I was reminded the other day as to the importance of the notion of 'compelling reasons.' I was cold calling a prospect and thought that I knew the compelling reason as to why the prospect would buy the particular service that we were offering. It wasn't the two questions of "why should I buy your service?" and "what's in it for me?" that had me a little nervous because, quite frankly, I was prepared for them; rather it was the numerous "So what!'" comments that seemed to follow my every response that had me squirming over the phone and really tested my understanding of what our 'compelling reason' really was. It was only after my response to the tenth 'So what!' that I finally struck gold and had the compelling reason that satisfied my prospect and which lead to the sale. I was lucky that I had a prospect who was willing to keep on asking the questions. On another day, I could have so easily have lost the prospect after the first question.
It's funny how the mind works, because two days after having had that rather insightful discussion with the prospect (now our client), I found myself standing in a queue at a Starbucks and I began to ask myself, not as a provider of services this time, but as a customer - what was the compelling reason as to why I was prepared to stand there and waste time; waiting to be served by someone who although friendly, had not acknowledged that there were people waiting and getting impatient? You see, I had progressed beyond Maslow's basic need of survival and had ascertained that I needed a coffee (for whatever reason) - but my choice as to where I bought my caffeine fix rested on my interpretation of the 'compelling reason'. In the end, the wonderful friendly environment and large choice of products and cup sizes were not compelling enough to overcome the poor service and so I left sans coffee and purchased my coffee elsewhere.
When developing your compelling reason as to why people should use your services or buy your product, you need to ensure that it addresses the following:
- Does the compelling reason contain the end result of the benefit?
- Does it speak to the inner ear of the customer? In other words, does it answer the question "What's in it for me?"
- Does it include testimonials or measurable results?
- Does it exploit/solve the customer's greatest pain?
- Does it pass the 'So What!' test?
I like the notion of 'compelling reasons' because it applies to a multitude of things in our lives. For example - you may well ask "what is the compelling reason that keeps me working for the company I do?" or "What is the compelling reason as to why I should view a particular TV channel?" or "What is the compelling reason as to why I should subscribe to a particular blog? or shop at a particular store?" OK, you get the picture.
Finally, we talk often about consumer or customer touch points (i.e., those times when you have the opportunity to interact with a customer). Your compelling reason should be apparent at every touch point because that will ensure two things; first, it will ensure consistency of message; and secondly, it will ensure that your compelling reason is not open to interpretation. In my case, the Starbucks outlet allowed me to make my own interpretation of its compelling reason and in doing so, my interpretation lead me to depart sans coffee. You should try and ensure that that never happens.
ian
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