Friday Night WIIFM Lesson (Kinda Weird)

Tonight, let’s talk about the most important concept in marketing.

Actually, this goes way beyond marketing.  This is one of the most important concepts of life!

It’s WIIFM.

What’s In It For Me?

It’s the only thing your prospects ever think about.

It’s the only thing that you think about.

Now, before you get offended, let me explain:

Just about anything you ever do in life, at it’s core, is because you want some sort of personal benefit.

if a prospect is talking to you, they are wondering in their heads: “how is what I am hearing going to benefit me?”

If they ask that question for long without an answer, they stop listening.

if you are reading this blog, you want to gain a benefit from it.

Yes, you might be bored, and there might not be anything better on TV, and so you might as well read a blog or surf the net.

But really, if you can’t derive a benefit from reading something, you stop reading it.

Consider child-rearing as an example.

If you are raising a child, you might say:

“Josh, how can I possible benefit from wiping my kid’s butt and feeding them food?  What do I get out of that?  Hmmmm?  See, I’m not thinking WIIFM then!  You’re wrong!”

But then I would say:

“Actually, you get a whole lot of benefit from that.  First, you get to feel good about yourself as a parent.  If you didn’t wipe your kid’s butt or feed them food, you would feel like a bad parent.  So the first thing you get to do is avoid feeling like a parental loser.”

“The second thing you get is the reward of good smelling, non-screaming-hungry kid!  That’s a big payoff.  You know that if you didn’t wipe the kid’s butt and feed them food, they would let you know how not-happy they are, and that would not be pleasant.”

You might consider this statement for a few minutes, mentally trying to poke holes in the argument.

When you found none, you might try another angle, and say:

“Well, how about if I donate my money to the Save The Northwest Tree Octopus organization?  I can’t be thinking WIIFM when I’m giving my hard-earned dough to save the precious Tree Octopi of the Northwest?  See, you really are wrong!”

After pretending to think for a minute, I would coolly respond:

“Again, you get to both feel good about what you are doing for the Northwest Tree Octopus, as well as avoid vindictive self-lectures, calling yourself nasty names for not doing more for a cause you believe in.  So you do get substantial benefit from donating to the Save The Northwest Tree Octopus organization.”

After fuming in silence for several minutes, you might finally turn beet-red and loudly say:

“What the heck does WIIFM have to do with marketing anyway!?!  I think you’re just making up stuff to talk about because you ran out of marketing stuff to talk about?”

With a deep, mature sigh and a slight shake of my head, I would look you straight in the eye and say:

“Actually, this is the most important marketing lesson I could ever teach you.  Here’s why:

Once you understand what motivates a person to do the things they do, you can design your marketing offers around them, to give people what they are really looking for.  If you can stop TALKING AT YOUR PROSPECT and instead LISTEN TO YOUR PROSPECT, and understand what is important to THEM instead of thinking about what is important to YOU, you can establish an actual bond with your prospect, and transcend from a lowly, selfish, deal-hunting sales-person and move to being a strong, giving, self-sufficient marketer.”

After mulling over this comment for several minutes, a slow grin might creep across your face as you then exclaim:

“HA! If you are trying to market them, you are also thinking WIIFM too!  So that means you are really only thinking in your own best interest too!  Boo-Yah!”

After several seconds of staring at you without blinking, I would then softly say:

“Of course I’m thinking WIIFM.  But I also understand that in order to get what I want, I must give you what you want.  AND…I have to give it before I can get it.  While I would love to think people buy my stuff because I’m such a fantastic and especially-gifted marketer, the truth is that my prospect doesn’t give a rip about me.  They want a benefit, and I have to show them how my solution can benefit them before they pay me a single penny.  If I can’t do that, and do it quickly, I’m just another long-winded sales jerk, pitching my wares to an unresponsive populace.”

Contemplating this statement for several minutes, you might then say:

“I think I understand.  WIIFM is not a bad thing – it’s the reality of the world we live in.  And if I can understand the conversation going on in my prospect’s head, if I can design marketing offers that appeal to what they really want, then I can be more successful with my marketing efforts.”

And with a long-delayed smile covering my face, I would respond:

“Exactly.”