At a recent networking event, how did you introduce yourself? Most of us use this format – name, company name, what do we do and seasoned networkers will go a step ahead and say how they do it. What makes them special…what is their USP. Is this not also the sales or marketing pitch that most of us and our staff follow when on a business call or meeting?
Hold on….take a moment…re-assess. Are people buying into what you do…or are they buying into what makes you special; what makes you dead good at what you do vis-à-vis your competition?
Or…do they look at WHY you do what you do? What is your purpose, what is your belief, what makes you get out of bed every morning? Great companies start with the why and manifest in the what. Have we ever wondered why we do what we do? What makes us wake up every morning with fire in our belly…to go to work, to do something different? What drives us?
Apple is just another company making phones and computers. They have the same access to resources, technology, data and people like their competition does. Yet, why do people end up queuing up for 5 hours to get the first iPhone? Do you hear the same of any other company selling phones and computers?
People who buy an iPhone are not buying into the ‘what’ or the ‘how’…they are buying the ‘WHY’. Think about this.
People end up buying from you because both you and they believe in the same thing. You believe the world should be a green space and sell eco friendly gifts. A person or a company buys from you because they buy into your belief. When you find someone who buys into what you believe, they don’t need to be sold to. They are already sold on the belief. They make your belief theirs and further propagate it and get you more and more people to do work with in the same manner.
All of us are clear on the what and the how…but not on the WHY of our business. And we end up making our sales pitch starting with the what and ending with the how. Instead, start with the WHY and then connect it to the how and the what.
Apple’s example is a classic one, in the words of Simon Sinek – If they were just another computer or phone seller they would say, “we make innovative phones with great design and user friendly features, would you like to buy one?” Inspired to buy one? Not really. Instead they say – “Everything we do, we believe in challenging status quo by making products that are great in design and are user friendly. We just happen to make computers.” Sounds a lot more inspiring to buy, right?
This week, as you plan your working week ahead or take time to plan and relax and re-create a new discipline in the way you work, think about the WHY of your business. It will help you go leaps and bounds away from your competition and will satisfy you in a way nothing else ever can.
Do share your thoughts on how this exercise worked for you. New insights, new direction, new ways of doing things will take your business to the level it deserves to be in. As small and medium scale entrepreneurs we seldom get the time to do this. We hope reading this blog gives you the motivation to take time off and do the needful and impact your business and its growth in a very positive way.
What is your WHY?
