Leading with Noble Purpose

Chapter 13Name Your Noble Sales Purpose

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.

—W. Clement Stone

It's become popular for leaders to talk about their “Why.” But you can't simply say, “We make a difference” and assume everyone will know how to do it. If you want to fully leverage the power of purpose, you have to name your purpose and then operationalize it.

Now that you understand the concept of an NSP—Noble Sales Purpose—and how you'll use it, it's time to create your own.

You'll start with the three big discovery questions:

1. How do you make a difference to your customers?
2. How do you do it differently from your competition?
3. On your best day, what do you love about your job?

When we work with senior teams, we assign these questions in advance. We tell people, “We're looking for big answers. We don't want marketing speak or a side by side comparison against the competition. We want your best creative thinking. Give yourself time to mull this over, go for a walk, or play some music. Let it noodle in your head. Think about your experiences with customers and your team. Think about what our business could be.”

We ask leaders to bring their scratchpad of ideas to a strategy meeting. We tell them, “Don't try to come up with an NSP on your own, just work through the three questions as creatively as you can.”

We typically work with senior leaders, and we also like to include some customer-facing people. When the group is together, we synthesize the information ...