Overcoming the Why-Not-Wall; Answering the Question Not Asked
Everything we sell answers a question. For instance, when you need transportation, do you decide to use public transportation or ride-sharing? Do you rent, lease or buy a car? What turns your head or closes the sale in your mind? Perhaps it was the color, the model, the manufacturer. Regardless of the answer, it is addressing a question you, as a buyer, are asking. But what happens when you, as a seller, are answering questions not being asked?
A friend recently informed me he was closing down his shop because he was answering questions no one was asking, meaning his goods weren’t meeting the market need. Tough economic times, over-supply or lack of awareness might all be contributing factors, and I certainly wouldn’t insult anyone by oversimplifying this. Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation? Maybe you are concerned a new product or program isn’t taking off in your own business?
Answering the Question Not Asked:
What if you answer the question your customer doesn’t know they need to be asking?
I have found that I often missed uncovering the underlying motivations behind a customer need. Too often, I have accepted what a customer said, naively believing they were being genuine. In fact, I now realize that often this isn’t even an issue of deceit so much as it is a symptom of the fact most of us really don’t know what we want; most of us are just trying to find our way in this show called life. Missing this often caused me a lot of extra work – or even lost opportunity. Can you relate?
Fundamentally, most would say I am referring to marketing, or even sales, but I suggest I am referring to something much more fundamental; your ability to answer the question your customer is asking is wholly dependent upon your ability to relate – to connect and interpret a need.
But dig deeper and you discover that people are subconsciously arriving at decisions, then justifying these decisions with logic, or rational choice. These undercurrents might be referred to as our ‘internal narrative’, or a story to which we each desire to be included. In other words, if you are presented a choice between an apple or orange, which would you choose?
Comparing Apples and Oranges, Again?
Even the question, itself, positions you to choose one or the other, but I think we all get where this is leading… Choice is rarely rational, because we are largely contextual in our selection process. We all know there are entire industries constructed around the selling and marketing of how to best answer the question of the proverbial apple and orange (as well as countering techniques). However, the real question may not be a how-problem or even a why-problem, at all. Fundamentally, the issue is overcoming the why-not-wall.
There are a million reasons why we should NOT take a risk and experience (endure) change, but connecting to this internal narrative of your customer is not intuitive for most. Heck, it’s not even intuitive for us to connect to our own internal narrative many times, is it?
In marketing and sales, we focus on overcoming the why-not-wall, breaking it down block by block. However, in practice we often forget to consider the question not being asked, uncovering the motivations the why-not-wall was built to protect. So take some time, pause and consider how to align your own motivations to help your customer reframe their view of the world by listening, connecting and interpreting what they really mean. Who knows, you may find you don’t have to take the why-not-wall head-on as often.
Ken Stewart offers observations from the field of managed print services in his weekly column on MPS Insights every Tuesday. As a senior consultant with the Photizo Group, he comes from and works directly with channel providers in the managed services space, developing educational tools and resources to promote lasting business transformation.
Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge,focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Get the latest industry news, and follow ChangeForge on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
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