Stop Solving Their Problems on the Call

Smart. Experienced. Good at what he does.

But he couldn’t close deals to save his life.

So I asked him to walk me through his last few sales calls.
Within two minutes, I saw the problem.

He was solving everything on the call.

Prospect mentions a challenge? He’d immediately offer three solutions.
Prospect asks a question? He’d launch into a 10-minute masterclass.

By the end of every call, the prospect felt helped, but they didn’t feel like buying.

Here’s what’s actually happening in their brain when you do this.

Research shows that service professionals — coaches, consultants, syndicators — experience something called helper identity conflict.

Your core identity is built around helping people. And that’s great.

But when it’s time to sell, that same identity creates internal chaos.

You think:

So you overcompensate. You give away the solution for free, hoping they’ll see your value and just… buy.

But they don’t.

Because people don’t buy based on how much you helped them in one conversation.
They buy based on how they feel about what comes next.

And when you solve their problem on the call?
There is no “next.”

Most syndicators think the sales call is about proving competence.

“If I show them I know my stuff, they’ll invest.”

So they:

Research from the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management found that rapport-building, not expertise dumping, is what actually drives sales and long-term loyalty.

You don’t need to prove you’re smart. They already know that, or they wouldn’t be on the call.

You need to make them feel something.

Here’s how to sell like a pro instead of a problem-solver.

Selling isn’t about convincing someone to say yes.
It’s about discovering if there’s a fit.

Sales strategist Aleasha Bahr calls this “If it’s a fit, it’s a fact.”

When you approach sales this way, the pressure evaporates.
You’re not pushing. You’re exploring.

Stop sitting across the table from your investor. Sit next to them.

Shift your language from

When prospects feel like you’re with them, not pitching at them, they open up.
And that’s when real conversations happen.

This is the move that changes everything.

After you understand their financial goals, ask two questions:

“What does this mean for you personally?”
Not their bank account. Not the balance sheet. Them.

Is this about finally taking that trip with their grandkids?
Proving something to themselves?
Building a legacy their kids can inherit?

Then ask:
“What does it look like in the future if you solve this?”

Get them to visualize success. Paint the picture with them.

Research shows that when people can imagine the emotional outcome, buying becomes inevitable. 💡

The best capital raisers aren’t just deal experts.
They’re guides.

They ask the questions that matter.
They create space for real answers.
They connect the investment to what actually drives people: their dreams, their fears, their identity.

And they do it without giving away the whole solution on a 30-minute call.

You’re not being helpful when you solve everything up front.
You’re being convenient.

And convenience doesn’t build trust.
It builds dependency on free advice.

So next time you’re on an investor call and feel that itch to jump in with solutions - pause.

Ask instead:

That’s when the real conversation starts.

Chris

Works Cited:

Good, V., Mangus, S. B., & Pullins, E. (2023). Salesperson Rapport: A Literature Review and Research Agenda for an Evolving Digital Sales Process. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 43(2), 1-22.

Kaski, T., Niemi, J., & Pullins, E. (2017). Rapport Building in Authentic B2B Sales Interaction. Industrial Marketing Management, 69, 235-252.

Kock, N., Mayfield, M., Mayfield, J., Sexton, S., & De La Garza, L. M. (2019). Empathetic Leadership: How Leader Emotional Support and Understanding Influence Follower Performance. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 26(2), 217-236.