December, 8, 2014

The Core vs. The Whole Solution

Hey everyone, Dave Lee here, Co-Founder of SixthDivision with a story about remodeling my kitchen.

Recently, we were in the process of remodeling our kitchen at the Lee household. We found this great counter depth fridge that would fit our space perfectly. After purchasing the fridge, we discovered that the ice maker is quite small. And my kids go through a TON of ice, so that wasn’t going to fly.

We talked to our “friend” at the appliance store, and he recommended a specific ice maker, because it had a pump included. Sweet. Great. Let’s do it.

And then the fun began.

We ended up learning that between the installers, the electricians, the plumbers, and the island fabricator guys, that we needed a water source with a certain water pressure. We also needed to tap into a drain. So essentially, in order to continue with the installation, we were going to have to run plumbing over into our drain.

So we choose to take the time and run the plumbing.

Well, come to find out, the ice maker didn’t fit in the space that was created for it. So, we had to adjust the hardwood flooring and do all kinds of crazy stuff just to make it fit.

I’m not done.

Then, we learned that the built in filter isn’t good enough, so we had to add a water filtration system on that specific line, so we could have clean, delicious, soft ice.

So, this entire experience started me thinking about why I hate manual labor for myself. It’s not that I hate manual labor, it’s that I despise all the set up to make it happen.

Think about what happens when you decide to start painting a house. You can’t just go paint the walls. Before you even start the actual painting, you have to get the paint, paintbrushes, blue tape, mixing stick, and the can opener just to make it all happen.

This story reminds me of a book called Crossing the Chasm by Jeffrey Moore. In the book he talks about the whole product or the whole solution, instead of just parts of a product or situation.

Let me explain. Usually your solution is this small thing in the center, not the whole solution. Not only did I have to buy the ice maker, I had to hire a bunch of people and buy lots of things just so I can have a scoop of frozen water.

My “solution” was the ice maker (the small thing in the center), but that was just part of my solution. The whole solution included the ice maker, and everything I encountered to get it installed.

Let’s look at Infusionsoft. Infusionsoft is just a very small part of what you need to make things happen for you and your business. There are too many other parts of your business you need to look at in order to make it all work.

You have to make sure your products or services are dialed in and the experience is architected from the beginning. You have to make sure you have your vision and purpose set, and your business model established. These are things you have to do that are completely separate of Infusionsoft.

Look at your own offerings and your own solutions. Is your product or service just the core solution and not the whole solution?

Clients will love you for giving them the whole solution. Even if you have to bring in outside vendors or partners to piece in the whole solution, your clients will be better off.

Oh, and by the way…feel free to come over to my house anytime for some great ice. 😉

Cheers,

Dave

Posted by Kendall Walker

Chief Evangelist

Hey there! My name is Kendall Walker. I’m married with one daughter, I love marketing, systems, and automation, and never drink water from a straw. Ever.