What’s The ORIGINAL Problem Your Customers Need Solved?

I hit a slight, uh, detour renewing my annual Nevada vehicle registration.

Normally it can be done online, like I’d done before.

But this time around, my car was two years old. In Nevada, when your car is more than two years old, you have to get an updated smog inspection on file every year. Until the smog inspection gets updated with the DMV, you cannot renew the registration through the DMV website.

I was still pretty new to Nevada and had never attempted to renew my registration on a car two years or older, so I just didn’t know.  Of course, I went to renew the vehicle registration the afternoon it was due and THEN found out about the smog thing.

So, it looked like I would not only need to renew the smog registration (easy, inexpensive, quick, can be done 10 places within one mile of my home and takes less than 10 minutes)…

…but THEN stand in line at the DMV like a schnook for the rest of the day to do the vehicle registration (difficult, expensive, slow, can be done 3 places within 10 miles of my home and takes hours).

But hold on.

Funny Thing, Sometimes The Detour Gets You There Just As Quickly As The Straight Line…

Upon arriving at the smog inspection station, I was pleased to learn that for a nominal ($10) fee, I can also renew my vehicle registration, then and there.

Just like that.

No waiting in line at the DMV.

No waiting for the DMV website to be updated with the smog inspection and unlock my ability to renew the vehicle registration online.

Heck, all of it can be done in one quick transaction!

AND, since every car in Nevada over two years old requires an annual smog inspection, I can just do it this way every year, and get it all done in about 15 minutes total!

This Raises A Few Questions For Business Creators

I imagine a lot of people log into the DMV website to get told they can’t renew their vehicle registration until the smog inspection is updated.

Because they’re not aware of the two-year rule, they, like me, go to renew the vehicle registration on the day it’s due and say…

Anyway…

It makes dollars and sense to integrate the smog computer with the vehicle registration computer and offer both services!

Ask yourself these questions (actually, there is a cumulative factor):

• What is the ORIGINAL problem that causes people to need your solution, that must be solved BEFORE the need you? (ex. they need to solve the smog inspection issue in order to solve the vehicle registration issue).
• How can you solve these ORIGINAL problems in a way that someone else (or a software) actually does all the work?
• How can you solve these ORIGINAL problems in a way that someone else (or a software) actually does the work, AND you get compensated for providing the convenience?
• How can you solve these ORIGINAL problems in a way that someone else (or a software) actually does the work, AND you get compensated for providing the convenience factor, BUT other human beings don’t need to be directly involved?

Suddenly Upsells Don’t Sound So Bad, Eh?

Again: what’s the ORIGINAL problem that causes the problem you solve, to become a problem in the first place?

How can you solve both, where someone else does the work, you get compensated, but other human beings don’t have to be present for each transaction?

Solve that, and you could be looking at some serious moolah.

I simply ask you please don’t hurt anyone in the process.