I would make a few deliberate changes from the previous version:

• Gap Selling remains the primary book.

• I would focus the reading much more tightly around Current State → Future State → Gap → Discovery → Is the Gap Worth It? → Why.

• I would not introduce another core book at this stage. The learner already has enough reading. Gap Selling is strong enough to carry Step 4.

• I would remove The Challenger Sale as the optional reading. It is not necessary here and could distract from the diagnostic process.

• The mindset checkpoint should focus on the two real resistances: stopping at the problem and being unwilling to walk away when the gap isn’t worth solving.

• The output should be a Qualified Opportunity, not merely an “Opportunity Diagnosis,” because the learner needs to decide whether the opportunity deserves to move to Step 5.

Here is how I would write it in your established EVUNN structure:

STEP 4 — DIAGNOSE THE OPPORTUNITY

The Problem We’re Solving

“I have spoken to potential customers and heard about their problems, but I don’t know which problems represent a real opportunity worth solving.”

In Step 3, you started real customer conversations.

You approached prospects.

You listened to their experiences.

You asked questions.

You recorded what they have tried.

You identified problems, behaviours, consequences and buying signals.

You now have customer evidence.

But there is a problem.

A customer having a problem does not automatically mean you have a sales opportunity.

Someone can say:

“I need more customers.”

“I need better marketing.”

“I need to improve my operations.”

“I need help with my team.”

“I need to increase my revenue.”

But these statements are only the beginning.

You still need to understand:

Where are they now?

Where do they want to be?

What is preventing them from getting there?

What is the gap?

What is the gap costing them?

Why does closing the gap matter?

Why do they need to change now?

And most importantly:

Is this gap important enough for the customer to invest in closing it?

This is where diagnosis begins.

Your goal is not to find a problem you can solve.

Your goal is to determine whether there is a valuable customer opportunity worth pursuing.

THE EVUNN MINDSET SHIFT

From “They have a problem” → “I understand the gap.”

Experts are often very good at recognising problems.

You hear:

“I can’t get enough clients.”

And immediately think:

“I know how to fix that.”

You hear:

“My team isn’t performing.”

And immediately think:

“I know what training they need.”

You hear:

“I don’t know how to package my expertise.”

And immediately think:

“I can help them build an offer.”

Your expertise makes this tempting.

But there is a danger.

You may start solving the problem before you have properly diagnosed it.

The customer may have described a symptom.

The real problem may be somewhere else.

And even if the problem is real, it may not be important enough to solve.

So the better question is not:

“Can I solve this problem?”

It is:

“What is the gap between where this customer is and where they need to be, and is closing that gap important enough for them to act?”

That is the thinking behind Gap Selling.

You are moving from:

Problem

↓

Diagnosis

↓

Opportunity

📖 RECOMMENDED BOOK

Gap Selling

Author: Keenan

The Big Idea

Customers do not buy simply because they have problems.

They buy when the difference between their current state and their desired future state creates enough value, pain or urgency to justify change.

That difference is the gap.

Your job is therefore not to rush into presenting your solution.

Your job is to understand the customer’s:

Current State

↓

Future State

↓

Gap

↓

Impact

↓

Why

↓

Need for Change

This makes Gap Selling the natural primary book for Step 4.

You are not reading it simply to learn sales techniques.

You are learning how to diagnose a customer’s situation well enough to determine whether a genuine sales opportunity exists.

What Business Problem Does This Book Solve?

“I can identify a customer’s problem, but I don’t know how to determine how serious it is, what is causing it, what it is costing them or whether they have enough reason to act.”

A weak sales conversation often looks like this:

Customer:

“We need more customers.”

Expert:

“I can help you with that.”

Offer presented.

But the expert still doesn’t know:

How many customers the business currently has

How many it needs

Why the current number is insufficient

What is causing the shortfall

What the shortfall is costing

What the desired situation looks like

What happens if nothing changes

Whether solving it is a priority

A diagnostic conversation goes much deeper.

You are trying to understand the business reality behind the statement.

SHOULD I READ IT NOW?

YES — selectively.

You do not need to read every chapter of Gap Selling before completing this step.

Your objective is:

“Learn how to diagnose a customer’s current state, future state, the gap between them, the impact of that gap and whether the customer has a compelling reason to change.”

The most important chapters are below.

WHICH PARTS MATTER MOST?

CHAPTER THREE — THE CURRENT STATE

ESSENTIAL

This is where you establish where the customer actually is today.

Go beyond the customer’s first description of the problem.

