How to use WIIFM (what’s in it for them)

Trust your customers to know what they want

And when you sell to other businesses, those are mainly business-related achievements. 

But businesses are still run by people, and people are ultimately driven by the WIIFM urge. 

Saying “what’s in it for me” conjured too many negative stereotypes, so allow me to debunk this impression right away. I am not talking about gaining something by somebody else’s loss. Instead, I am acknowledging that we derive personal satisfaction from our jobs as well as business satisfaction. 

Know what’s in it for your customers: what are their personal benefits. 

What makes them smile

We have already discussed how what you sell makes your customer’s business better. 

Now give some thought to how it makes your customer’s life better. 

The simple way I always tackle this question is:

What puts a smile on your customer’s face?

There must be some way in which the application of your product or service puts a smile on your customer’s face. 

Find the personal benefits

What matters to your customer personally? How do these business outcomes also deliver personal benefits? 

There is a series of questions you can almost universally use as a starting point. Things such as:

  • Getting to finish work earlier
  • Getting to cook dinner every evening
  • Getting more recognition
  • Getting a promotion
  • Being better known
  • Making more money
  • Being able to take 3 hours off to see his daughter’s soccer game
  • Being able to start a new project or hobby
  • Being able to work from the lake house

There is a part of your service that – by making your customer’s business better – is also making their life better. 

Find that, know what it is, and let your customer know too. 


Have you run an in-depth client wants/need analysis? Contact me for a $900 guided work session.