Why didn’t Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. give an “I have a Plan” speech?
According to Simon Sinek, it’s because “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. Dr. King’s message leading up to his famous speech on the Capitol Mall in 1963 wasn’t a direction of what was needed to be done at that time, it wasn’t an action plan, it was a consistent message of ‘here’s what I believe’. As a result, without the benefit of Facebook, or a web-site to check the details of when and where, people gathered to hear his dream because it meant something to them, they were ready to buy.
We all get caught up in our businesses by talking about what we do; extolling the features and benefits of our products or services, but does our passion show through? I guess this has been expressed in other ways over the years and I recall “selling the sizzle, not the steak”, or differentiating between features and benefits, but it all comes down to ‘what’s in it for me’? Of course this differs from one person to the next but passion sells, it’s contagious. If you truly believe in why you are doing something the features and benefits resolve in the buyers mind to meet their personal needs.
Another talk comes to mind that I heard years ago that addressed the difference between leaders and why some rise to greatness; he termed it “a sense of destiny”. It sounds a bit grandiose applying this terminology to your small business, but I think the message is relevant; People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
I’ll be thinking about this the next time I sit and write some marketing copy, or an elevator speech, or the message on a home page…. what about you?