Ask:

What is happening now?

How are they currently operating?

What have they already tried?

What is working?

What isn’t working?

Who is affected?

How frequently does the problem occur?

What resources are involved?

What happens if they continue operating this way?

The objective is to create a specific picture of reality.

Instead of:

“My business isn’t growing.”

You want something closer to:

“Revenue has remained at approximately ₦5 million per year for the last two years despite increasing marketing activity.”

Specificity makes diagnosis possible.

CHAPTER FOUR — THE FUTURE STATE

ESSENTIAL

Now understand where the customer wants to go.

Ask:

What are they trying to achieve?

What would they like to change?

What would success look like?

What result do they actually want?

What would improve if the problem were solved?

What would they be able to do that they cannot do now?

Do not substitute your preferred outcome for the customer’s desired outcome.

Your customer may not want:

“Better marketing.”

They may want:

“A predictable flow of qualified clients every month.”

The future state must matter to them.

CHAPTER SIX — THE GAP DEFINED

ESSENTIAL

This is the heart of Step 4.

Place the customer’s:

Current State

beside their:

Future State

Then ask:

“What is preventing them from getting from where they are now to where they want to be?”

That difference is the gap.

For example:

Current State

The consultant relies almost entirely on referrals and has unpredictable monthly revenue.

Future State

She wants a predictable flow of qualified clients each month.

Gap

She does not have a repeatable customer acquisition system that consistently generates qualified prospects.

This is much more useful than simply recording:

“She needs more customers.”

You are beginning to understand the actual opportunity.

CHAPTER EIGHT — DISCOVERY: KNOW YOUR CLIENTS BETTER THAN THEY KNOW THEMSELVES

ESSENTIAL

This chapter is particularly important for the EVUNN learner because it reinforces the need to keep investigating.

The prospect’s first answer is not necessarily the complete diagnosis.

They may describe:

A symptom

An assumption

A consequence

A visible problem

Or something they believe is causing the problem

Your job is to investigate.

Ask:

What happened?

Why is that happening?

What have you tried?

What changed?

Who is affected?

What happens next?

What is causing the situation?

The goal is not to prove that the prospect is wrong.

The goal is to understand the situation more deeply than the initial problem statement.

CHAPTER NINE — IS THE GAP WORTH IT?

ESSENTIAL

This is one of the most important chapters for EVUNN.

A gap can be real without being commercially valuable.

Ask:

How significant is the gap?

What is it costing the customer?

What happens if nothing changes?

How much does solving it matter?

What would closing the gap make possible?

Why should they act now?

This is where you begin separating:

A problem someone has

from:

An opportunity someone is motivated to solve.

CHAPTER TEN — KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WHY

ESSENTIAL

The customer needs a reason to change.

Understand:

Why does this matter?

Why now?

Why is the current situation no longer acceptable?

What happens if they don’t change?

What will improve if they do?

The customer’s “why” gives context to the gap.

Two customers can have the same problem but completely different levels of motivation.

You need to understand what makes the opportunity important to this particular customer.

CHAPTER SEVEN — GET THEM TO LET YOU HELP

IMPORTANT

This becomes relevant after you have developed enough understanding of the customer’s situation.

You are not trying to force your way into the conversation.

You are earning permission to help by demonstrating that you understand the customer’s situation.

The deeper your diagnosis, the more naturally you can move toward a discussion about whether you can help close the gap.

This becomes the bridge into Step 5.

WHAT SHOULD I READ LATER?

CHAPTER ELEVEN — HOW TO DO A KICKASS DEMO

SAVE FOR STEP 5

This becomes more relevant when you are presenting your solution.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN — TROUBLESHOOTING

SAVE FOR LATER

Useful when deals begin encountering problems or stalls.

CHAPTER TWELVE — MOVE YOUR DEALS THROUGH THE PIPELINE

SAVE FOR LATER

This is more relevant once you have opportunities moving through your sales process.

PART III — GAP PROSPECTING

SAVE FOR STEP 2 / REVIEW LATER

Chapters 14–17 deal with prospecting, which EVUNN has already addressed in Step 2.

There is no need to make the learner repeat that work here.

YOUR EVUNN ACTION

DIAGNOSE YOUR BEST SALES OPPORTUNITIES

Now return to the prospects you spoke with in Step 3.

You are going to turn your customer evidence into qualified sales opportunities.

Do not diagnose every person on your original prospect list.

Start with the prospects who gave you the strongest evidence.

