The Gap To Expertise

Power of asking ‘The Why’

A notion that escaped me for a long time — until it clicked

The Why is the gap between a mere Employee VS an Expert

A couple of years ago I got introduced to the concept of ‘discovery’
A concept foreign to a lot of early-stage Agencies/Service Providers/Startups
A concept, when armed effectively, can be the difference between a 1k USD client and a 10k USD client

Phrases like
White glove service,
Hands-on approach,
Tailored solutions are frequently thrown around the digital services space

But it all starts here — understanding ‘The Why’

Here are 3 ways how navigating the Why’osphere will help you jump the gap from where you are to where you want to be.

1 — Empathy and Scalability:

Everyone says they care about their clients, but if you are taking on 20 clients a month and taking them through a process optimized for a fast buck, do you really care?

You don’t — simple.

Instead, empathize with your clients, ask them the right why behind the what that needs to be done.

Do this well enough, you will need fewer clients, because the less will be more valuable over time.

Same logic applies to anything so claim you care about – be that learning, working, earning, etc – if you care, then care with focus.

Quality over Quantity

2 — Identifying The ‘Right’ Solution:

With enough time and money, you can build the next YouTube— maybe not so efficiently, but you can.

The question however is, should you be building the next YouTube? In most cases, the answer would be no.

In Software dev, tell me how many times you have heard ‘I want to get X built which is like the Uber/Air BnB/Spotify/Facebook BUT for Y’

Again, in many cases, that is just. not. feasible.

But if you can uncover the why behind the what. You will be armed with the knowledge to direct them to a more feasible future.

Rather than signing up for something, there is no budget or no time for.

Minimum viable product is the goal (although that term has its own issues — for another time perhaps).

3 — Identifying Opportunities:

This is the money maker, the main difference between companies that provide services and companies that provide true partnerships.

If you never work on the why behind the initial needs, you will never know where else you can fill the gaps for your clients and offer them a better solution as a package.

I know every Agency tries to do ‘everything under the Sun’ — an approach which isn’t a good idea in the long run —but in the short run you should try to accommodate wherever you can. Partner with your clients instead of just being on their payroll.

You are limited by the value you provide

Asking the Whys will:

– Filter your clients for a more scalable business model
– Help you identify the right solutions to a problem
– Create a better long-term opportunity for your business

So next time someone wants something done, ask the Why first
Then jump to the What.

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