This is how Simon Sinek, bestselling author and inspirational speaker, begins his world-famous Ted Talk. He goes on to discuss his discoveries on how companies, like Apple, have been able to achieve extraordinary success, while others with the same resources have failed.
We suggest taking time to watch Sinek’s talk - you won’t regret it.
We’re all in search of success. We work in order to make something of ourselves; to provide for ourselves and our families, with the ultimate goal of ending up somewhere greater than where we started. But how do we get there? What makes a business special enough to rise to the top?
The answer lies not in what we do (the products we offer) or how we do it (delivering high-quality customer service), but it's why we do it. Understanding the why behind what you do is the secret to success.
Which is why it's vital to your business to take the time to figure out you"why". Today we're going to explain the importance behind a why statement and how you can develop one for your business.
First and foremost, what does starting with why even mean? Sinek explains to us a concept he developed called the “Golden Circle.” The golden circle has three layers:
Why - This is the core belief of the business
How - This is how the business fulfills that core belief
What - This is what the company does to fulfill that core belief.
According to Sinek, “Every single leader or organization knows what they do. Some know how they do it, have it be your differentiating value proposition or what have you. But very few know why they do what they do.”
To determine your why, ask yourself:
What is the business’s purpose?
What is the cause we’re working toward?
What is our core belief?
Why do I get out of bed in the morning?
...and why should anyone care?
Your business should be driven by a cause or a belief - something bigger than the business itself. For New Breed, we’re in the process of becoming much more niche in our services. That being said, many of the companies we are targeting are concerned less with what we do or even how we do it, and rather want to know why we do it and why they should opt in for our services. Why should they care about what we do?
Right there is why you need to create a “Why Statement” for your business. As Sinek states, “people don’t buy what you do, but why you do it. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.”
By understanding your "why", you will not only attract and close deals with people who are driven by the same cause or belief, the entire way your business operates will become much more streamlined and efficient.
1. Create Tighter Buyer Personas
Think about your buyer personas for a moment. Are they based solely on demographics and assumed characteristics? What is it that drives your buyer personas to buy your products (and remain loyal).
You may not have answers to these questions, and that’s okay, but once you begin developing your buyer personas further, this is a good starting point. Utilizing your "why" as a jump off point can help you add more context to who your idea customers are and how they identify with your business.
2. Build a Stronger Team
The goal is not just to hire people who need a job but to hire people who believe what you believe. If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. If you hire people who believe in what you believe, they will work along side you and help grow your business.
At New Breed, we have a culture code that we use to inform our hiring decisions. We want to be sure that when we're bringing on new members to our team, they align with this culture code as this contains the fundamental beliefs and values of our business. It makes up part of our "why". And ultimately, we want to hire people who have similar, if not the same, business values.
3. More Targeted Copy and Content
The idea of starting with “why” is also a best practice in writing copy or creating content in two different ways.
In physically writing and creating that piece of content, you need to establish your goal. Whether it is generating more leads or moving prospects from the content to the website - you need to focus on the final action a reader takes and what you want that to be.
In strategically writing and creating that content, you need to focus on communicating the value (the why) right off the bat to spark intrigue. For example, say you’re promoting a new content offer via email - rather than describing what the content off is about, speak to how the strategies, tools or ideas will ultimately bring value to their business. Step back and look at the bigger picture and add value, rather than promotion.