Page 143 - ConvinceThemFlip

know the nature of your business
Once they finished their lists, I delved deeper into each
and every one of these signposts—food, value, service,
friendly staff—looking for patterns.
Me: “What’s important to you about great food?”
Him: “Makes me feel good when I eat it, gives me time
to reflect, then I feel grateful, I enjoy the texture . . .” And
so forth.
Me: “What’s important to you about good value?”
Him: “I like quality at a good price.”
Me: “What else?”
Him: “I like doing business with people I trust . . .”
Then I got them to dig even deeper by discussing each
of these new signposts—feeling good, time to reflect, qual-
ity, people I trust. Eventually we discovered that just one
or two things were at the root of this decision maker’s
beliefs and values. This process took twenty to thirty
minutes and was repeated with all the other decision
makers.
In the midafternoon, we brought everybody together
and showed them the edited, aggregated list. It included
things like: “If I have to wait in line, it has to be worth it.”
“I like restaurants where you know they actually really
care about food.” “I like to feel important.” “It should smell
inviting.”
By the end of the day, we had a big idea that excited
and inspired everyone, and was so stunningly simple it
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