Your objective is:

Evidence → Diagnosis → Qualified Opportunity

1. SELECT YOUR STRONGEST PROSPECTS

Review your Step 3 conversation records.

Identify prospects who demonstrated:

A real problem

A meaningful impact

Evidence they have tried to solve it

A clear desired outcome

Some level of urgency

Willingness to continue the conversation

Select your strongest opportunities first.

2. DOCUMENT THE CURRENT STATE

For each prospect, answer:

Where are they now?

What is happening?

How are they currently handling the situation?

What have they already tried?

What is not working?

Who is affected?

How often does the problem occur?

What resources are involved?

What happens if nothing changes?

Be specific.

Do not write:

“Their business is struggling.”

Write what is actually happening.

For example:

“The business generates approximately 80 leads per month but converts fewer than five into paying customers.”

Your diagnosis should be based on evidence from the customer, not assumptions.

3. DEFINE THE FUTURE STATE

Now determine where the customer wants to be.

Ask:

What are they trying to achieve?

What would they like to change?

What does success look like?

What result matters most?

What would become possible if the problem were solved?

Write the future state in the customer’s terms.

4. DEFINE THE GAP

Put the two states together.

Current State

Where are they now?

Future State

Where do they want to be?

Gap

What prevents them from getting there?

Write the gap in one clear statement.

For example:

Current State: The consultant relies mainly on referrals and has unpredictable monthly revenue.

Future State: She wants a predictable flow of qualified clients each month.

Gap: She does not have a repeatable customer acquisition system that consistently generates qualified prospects.

You are now moving beyond:

“They need more customers.”

to:

“I understand what is preventing them from achieving the result they want.”

5. INVESTIGATE THE ROOT CAUSE

Do not stop at the first explanation.

Ask:

Why is this happening?

What is causing the gap?

What have they already tried?

Why didn’t those attempts work?

What else is contributing to the situation?

What assumptions are they making?

What is underneath the visible problem?

You are not trying to sound intelligent.

You are trying to understand the situation accurately.

6. IDENTIFY THE IMPACT

Now determine what the gap is costing the customer.

Look for:

Lost revenue

Lost customers

Wasted time

Additional costs

Missed opportunities

Operational inefficiency

Delayed growth

Customer dissatisfaction

Team pressure

Personal or professional consequences

Where possible, quantify the impact.

For example:

“The current process takes approximately 15 hours each week and delays client delivery by an average of three days.”

The impact makes the gap tangible.

7. UNDERSTAND THE CUSTOMER’S WHY

Ask:

Why does this need to change?

Why now?

What has made the problem important?

What happens if nothing changes?

What would solving it make possible?

What would the customer gain?

What would they avoid losing?

The answer to “why” is often more important than the problem itself.

8. TEST WHETHER THE GAP IS WORTH CLOSING

Now make a judgment.

Strong Opportunity

The customer:

Has a meaningful current-state problem

Has a clear desired future state

Has a significant gap

Understands the impact

Has a compelling reason to change

Has some urgency

Is willing to take a next step

Potential Opportunity

The problem appears real, but:

The impact is unclear

The future state is vague

Urgency is weak

The customer has not committed to change

More investigation is required

Weak Opportunity

The customer:

Does not consider the problem important

Is comfortable with the current state

Has little meaningful impact

Has no compelling reason to change

Is unwilling to take a next step

Is not a fit for your offer

Do not manufacture an opportunity.

If the gap isn’t important enough to the customer, move on.

9. CONFIRM YOUR DIAGNOSIS WITH THE CUSTOMER

Do not assume your diagnosis is correct simply because it makes sense to you.

Reflect it back.

For example:

“From what you’ve told me, it sounds like the main issue isn’t actually generating leads. You’re generating enough interest, but you don’t have a consistent process for converting those leads into paying customers. Is that an accurate description of what is happening?”

Then listen.

The customer may:

Confirm it

Correct it

Add something you missed

Reveal a deeper issue

Disagree completely

All of these are useful.

Your diagnosis should be tested with the customer, not created entirely in your head.

10. DETERMINE WHETHER YOU SHOULD ADVANCE THE OPPORTUNITY

Now decide what should happen next.

Advance

The opportunity is meaningful and the customer wants to explore a solution.

Investigate Further

The opportunity appears promising but you still have important unanswered questions.

Pause

The problem exists, but there is insufficient urgency or value to move forward.

Disqualify

The prospect is not a good fit or there is no meaningful opportunity.

This is important.

Not every conversation should become a sale.

A strong sales process knows when to move forward and when to stop.

