You may have heard the term WIFM – “What’s in it for me” – in any number of courses on marketing and sales. In practice you ask the question from the point of view of your audience, making sure that every negotiation or marketing tactic you use answers that question.
But keeping that question in the back of your mind in every client situation is not always easy. So let’s consider how you can apply it as a filter to what you hear every day, in all aspects of your life.
Like when your child says, “I’ll do my chores later.”
… your listing client says, “I can’t accept that low-ball price!”
… your handyman says, “Well, we don’t know what’s under that wall board…”
Instead of being frustrated, get out your trusty WIFM Filter and shake vigorously. You can see what they really want and use it to get what YOU really want. This is not passive/aggressive manipulation, just good strategy!
As women, we are pretty adept at recognizing the needs of others – whether they know it or not, our families, friends and clients depend on our ability to intuitively anticipate their next need. How do we know? Well, we observe; we put ourselves in their shoes; we remember the last time this happened; and so on. If we didn’t have this skill, how could the exact thing your mate wants for dinner already be cooking in the Crockpot?
When you combine your innate ability with the WIFM Filter’s mystical powers, it’s simple — instead of hearing your child say, “I’ll do my chores later,” you might hear your naturally self-centered teen really saying, “I’m holding my chores hostage until you tell me I can go to the party on Saturday.” Now you have leverage – and all it cost you was that one millisecond delay before screaming at him, to run it through the WIFM filter from his point of view.
And you can hear your client who says, “I can’t accept that low-ball price!” perhaps just begging you to help them understand that they are still making money on the deal – or that they are not losing any – whatever the situation. You are the expert here — use what they want to convince them of the right move – so you can get your reward and move on. Because no one really knows what is behind that wall board…
Guest Blogger: Laura Miraglio
email: Laura@ModernDesign.com
website: ModernDesign.com
714.960.7603
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Good point. It is easy to react too quickly with a gut feeling and this gives you a moment to pull back and remember our goal.
Hey Darla. Thanks for your comment. And Laura, thanks for a wonderful post.
Many years ago I had an amazing mentor that advised me to always wait 24 hours before responding to something that frustrated or angered me because by the time the sun came up the next morning – things looked, and often times felt, different. This advice was given to me almost 20 years ago and has stuck with me ever since. Today, our customers, clients, friends and family are so accustomed to immediate gratification, we can no longer afford to wait 24 hours – but we can definitely take out our trusty WIFM filter to accomplish the same results.