Why Successful Leaders Focus On Their Golden Circle
A few years ago, motivational speaker Simon Sinek gave a Ted Talk in which he offered up a concept that has struck a chord in a lot of people. He called it: “The Golden Circle.”
It’s a very simple circle, with three layers. The innermost circle is the Why, the middle layer is the How and the outer layer is the What.
What does the Golden Circle mean for you? As entrepreneurs and small business owners, you need to face facts: the public won’t buy your products or services.
But what they will buy is your brand. They will buy the story that you can tell them about why you exist.
And so it is up to you to know and be able to articulate that WHY. Because as the leader of your business, you will need to be the one to inspire your own employees and your customers.
The Heart of the Appeal
When looking for new customers, most SMBs start with the What of their business. Sinek says you should start with the Why.
The innermost circle is the most important thing for the entrepreneur or SMB owner to answer. What’s your purpose? Your cause? Your belief?
According to Sinek, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
Do you actually know or have you told your story of what your beliefs are that caused you to start your business?
How Will You Help Your Customers?
Once you have really, truly figured out what your reason for being is, then it’s time to start telling the customer how your business is going to help them.
Most businesses offer something that will help a customer solve a problem. But you will still need to know what problems your customers have and show how you can solve them.
Inc magazine suggests taking a look at your sales data and coming up with a value proposition that can show your customers how they can be helped. What you do, it seems, proves what you believe in.
What Do You Do? Everyone Knows!
Knowing the What of a business is pretty much a given for most of us. Whether we produce automobile parts or sell insurance, we all know what our product is. And generally, this is the first thing we want to tell the world.
Knowing our What is how we come up with mission statements and how we know what to charge for our product or service.
But no matter what your business makes or does, there are more than likely several other companies that do the same thing or something very, very close.
You see, the reality is that most people make buying decisions with their emotions and then justify them later with logic.
As most of us are inundated daily by tons of information, it’s important to use your valuable marketing efforts to reach the emotions of your customers (and potential customers). And that is a whole lot easier when you understand your business purpose.
Your marketing will come through as far more authentic to your ideal customer when you tap into your own Why story.
Understanding your purpose also can affect the success of a business. As we discussed in an earlier post, having a strong sense of your purpose (your “why”) can go a long way toward increasing the motivation and loyalty of your own staff.
Your story should be reflected in anything from your marketing materials to your website to your customer service and sales contacts. Every interaction a customer has with your company should reflect your unique reason for being.
Need Some Help Moving Ahead?
Understanding where you have gaps in your marketing foundation is important. You can take our quick, free quiz that will give you an immediate score. And if you have any questions or concerns, we’d love for you to schedule a quick, 15-minute call with us so we can point you in the right direction.
Tomato Fish can help you create the map to get you started on your journey. We offer an online, custom strategic planning process…and condensed it to a one-week deliverable. And better yet, you can get started right away on easy, actionable steps that will move you forward in your journey to success.
Tomato Fish Is An Indianapolis Consulting Company Focused On Helping Small And Midsize Businesses Make Good Strategic Planning Decisions.
