Captain’s log, stardate 20170730

Is the Why Conversation compatible with outreach?

Sent by Jonathan Stark on July 30th, 2017

A student recently asked me a question about Why Conversations in the context of outreach. Here is a paraphrased version:

Should I have a Why Conversation with a prospect that I reached out to? It seems especially awkward to ask the Why Me questions when I’m the one who asked for the meeting in the first place.

Good question! I get this a lot. The trick with outreach is that you need to frame the intro message like:

“Have you got 15 minutes to find out if we’d be a good fit?”

The first ask should be for a meeting to determine fit, NOT for you to present a pitch or otherwise act like you’re applying for a job.

I think the most persuasive way to run a sales meeting is to not “sell” anything. You’re not trying to convince anyone of anything - you are genuinely trying to determine if there’s anything valuable you can do for your prospect.

If there isn’t a good fit, fine. No harm no foul. Maybe you can even put them in touch with someone who is a good fit.

If there IS a good fit, you’ll both recognize it and the likelihood of closing the deal at a good profit margin is good.

(NOTE: For more from me on this, search your inbox for a couple messages I sent in April with “fighting butterflies” in the subject.)

Yours,

—J

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