11. DOCUMENT THE OPPORTUNITY

For every qualified opportunity, capture:

Prospect

Current State

Future State

The Gap

Root Cause

Impact

Customer’s Why

Urgency

Existing Attempts

Desired Outcome

Evidence

Opportunity Status

Potential Solution Area

Next Step

Do not write your full solution yet.

You are still working from the customer’s situation.

Your diagnosis should lead the solution—not the other way around.

🧠 EVUNN MINDSET CHECKPOINT

Are you stopping at the problem?

This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make at this stage.

A prospect says:

“I need more customers.”

And you write:

Problem: Lack of customers.

You think you understand the opportunity.

But you don’t.

You still need to know:

Where are they now?

Where do they want to be?

What is preventing them from getting there?

What is the gap?

What is the impact?

Why does closing the gap matter?

Why does it matter now?

A problem statement is not a diagnosis.

The prospect may even be describing a symptom rather than the underlying problem.

For example:

“I need more leads.”

But after investigating, you discover that they already generate enough leads.

The real issue is poor conversion.

Or:

“I need better marketing.”

But the real issue is an unclear offer.

Or:

“I need to hire more people.”

But the real issue is an inefficient process.

Your job is not to stop at the first problem statement.

Your job is to keep investigating until you understand the gap.

And there is another test:

Are you willing to walk away when the gap isn’t worth solving?

You may want the prospect to become a customer.

You may have spent time researching them.

You may believe strongly in your solution.

But if:

The impact is small

The customer isn’t motivated

The urgency is weak

The desired outcome is unclear

The customer is satisfied with the current state

or the gap simply isn’t valuable enough to close,

then you may not have a real sales opportunity.

Do not manufacture urgency.

Do not exaggerate pain.

Do not convince someone that a problem matters when it doesn’t matter to them.

Remember:

Your job is not to turn every problem into a sale. Your job is to identify the problems where the gap is valuable enough for the customer to want change.

Optional Mindset Reading

No Additional Book Required

You do not need another sales book at this stage.

Gap Selling already provides the diagnostic framework you need.

If you find yourself struggling to accept that some prospects are not worth pursuing, return to:

Chapter 9 — Is the Gap Worth It?

and

Chapter 10 — Know Your Customers’ Why

The important thing is not more reading.

It is learning to diagnose honestly.

🔓 EVUNN EXECUTION TOOLKIT

Opportunity Diagnosis Canvas

Don’t move from:

“The customer has a problem.”

straight to:

“Here is my solution.”

Use the EVUNN Opportunity Diagnosis Canvas to map:

Current State

↓

Future State

↓

The Gap

↓

Root Cause

↓

Impact

↓

Customer’s Why

↓

Urgency

↓

Value of Change

↓

Opportunity Status

The toolkit helps you determine which customer situations represent genuine sales opportunities and which should be investigated further, paused or disqualified.

→ Open Toolkit

| Go Back to Roadmap

ONE PAYMENT. ALL STAGE 1 TOOLKITS. YOURS FOR LIFE.

No monthly subscription. No recurring fees. Just the tools you need to execute.

→ Unlock All Stage 1 Execution Toolkits

YOUR STEP 4 OUTPUT

By the end of this step, you should have:

QUALIFIED SALES OPPORTUNITIES

Your process should now look like:

Customer Conversations

↓

Customer Evidence

↓

Current State

↓

Future State

↓

The Gap

↓

Root Cause

↓

Impact

↓

Customer’s Why

↓

Urgency

↓

Value of Change

↓

Opportunity Status

↓

Qualified Sales Opportunity

Your objective is not to turn every prospect into an opportunity.

Your objective is to identify the prospects where:

The problem is real

The gap matters

The impact is meaningful

The customer wants change

There is a reason to act

WHAT YOU SHOULD NOW KNOW

You entered this step with:

“This prospect has a problem I may be able to solve.”

You leave knowing:

“I understand where this customer is, where they want to be, the gap between those two states, what is causing it, what it is costing them, why it matters and whether there is a reason to act.”

You have moved from:

Problem → Diagnosis → Opportunity

You no longer have simply a prospect who mentioned a problem.

You now have a clearer picture of whether there is a real sales opportunity worth pursuing.

But there is still one important question.

If the opportunity is real, valuable and worth solving:

How do you present your solution so the customer can see how it closes the gap—and make it easy for them to decide?

NEXT: STEP 5 — PRESENT & CLOSE THE OFFER

“How do I connect my solution to the customer’s opportunity and move them toward a decision?”