I think at certain times FIRST picking WHO is more important than first picking what. Let me make my case for you …
I think in many service industries people primarily pick “what” they want versus WHO is providing it to them.
I think shopping on “what” is primarily what people gravitate towards. Do not get me wrong, “what” does matter (price, term, function, color, size etc). But I think in some circumstances, first picking WHO is more important. I just need to become conscious of these times.
Who is pumping my gas – not really that important to me. Who is leading my spin/yoga class, yeah, that is creeping up on importance for me.
Who is listing my home for sale, is even more important to me. Who is performing surgery on my dog is THE MOST important factor than any of the “what” factors.
When Do I Know WHO Is More
Important Than WHAT?
I think simply being aware is the first step. I think deciding when to chose WHO first is personal – and will differ for most people.
For me, the credentials of my dogs surgeon, their experience in my dogs scenario, the facility they are performing the surgery at, the team who is helping them during and after surgery and the confidence I have in their ability to execute what they say, is important.
Shopping surgeons on price, really isn’t a factor to me. For others, that may be different?
How To Decide WHO?
I think asking questions is the best way to decide WHO. Here in lies a small catch …
Many people only know to ask “what” type of questions. For example, what is the price, color, size, rate, product? These are product centric questions that ANY service provider is able to answer.
And here in lies another catch …
Typically marketing is derived in the “what” style which leads people ask “what” kinds of questions. So I think it’s natural to only know to ask about the “what”.
I think this also stems from people thinking everything is the same if I get it from here or there.
For this reason, as a Mortgage Professional, I actually GIVE people questions to ask me other than product, rate, term etc.
Why?
Because I want them to feel 100% confident in the decision they made in working with me as their service provider.
I also want to introduce the thought of picking WHO first is a consideration for them (for some it is and others, not). I do this because I whole heartedly think, in Mortgage financing, over the long term, WHO places my Mortgage saves me money.
I enable this process by giving them my “shopping around” form, which you can download here.
Now, Focus On WHAT
Once I feel confident WHO is going to perform the surgery on my dog, now I begin to ask more of the “what” questions.
In each scenario, these are going to be different. In my dog’s surgery example, I ask about price, recovery process and cost. This is were I go through the entire quote, which is the nitty-gritty of this scenario.
You!
I invite you to download my “shopping around” questions/report and let me know what you think.
Is this something you could see presenting to your prospects? Do you think they would value learning what questions to ask to help them first pick WHO, then WHAT?
Respectfully,
Chad Moore
