Why are they buying what you are selling?

In past few week’s sales lesson, we’ve talked about the power of why in selling and we’ve reintroduced Simon Sinek’s “Start with why” concept: communicating by starting with the why then the what then the how.

Simon Sinek explained that most of us communicate the what and the how, most especially us who are in sales. We tell people what we are doing and then tell them how we are better or different or how good we are. But the problem with that is almost all businesses and salespeople tell the same story.

Through starting with the why, our message becomes more inspiring. Its not about us or what we are selling. It is about something bigger than the product themselves.

If we know why we are selling what we are selling, we have more conviction and as we shared last week, conviction is a pretty big thing.

In last week’s sales lesson, we’ve asked the question on why we are selling what we are selling?

People buy with emotions (and justify it with logic) and when people feel youR conviction, they feel it too that you really believe that what you are selling will help them one way or another.

Last week, the focus was on the salesperson and how powerful the Why is to the salesperson. This week’s sales lesson, though, will revolve around how we can use the power of why when selling.

In Simon Sinek’s speech, he talked about that most organizations (and salespeople for that matter) talk about the what and the how of the product. They talk about what the product does (its features) and how it is being done. Sometimes, they would even talk about the competitive advantage of buying their product.

All these are good but as we stated in the previous post, everybody talks the same way. For example, real estate. We can communicate it using the what and how.

What are we selling? We are selling a condominium project in fringes of the Central Business District of Makati.

How is it good and what is the competitive advantage?It is cheaper than in CBD of Makati and it is still in Makati complete with all investment opportunities Makati has to offer. It also has pools and amenities and near this and that place. It is convenient. That’s a pretty good speech if you ask me.

But guess what? The condominium project next to the one we are selling is also saying the same thing. In fact, just east of our project, the salespeople there are basically saying the same thing. Not only that but the salespeople selling projects in the fringes of Ortigas is also saying the same thing, just in Ortigas.

Communicating the what and the how are important, don’t get us wrong. It allows us to communicate what it is we are selling and how it is functioning and even what the competitive advantage of the product is. All these are important information when it comes to making a buying decision.

But it is not these two questions that will make the prospect buy. As Simon Sinek said in the same speech: “People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it and what you do simply proves what you believe.”

That brings us to the big differentiator: the Why. Why is the prospect interested in the first place? What made them come into the conversation? Why are they considering buying this product? In simple terms, why are they buying?

If I am the prospect of the condominium project you are selling in the fringes of Makati CBD, why am I even considering buying a condominium? Heck, why am I even looking at the location?

Every prospect goes into a sales conversation with a reason. That reason? It mostly involves a desire or a pain. That desire or pain is what is driving us all to buy what we buy. In this condominium example, my desire would most probably be because it is my first time buying a home and I want a home that is practical and can also be a good investment (meaning I can rent it out). In other words, I want a house that is flexible.

Knowing the “why” of the prospects allow us to make our sales presentation more personal. Suddenly it is not about our product anymore. It is about the prospect and they can be helped.

The prospect becomes more aware that we have what they need and it satisfies their desire and pain. They become more emotionally secured of that we have what they need or want.

It makes the product more personal. Its not a generic product I can just buy anywhere. It has become THE product.

And how do we know the “why” of the prospect or the client? Simple. We ask. This is where probing comes in. Through probing, we are learning why they are interested in the first place.

Once we know their why, their reason for interest; we can then frame our sales presentation in such a way that we not only explain the “what” and the “how” but more so we satisfy their why.

Here is another problem though. Not all prospects would be willing to answer this question. Heck, probing cannot be applied to all parts of the sales process. When we are prospecting, its weird to ask the prospect questions. It is even weirder to ask when we are messaging someone on social media.

So in that case, how do we communicate the why? Well, that will be our topic for next week!

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