Brian Basilico — March 29, 2017 Follow @bbasilico
I do a lot of training and I have all kinds of tools in my arsenal. Basically, in my business, I have masterminds, I have classes, I have my podcast, blogs, and different programs I’ve created. I love teaching people. I teach them online. I teach them in face-to-face speeches. I teach them at colleges, and I constantly hear the same questions over and over again. How do I find my ideal customers? How do I get them to purchase what it is that I am producing? What do I need to do to get more people to follow me or whatever? It really boils down to something really, really simple and that is, why are you doing it?
Start With Why
There’s a great book by Simon Sinek called Start With Why. Also, he’s got some great YouTube videos. If you haven’t seen him, just Google search “Start With Why” and you’ll find his TED Talks and a whole bunch of other stuff. I’ve listened to the audio book and I really love his premise, and that is to start with why. He talks about Apple and a handful of other companies and really kind of gives you an idea of why you should start with why and then move on to the how and then move on to the what. Why do you do what you do? I ask myself that question all the time. I actually have a coach and we go over this a lot.
Why Do You Do What You Do?
The why, for me, is to educate people on how to be better business people. It’s also partly that I don’t want people to be taken advantage of. There are so many people out there trying to suck money out of a businesses by saying, “Hey, we can make you number one on Google. We can do all this really great stuff. We’re going to get you all this business.” They never sit down and look at “Is it really making me money? Am I getting the return on investment?” Part of my why is to help people avoid being scammed. Now, the people selling it aren’t trying to scam you. They’re selling what they sell, but they are not necessarily looking out for your best interests. That’s part of my why.
I really have to figure out, “Okay, why am I doing this?” Why are you doing what you do, whether you install air conditioners or you do plumbing or you do financial advice? Ultimately, you want people to be successful, right? That’s the goal. If you have happy customers, they tell other customers and you end up getting great results from that because you’re going to get referrals. You’re going to get more business and all this other stuff. That’s not necessarily the why. That’s the result. You really have to figure out why you are so passionate about what you are doing.
How Do You Do It?
The next thing you have to look at is the how. How are you going to accomplish that why? The how boils down to how I’m going to deliver the information that I want to give to people. Obviously, I’ve got a podcast. I’ve got a blog. I have live speeches. That’s how I deliver the information, but that’s not necessarily how I get them to the end result. The end result is really through one-on-one training. Whether I’m doing one-on-one coaching, or I’m doing my classes like the Bacon System where I’m doing group coaching with spotlight sessions and then one-on-one coaching engaged inside of that, or I’m doing a mastermind, which is a phone call that I offer once a week to people that teach them a little bit of this, a little bit of that and then give them the opportunity to ask questions about things that’s happening in their business. Those are the ways that I deliver the information.
A lot of times going out and giving speeches, doing webinars, teaching at colleges, those are just more or less ways to spread the message. That’s kind of my advertising mentality. Using social media, doing blogs, podcast, sharing all that info, but the how I deliver it is mostly done through one-on-one training, either in a truly solo way or group. I’m taking the knowledge that I’m gaining and I’m sharing that with other people. Now, the next thing you have to look at is what. What are you delivering? Obviously, if you’ve listened to this podcast for a while, you know I’ve written four books.
What Do You Deliver?
The what is the accumulation of experience that I’ve gained over the course of running businesses for 35 years. I’ve learned the basics. I’ve learned the principles of marketing, and I’ve learned that through actually doing it from 18 years old to where I am now. You can figure it out, but the bottom line is that I’ve been working hard at learning things and then figuring it out for myself because that’s key is I’ve learned to make myself successful with this. Then, after I figure it out for myself, I have the opportunity to teach other people how to do this. The what is, what am I delivering? I’m delivering solid, principle-based information that gives people a foundation to know how to market their businesses better, whether it’s online, face-to-face, networking, whatever it is. Then, I teach them the tactics and the tactics include creating great content and delivering it in whatever methodology their audience wants to hear it. Now, it could be through podcasts. It could be through blogs. It could be through e-books. It could be through traditional books. It could be through webinars, whatever it is.
The key thing that people have to understand is that you have multiple people in different places at different times. If you are dealing with millennials, you’re going to text it out. If you’re dealing with seniors, you’re going to print a newsletter or something that’s going to talk to them in the place where they want to be. The what is really about, how do I take the knowledge that I pulled together and put it in front of people and show them specifically step-by-step how to market their businesses better? The question I have to ask you is, what is your why? Why are you doing what you are doing? What is your passion? What is the thing that gets you up every single day that says, “I want to change the world. I want to make this a better place.”?
How Do You Do It?
The next thing you have to figure out is how. How am I going to do this? How am I going to make people more successful? Am I going to make their air quality better? I’m going to help them make more money in their finances. Do I want to give them a better cup of coffee? Do I want to give them more value for their coffee? What is it that you are trying to accomplish? How are you going to do it and how are you going to be different from all the other competition that’s out there? Then, finally, you have to look at the what. What are you delivering? If it is that cup of coffee, what makes it special?
There’s a coffee guy that I network with that uses paroled people that have been incarcerated. He calls it Second Chance Coffee. His name is Pete and he does this great thing. He is using these people that have been incarcerated and gives them a second chance and then creates the best possible coffee. He trains them how to do it and then he helps them to become more successful. That’s part of his why. That’s part of his how and that’s part of his what.
Final Thoughts
This may seem kind of backward, and it is! Most people start with what they are going to deliver. Then they figure out how to deliver it. Then they start to write sales copy to explain the why. Those are known as features and benefits. I am guilty of doing that time and again. But I have learned better. I am learning to start with why, and then figuring out the how and then the what!
You need to figure out what is your why, what is your how, and what is your what, and start working on that today.
I would love to hear your stories, thoughts, and comments on this subject. Comment below and share your experiences and suggestions on how starting with why has helped (or could help) your business!
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