We have become masters at describing our “how.” That is, we present all the capabilities of our products and solutions, the “how” of achieving a goal or solving the problem. We provide endless content, demos, and discussions focused on the capabilities of our products.
But are we addressing the most important issues our customers face? At some point, the “how” is important. But it’s irrelevant until they first have answered, for themselves, the “what, why, and who.”
The what and why are closely intertwined. Until the customer has clearly answered the questions, “What are the key issues we seek to address, why do we need to do this,” they have neither defined nor understood all the issues around the problem or change initiative.
What and why questions persist as the customer defines the problem/opportunity, begins to understand the issues surrounding it, the questions they should be asking, what they need to be learning about the problem and it’s risks. At this point, Who also comes into play. Who does this issue impact? Who should be involved in looking at what should be done? Who needs to support the team in addressing the issue?
And in answering these questions, the customer also answers the where and when issues.
These things have nothing to do with “How to solve the problem/opportunity?” But they are necessary for customers to address before considering the how.
Our constant focus on how, isn’t helpful to the customer until they have addressed the what, why, who issues.
Perhaps, if we helped the customer in addressing what, why, and who; helping them gain deep understanding and confidence; then their interest in how we might help them might be much greater.
* Thanks to a post by Alan Weiss, “It’s ‘What,’ Not ‘How.'” for provoking this post.
Leave a Reply