problem — “You want to reach colleges.”

2. Adding an action without context — “We’ll contact 15 colleges.”

3. Stopping there.

See what’s missing ?

1. How ?

2. Why ?

3. What ?

4. Timelines ?

5. Targets ?

Without these, the client doesn’t see a plan — only noise.

---

Example

Let’s say a client says:

We need help spread our word to colleges nearby.

If our response is:

“We’ll reach out to 15 colleges.”

Then we’ve only repeated the task, not solve the problem.

Instead, what they expect is:

“We’ll create a 3-step outreach plan, shortlist 50 colleges by relevance, design personalized intro decks, and schedule 15 demos over the next 3 weeks. Once we get feedback, we’ll optimize the pitch and scale.”

That’s a solution mindset.
It shows ownership, clarity, and forward movement and client could appreciate it.

---

A Framework to use

Whenever someone reaches out with a problem, use this 3-step lens:

1. Understand the root issue

2. Add Insights from your experience

3. Propose a Clear Action Plan

   ---

1. Understand the root issue

Ask yourself:

• What exactly are they struggling with?

• What outcome are they hoping for?

(It’s not always what they say first. Sometimes they also will not know the actual problem)

---

2. Add Insights from your experience

Go deeper:

• Why is this happening?

• What has worked (or failed) before?

• What constraints exist?

This step makes your answer valuable — it shows you’ve thought, not just reacted.

---

3. Propose a Clear Action Plan

Plan should have:

• Specific steps (not vague tasks)

• Timelines

• Ownership

• Expected outcomes

Example:

“To expand college partnerships, we’ll start with Tier-1 colleges in Bengaluru this week, finalize pitch decks by Friday, and run outreach via LinkedIn and email by Monday. Target: 10 meetings by end of next week.”

---

The takeaway

Our value lies in thinking forward, not rephrasing backward. Clients don’t remember who understood their problem. They remember who solved it.

That’s how we earn trust, one solution at a time.

---

Let's Connect

Hi, I’m Sandeep Gokhale, and I'm passionate about building high-performing teams at my company, Techvito and I write about Technology, People, Processes and some more stuff.

In case you're looking out for a technology partner to:

1. Help you with zero-downtime cloud migrations,

2. Accelerate your business goals with clarity, speed, and quality & security,

3. Who values reliability, security, and transparency,

Me and my team are here and more than ready to help you make it happen.

…then me and my team are here, ready to help you make it happen.

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Until Next time!