EP. 257: If You Can't Say, "Because You," You Aren't Ready to Recommend - Truth #20

Why Benefits Still Fall Flat

Sellers are usually not short on benefits...In fact, that is often the problem.

They know their product, service, and solution so well that the benefits are the easiest things to talk about. They know the features. They know the ROI story. They know the differentiators. They know which case study worked with another customer.

So when it is time to build value, they default to what they know best.

Themselves.

Tom describes an exercise he has used in workshops where he asks healthcare professionals why he should drink more water. They can provide benefit after benefit, yet most of those benefits fail to resonate because they are not connected to anything Tom personally cares about.

The information is correct.

The relevance is missing.

That distinction is central to the ASLAN approach. A seller does not create value merely by describing something beneficial. The seller creates value when they connect what they offer to something meaningful in the customer’s world.

“If we start the sentence with ‘because you,’ there’s no way to miss the connection.”
— Tom Stanfill

Build a “Because You” Mindset

Tab takes the idea one step further in the episode and describes it as a “Because You mindset.”

That may be the more important takeaway.

A seller does not literally need to begin every recommendation with the words “because you.” Sometimes the connection is already obvious. Sometimes the customer has explicitly asked a question and the seller simply needs to answer it.

The discipline is to think that way.

Before explaining a recommendation, ask:

Because you... what?

Because you told me growth is slowing?

Because you said adoption is the biggest risk?

Because you need predictability more than the lowest upfront cost?

Because you already tried one approach and it failed?

Because you need your managers to reinforce the change after training?

That simple mental prompt forces the seller to move out of their own world and back into the buyer’s.

And that is exactly what Other-Centered® Selling is designed to do.

“You have to have a ‘Because You’ mindset. Everything you’re doing is because you.”
— Tab Norris

Use “Because You” as a Test of Preparation

One of the most practical applications from the episode happens before the customer meeting ever begins.

Tom describes reviewing an important presentation and testing the critical slides, recommendations, and transitions by trying to complete the “Because You” statement.

If he cannot do it, that tells him where the presentation is weak.

Maybe he does not understand the customer’s business well enough yet. Maybe discovery was incomplete. Maybe a slide exists because ASLAN likes talking about that topic rather than because the customer needs to hear it.

Either way, the inability to articulate the “Because You” is useful information.

It tells the seller: you are not ready to make this point yet.

Without that discipline, sellers often fill the gap by reverting to product language:

“Here’s what we offer.”

“Here’s how our platform works.”

“Here are the three things that differentiate us.”

“Let me show you this feature.”

The problem is not that those statements are inherently wrong. The problem is that the customer has no reason to care.

ASLAN’s recommendation is simple: before every meaningful piece of your presentation, make sure you can explain why this particular customer needs to hear it.

If You Cannot Say “Because You,” Go Back to Discovery

This is also why “Because You” and discovery are inseparable.

You cannot build a customer-centered recommendation without understanding the customer well enough to explain why it matters to them.

If you find yourself struggling to complete the sentence, that may not be a presentation problem.

It may be a discovery problem.

Tom returns to his water example later in the episode. The generic benefits of hydration did not influence him. But once the discussion surfaced something he actually cared about- his need to concentrate for long periods of time- the recommendation changed.

Now the conversation could become:

Because you spend significant time doing work that requires deep concentration, hydration matters because dehydration can interfere with that concentration.

Suddenly, the benefit has a reason to exist.

The product did not change.

The recommendation did not change.

The relevance changed.

That is why ASLAN places so much emphasis on understanding the customer’s world before presenting the solution. Discovery gives sellers the information they need to make the “Because You” connection.

“Because You” Is Most Important When You Need to Influence

There are situations where the connection between a need and recommendation is obvious.

A customer asks whether your solution can accomplish a specific task. You answer the question. There is little need to spend time explaining why that capability matters because the customer has already established the connection.

“Because You” becomes much more important when the seller is trying to lead.

Maybe the buyer says they do not need to see something you believe is critical.

Maybe an executive wants to skip directly to cost when you know the transformation strategy will determine whether the investment succeeds.

Maybe the customer believes one problem matters, but your expertise tells you another issue needs to be addressed first.

Now the seller is asking the buyer to follow.

That is when self-centered selling can sound like this:

“I know you said you do not want to discuss this, but let me show you anyway.”

An Other-Centered® transition sounds very different:

“You told me transformation is critical to your growth. Because that change ultimately depends on how leaders model and reinforce the new behavior, I’d like to spend a few minutes looking at the leadership piece before we get to the broader recommendation.”

The seller is still leading.

But they are leading from the customer’s priorities rather than their own agenda.

Tab describes this in the episode as an Other-Centered® transition. The seller can acknowledge where the customer wants to go while still recommending a different direction based on what the customer has already said matters.

That Is How Sellers Become Trusted Partners

These two words carry a bigger implication. If sellers only communicate what their product does, they remain product representatives. The buyer can find product information elsewhere.

Trusted Partners earn a different role.

They understand what is on the customer’s whiteboard. They understand what the customer believes, where they are trying to go, what has not worked, and what could prevent the desired outcome.

Then they use that understanding to lead.

Tom argues that this is what gives sellers credibility in higher-level conversations. Decision-makers don't need someone to simply represent a product or service. They need someone with enough expertise to recommend a direction and enough understanding to explain why that direction makes sense for them.

That is the difference between:

Here’s what we do.

and:

Because of what you are trying to accomplish, here is what I recommend.

Building Value Starts With the Customer

The most compelling value proposition in the world can fall flat when the customer cannot see themselves in it.

That is why Truth #20 is so simple.

Before you present the benefit, describe the customer.

Before you recommend the solution, connect it to their world.

Before you ask them to follow you, demonstrate that you understand where they are trying to go.

And when you are not sure whether your recommendation is truly Other-Centered®, test it with two words:

Because you...

If you cannot finish the sentence, you may not be ready to build value yet.

If you can, the customer is much more likely to understand why what comes next matters.

That is how sellers move beyond communicating benefits and begin earning the right to influence.

Because You is better than Because I Said So.