We are all very very busy – What is your why
But why are we doing what we are doing? Do we know why we do what we do and do we convey that ‘why’ to our team and to our clients or potential clients. Can we improve our communications? Yes is always the answer, but where do we start with creating a plan.
Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose
Autonomy – we want to be able to do what we want to do, not to be pushed to do things just to make money, in our case, such as doing websites for hotels, simply because they ask us, even though we know we are a bad fit for this. Other companies have a customised, tried and tested hotel solution. Be honest and advise these clients where to go – give good direction or explain that we are the wrong partner. Lets choose our clients, selecting projects, where we know we can make a positive difference. Not everyone who walks in the door is ideal for us and we can only handle a certain number of clients. There are loads of people who need what we have to offer, but all of them want it to work well, so we need to deliver on our promise every time.
Every member of the team needs to define what they want to do and then refine how they do it. Every function should have a checklist which should be adhered to and tweaked as needed. The combination of these positions and functions will make up our process and our offering and make it work well.
Mastery – We are good at what we do, but we can be better and we can continue to grow, to upskill, to become specialists or professionals. We need to commit to CPD Continuous Personal Development, to hone our offering and ourselves. The resources are available for us to study individually or together as a team. There is no point in all of us mastering the same skill, so we need to focus on our own area of responsibility. Together we are better. “If the people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem wonderful at all.” Michelangelo
Purpose
Purpose rather than profit. We are in a position to make a difference. We are all individually in a position to make a contribution to this difference. “We help people grow their business and have a better life by making the web work profitably for them.” Michael MacGinty This is our foundation, the basic platform upon which we build our own web design business and our clients businesses.
Our why – the reason we do what we do, in the way that we do it
In our case, we know how to build websites, but why do we do it? Why should people trust us to build a web presence for them? What is our motivation, which essentially is simply a reason for us to move in a certain way?
Along with our current skillset, we have access to an ocean of information, so our challenge is to dig in to that information and make use of the bits that specifically benefit our various clients. Every client is different, some know what they want and some want help to define what they need, what problem do they want solved, before we work out ,if’ we are the right fit for them. We do not need to sell, we simply have to help facilitate the client in making the decision to buy or invest in something, we can confidently offer and competently deliver. We do what we do, because we want to help other business be successful. In so doing, we too enjoy success and fulfillment. It is a pretty simple philosophy, a guiding principle governing our behaviour.
As Outsourced Webmaster or Web Partners, our challenge is to make a difference every single time, to add value and then to maintain a relationship with every client, to continue to help ensure the success of their business and ours. Doing this generates new clients, so our business grows organically. There are no secrets in this formula, the challenge is simply to stick to it and make it work. What is your challenge and how will you prepare for it?
Daniel Pink – Ted Talk on Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose
Daniel Pink covers this topic really well in his book Drive and in his Ted Talk.
“When the reward is the activity itself–deepening learning, delighting customers, doing one’s best–there are no shortcuts.”
― Daniel H. Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
As we listen to our clients, we try to really hear what they are saying, to get to understand their business and the challenge to be faced or the problem to be solved. Only by truly hearing and understanding clearly, can we attempt to deliver the perfect solution. #lovetalkingbusiness
So, let’s ask the questions again WHY ARE YOU IN BUSINESS? DO YOU MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE? WHAT IS YOUR WHY?
Simon Sinek explains it perfectly: “People do not buy what you do, they buy why you do it” and “Which companies stand out for their quality, their service and their communications?
Does your business make any difference to anyone?
Recently, we have been considering what difference we, as a team, make to our clients, because we want to define and convey that message in our website and general messaging. As a Web Design Agency we aim to helps our clients be effective online, so they get the clients they really want. How do you make a difference?
Ways to make your business stand out – explain them
Solution – What problem do you solve?
Product – Why is it good?
Service – How can you improve it?
Offer – Do you offer value?
Deliverables – Agree a target or result
Guarantees – Take the risk away from the buyer or part of it
Communications – Clearly convey the message
We realise we have a great offering and are good web partners for our chosen clients, but we do not always convey that clearly in all our messaging, through all our chosen channels, website and Social Media.
When we talk with potential clients, we convert most enquiries to clients, mainly because we connect and we only offer our services, if they are the right solution to the clients problem or add value. But the challenge is to get the message across before we meet, in order to actually get the meeting in the first place. This will drive up the leads and help us help more clients, which in turn will drive sales, which will leads to more employment for us and our clients.
Ikigai – The Japanese word for reason for being. The word translated to English roughly means “thing that you live for” or “the reason for which you wake up in the morning. That intersection between, what you are good at, what you love, what you can get paid for and what the world needs. So what is your Ikigai? Image courtsey Wikimedia
