The whole is the greater than the sum of the parts.
One of the oldest team building sayings or management speak, which we’ve all heard of, yet this concept can give you a competitive edge. Let me explain how.
It’s about the package not the parts inside. The whole is much more valuable. Here’s an example of what I mean.
I’m a family man. I have a wife and 3 children in their teens, a home in the countryside, two dogs, one cat and a barbeque. I have a tow bar on the car and a trailer to cart bikes around. 5 bikes in the shed, chickens and ducks. Oil fired boiler, driveway for more cars as they arrive and a scary mortgage. I have household bills coming out of my ears, a Tesco food bill of £275 per week and everything we buy is family sized. Locusts consume the fridge contents every Friday.
These are all the parts. Sound desirable, well some of it, but what’s the whole, the package. Ask the question, “What’s that part of?” And you arrive at family life and the warm, contented wholesome feeling it gives.
There’s an example of a package being better than the parts.
Another example for you.
You’re trained and capable of giving advice to customers over the phone, web cam or face to face. You have mortgage deals available, you have life assurance at low costs, medical cover for clients, you have cheap buildings insurance accessible and good quality redundancy cover. You’re good at what you do, ethical, very experienced, capable of dealing with varying characters and have attention to the detail. You keep your nose clean with your compliance people and enjoy your work.
Again, that’s all individual features. Put it all together, ask yourself the question “What’s that all part of?” and you get the ability to help people buy their home affordably and competitively, having the peace of mind knowing that if any of life’s tragedies comes their way, their house and family is fully protected and they’ll never lose their home or suffer. And at the same time, the whole process of buying a home is handled for you ensuring all the paperwork and processes needed are expertly taken care of.
Sounds much better, and something people may pay a premium for or appreciate the value you provide. As a package you’re no longer a commodity, as individual items can be replaced by the internet.
Packages provide added value, individual features don’t and can be bought online by savvy consumers.
So think of your product and service? Can you chunk it up and ask yourself the question “What’s that part of?” until you arrive at a package that you can inspire customers to desire and value.
