“Being biggest isn’t why customers buy our products”

From the New York Times June 2, 2010

For Steven P. Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, the timing of his public appearance at the D8 conference could not have been better. Last week, Apple surpassed Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable technology company. A little more than a decade ago, Apple was struggling for its life, and many tech pundits were predicting its demise.

So Mr. Jobs’s wide-ranging interview with the conference hosts, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, began, appropriately, with a softball question: How did it feel to stand at the top of the technology heap?

“For those of us who have been in the industry a long time, it is surreal,” Mr. Jobs said. “But it doesn’t matter very much. It is not what’s important. It is not why any of our customers buy our products. I think it is good for us to keep that in mind. But it is a little surreal.”

So in case you were planning to sell someone by telling them your company is the #1,
or biggest, or anything like that, pause. Since when have YOU bought ANYTHING because
of the size of the company selling it?

So if you and others don’t buy for that reason, why
sell with that reason?