Friday, November 10, 2017


Sales Experts Disagree with Simon Sinek


Ken Krogue’s Forbes article, Simon Sinek Says ‘Start with Why,’ But Sales Experts Disagree, is worth a read. In it he cleverly uses Sinek’s best seller to make valuable points about starting with who; that is, the necessity of first qualifying a prospect to validate she has the “proper decision-making power in the sales process.” He writes, “If you don’t get to the person with authority…, all the Why, Who, and What won’t make enough difference to close a sale.” Ken is spot on.

This said, if we take a step back from focusing on sales process or executing effectively in a unique sales cycle, the fact is, superstar salespeople do start with why. To Ken’s point, yes, they are well-grounded in a sales process, and they know how to do their jobs, which includes qualifying prospects early.

However, these folks initiate sales cycles because first and foremost, they are on a mission to change the world in some way, large or small. This is their mindset. For them it all starts from this, and from this they identify prospects with the highest probability of following them. Therefore the products and services they sell, the organizations they represent, and for that matter even their clients are transfigured into potent symbols of their cause.

The Kilyx point of view: Internalize Start with Why. It’s a game changer.