Be Passionately
Curious

START WITH WHY.

Simon Sinek explained it best on one of the most popular TED Talks to date: people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

Simon compares Apple to the way most brands market themselves. Instead of what they do and how they are different, Apple starts with why they do it, followed by how, and then what they do. The power of that reverse delivery in relatively the same span of time is remarkable.

Now it’s your turn to market like Apple.

Your WHY is what you believe, HOW you do it highlights your key difference (or two), and WHAT you do comes last, as a result of your why and how, as product categories or service lines.

This tool helps you plan your delivery and create a super concise way to align everyone from the frontlines to the back office, and customers to your vendors. It should also help people that don’t fit your target audience to identify this on their own and prevent the waste of time and resources if they were to find their way into your sales funnel only to not choose you in the end. The biggest loser in poker comes in second place, this also rings true in sales.

What to do:

❶ You can use our template.
❷ Generate a list of ideas for your Why. These might be your mission, shared belief, core value, or a polarising opinion. It should help set direction and make decisions.
❸ Thinking about your best candidates for why, list ways you are different from competitors that your target audience chooses you over them for. This is your How.
❹ For your What, list the different product and service groups you offer to your customers. These can be broad; don’t worry about different models, versions, or variants. (For example, Apple may list their products as phones, watches, tablets, computers, earphones, plus the App Store, Apple Music and Apple TV as services.)
❺ Finally, narrow your Why down to just one, your How to two, and your What to just enough to communicate the breadth or niche of your offering. Make sure your Why flows into your How, and together they create a formula or approach that will influence your What. Make sure to test, refine and evolve with the growth and changes of your business annually or as needed.