The PAIN Formula

The Pain Formula Framework

The Pain Formula provides a structured approach to articulating a prospect’s pain, making it easier to build urgency and align your solution to their highest-priority problems. Below is a breakdown of each component in the formula and how to identify them during discovery.

💥 The Pain Formula Statement

"[Persona] is struggling with [core problem] caused by [specific cause], which is resulting in [operational impact]. This has led to [emotional/team frustration], and the organization is facing [potential risks if the issue continues]."

Example: VP of Engineering Struggling with Delivery

“As a VP of Engineering, I’m struggling with our inability to deliver new features on time. The root cause is limited internal bandwidth and constant firefighting with legacy code. This is leading to mounting technical debt and slowing down our roadmap velocity. My team is burned out from juggling competing priorities and unclear product requirements, which is causing rising attrition and growing tension with Product and Sales. If we can’t stabilize delivery and scale development capacity, we risk falling behind competitors, losing top engineers, and eroding trust with both customers and the executive team.”

Breaking Down the Pain Formula

1. Persona

📌 Who is experiencing the pain?

• Definition: The specific stakeholder or role most directly impacted by the problem.

  
  

• Considerations:

  
  

  • What are their core responsibilities?

  • What metrics define their success?

  • What external/internal pressures are they under?

💡 Example: “As a VP of Engineering…”

👉 Tip: Focus on their day-to-day pain and KPIs—this makes the pain relatable and actionable.

2. Core Problem

📌 What is the fundamental issue they’re facing?

• Definition: The main problem disrupting their ability to succeed in their role.

  
  

• Considerations:

  • What’s the recurring theme in their complaints?

  • What’s broken in their process, system, or execution?

  • What are they failing to achieve?

💡 Example: “...our inability to deliver new features on time…”

👉 Tip: Look for symptoms that come up repeatedly—repetition = real pain.

3. Specific Cause

📌 What’s driving or contributing to the problem?

• Definition: The underlying reason the core problem exists.

  
  

• Considerations:

  
  

  • Is this a people, process, or technology issue?

  • What’s changed recently to make it worse?

  • What constraints or dependencies are in the way?

💡 Example: “...limited internal bandwidth and constant firefighting with legacy code…competing priorities...unclear requirements”

👉 Tip: Don’t stop at surface-level—dig to identify root causes.

4. Operational Impact

📌 How does this affect daily execution?

• Definition: The measurable consequences on their workflows, performance, and output

  
  

• Considerations:

  
  

  • What’s taking longer than it should?

  • Where are resources being drained or misallocated?

  • What’s being delayed, duplicated, or missed?

💡 Example: “...mounting technical debt and slowing down our roadmap velocity…rising attrition”

👉 Tip: Quantify when possible. Ask: “How often does this happen?” or “How much time/money does this cost?”

5. Emotional & Organizational Frustration

📌 How are people reacting to the situation?

• Definition: The human impact—morale, stress, conflict, and burnout.

  
  

• Considerations:

  
  

  • Who’s most frustrated or overwhelmed?

  • Is this affecting team dynamics or trust?

  • Are people disengaging, resigning, or escalating?

💡 Example: “...burned out from juggling competing priorities...growing tension with Product and Sales…”

👉 Tip: Emotional pain drives urgency—don’t skip this step.

6. Risk of Inaction

📌 What happens if they do nothing?

• Definition: The long-term consequences of leaving the problem unresolved.

  
  

• Considerations:

  
  

  • Will they miss critical goals or revenue?

  • Will competitors gain an advantage?

  • Could this impact reputation, retention, or compliance?

💡 Example: “...we risk falling behind competitors, losing top engineers, and eroding trust…”

👉 Tip: Position the risk as a near-term inevitability—not just a distant concern.

✅ Why This Framework Works

• Clarity: Breaks down the pain in a structured, easy-to-understand way

• Urgency: Highlights both tangible and emotional consequences

• Buy-in: Helps your champion communicate the problem internally

• Momentum: Creates a strong business case to move the deal forward

  
  

Mastering this formula will help you uncover real pain, earn executive attention, and guide the customer toward meaningful change. 🚀

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