Doing Business
With 'Why'
Most
companies are really good at answering who, what, and where conversations, but
fail to effectively help buyers understand why they exist.
Ask any
entrepreneur why they do what they do, and they'll talk your ear off about why
they built their company, why the problem they are solving is meaningful, and
why their team is uniquely positioned to solve the challenge or problem. And
yet, when it comes to actually selling a product, the conversation shifts
immediately to language that is, by definition, transactional. Buy this
feature, crush the competition, use this software: the why is gone as the
spotlight turns entirely to the what. This is bad news for both your company
and your customers.
Simon Sinek, a thought leader I admire so
much he's coming to INBOUND this September, has a saying that really
resonates with me: "people don't buy what you do; they buy why you do
it." At the heart of any business transaction is an unmet need for the
customer. Uber has built a billion dollar
empire on the fact that all of us want to get to work, to dinner, or home on
time and as quickly as possible, and that thousands of people worldwide wanted
to make extra money driving for their team. Airbnb knew
there was no place like home so they opened up a marketplace for travelers to
find beautiful places to stay and for homeowners or renters to monetize their
properties in a unique way. A compelling why didn't just
steal market share; in both cases it redefined a market.
Recently, EMyth purchased
HubSpot software, and they were kind enough to share with our sales team a full
document outlining why they chose to go with us as their marketing solution.
Was it the price? Product details? A specific feature? Nope: they decided to
work with us (in their words) because we were "principle-driven" and
because "your culture really comes through
in all of your communications... and in your product." For me, it
was a critical reminder: you can't do business without the why, in every
department of your business.
In sales:
One of the biggest mistakes young sales reps
make is focusing their outreach on themselves, their product, and their
solution. In reality, the sales process should be about solving your customer's
most acute pain points, not closing more deals. Take a hard look at your
scripts: how often are you talking about yourself? About minor features?
Diagnose how you can make your sales process less about yourself and more about
your prospect: why converts at significantly higher rates than what.
In marketing:
Nobody wakes up in the morning wanting more
promotional emails, so the onus is on your marketing team to earn attention
instead of renting it. Our most successful emails at HubSpot feature an offer
to help in the subject line, not a hard sell or company-centered announcement.
To that end, make sure every email you send and every campaign you launch is
focused on why your customer buys versus what matters to your business.
In engineering:
Steve Jobs understood what most tech companies
fundamentally didn't for decades: that user experience is as much about
simplicity as it is power. Macs and iPods aren't the only products available in
their respective markets (not even close), but they are built for everyone,
from grandparents to grade school students. Build products that eliminate
headaches, not create them, and that fundamentally deliver on the needs of your
audience: don't become so feature focused that you lose sight of the challenge
you're solving at the outset.
In support:
Let's face it: customers rarely call support to
provide praise. They often call when they are stuck, frustrated, or annoyed,
and they are used to support calls in which reps pass the buck to other people
or try to upsell them relentlessly, neither of which typically have great
outcomes. Great companies, from L.L. Bean to Zappos,
empower their reps to have unscripted conversations that get quickly to the
customer's pain point and do everything possible to address their challenges.
At some point in your
business, whether due to scale, timing, or stress, you start just going through
the motions. Sales reps default to competitive feature selling, marketers ship
emails because it's easy, and your entire team is micro-focused on who is doing
what and who is getting what instead of why your customers choose to do
business with you. Simply put, whether you're selling widgets or wagons,
software or services, you started your business because you believed there was
a why for what you're doing. If that why is not baked into everything you do at
every customer touchpoint, you're missing valuable opportunities to build your
business and your brand.
BY BRIAN
HALLIGAN
http://www.inc.com/brian-halligan/doing-business-with-8220-why-8221.html?cid=em01020week30e
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