Reading the biographies of entrepreneurs and listening to stories of great businesspeople, one term comes up again and again, describing something many big companies have suffered from. It’s called a “business identity crisis”, and it basically happens when a company forgets what it really does.
Even changing the words we use to explain what we do can create a very different perception in other people and, of course, in our potential customers.
This is one of the lessons Tony Robbins teaches in his Business Mastery seminars. Although it sounds too simple, Robbins believes that most companies struggle to explain to their customers the real value of the business and what it does for them.
If we ask someone today, “What do you do?” and they reply, “I’m a coach”, many people will think “Good for you”, when what most of them really mean is “Why on earth would I need a coach?”
Now, if someone answered that same question with “I help people become the person they could be”, the first thing we’d do is spark the curiosity of whoever asked, and they would most likely ask how we do it.
After all, that is the value a coach adds. After talking to various coaches in recent years, I came to understand why many people think they don’t need a coach in their life or career, when the truth is that, one way or another, a coach would be good for our personal or professional development. I had one, although in my case he got me into more trouble than I solved (a long story).
If we ask someone what their company does and they say “We’re a digital marketing company”, it certainly sounds professional, but they’ve missed the chance to win a customer more easily.
You don’t do digital marketing; you help, among other things, people who sell online to increase their sales, a new brand to gain visibility, and so on.
In other words, when you’re asked “What do you do? What does your company do?”, try not to explain how your company makes money, but how it helps other businesses or customers.
And it’s not just a sales tactic: you should believe it yourself, which also helps you avoid falling into a professional and business identity crisis.
If Starbucks sold coffee, it would have gone bust already
Starbucks doesn’t build its business around coffee. After all, who would pay three times more for a coffee than at any other café?
The company has a simple mission: to “nurture the human spirit”. In other words, it doesn’t sell coffee but an escape for anyone who needs a break from daily life, a place to socialise with friends, where businesspeople meet and where families get together.
Whatever your profession and whatever your age, at Starbucks you have a place to relax, work and socialise.
I can’t remember who said “If your business only makes money, it’s a bad business”.
So when someone asks what you do in your business, what your company does or what you do as a professional, what will your answer be?
See also: Which skills really matter for success in business
Featured image: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
