“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.” —Simon Sinek, Start With Why
Have you ever come across a company that seems perfectly put together? You can feel it in the way they talk about themselves as an organization, the way they serve their unique customers, and the way their people show up. There’s no confusion about what they stand for or why they exist.
And then there are the other businesses. Maybe they’re talented, maybe they’re working hard, but everything is just a little muddy. If you asked ten employees why the company exists or what makes it special, you might get ten different answers.
Simon Sinek has a framework that explains the difference. It’s called The Golden Circle, and it comes down to three simple questions: Why, How, What. At Sanctuary, we add one more, Who.
Most businesses can explain what they do. Some can even explain how they do it. But the ones that really inspire? The ones that thrive? They start with Why.
Why We Do What We Do
At Sanctuary, our Why is simple but powerful:
“We provide a Sanctuary to grow organizations so together we can positively impact people in our world.”
When we were defining this, we didn’t just want a line that sounded nice. We wanted to capture the real reason we exist. For me, it’s always been about more than just marketing or revenue. Those are tools. The real goal is growth. We want to help businesses flourish in a way that affects the people behind them and the people they serve. This is an exciting idea.
When I think about our Why, I picture the owners, teams, and communities we support. A business that grows can hire more people. It can take care of its employees better. It can invest in the local community. In that way, we’re not just building websites or executing marketing campaigns—we’re creating a ripple effect. That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.
If you’ve never clearly defined your Why, you might be leaving one of your biggest competitive advantages on the table. Your Why is the heartbeat of your company. It’s what makes people care, both inside and outside your walls.
How We Do What We Do
Knowing your Why is powerful, but the next question is: How do you bring that Why to life?
At Sanctuary, our How is:
“Through the inbound methodology, we attract, engage, and delight customers by aligning the marketing, sales, and service functions of an organization. This is how we deliver an amazing customer experience that creates revenue and drives growth.”
Inbound marketing is our method. It’s how we keep our actions aligned with our purpose. We don’t chase leads with gimmicks. We create value and trust at every step of the customer journey, so that when a potential client is ready to make a decision, we’re the obvious choice.
Let me give you an example. A client comes to us frustrated because their sales team is always scrambling, chasing cold leads, and their website is basically just a digital brochure. With inbound, we help them rethink the whole approach. We build content and campaigns that answer real customer questions, nurture leads, and connect marketing to sales and service. Over time, they start attracting and retaining the right customers instead of chasing the wrong ones.
This is our How, and it’s consistent across every client we work with. It’s our playbook for turning our Why into results.
What We Do at Sanctuary
This is the part most businesses focus on first—the What. But in Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle, what we do is actually on the outside of the circle, and it comes last.
At Sanctuary, our What is:
“We provide guidance and execute solutions within HubSpot. Success is measured through revenue growth.”
In practice, that means we do the work. Strategy, campaigns, websites, automation, reporting—it’s all about using our tools and inbound marketing to drive revenue.
If we led with just this, we’d sound like every other marketing agency. “We build websites. We run campaigns. We help with this tool or that.” That’s not very inspiring.
But when your What is connected to your How and Why, it becomes magnetic. Our clients don’t just see a list of services—they see a clear path to the outcome they care about most: growth.
Who We Exist to Serve
The final piece is Who. This is not technically part of The Golden Circle, but we believe that this one is critical. If you try to serve everyone, you end up serving no one well.
At Sanctuary, we’ve taken the time to define exactly who our ideal clients are. We refer to them as personas, and we even gave them names: Meticulous Marketer Mary and Overwhelmed Owner Oliver.
Mary is a Marketing Manager or VP at a company doing $15–30 million in revenue. She’s smart and capable, but short on time and resources. Her team is small, her budget is under pressure, and she’s expected to deliver results—fast. She needs a partner she can trust to think strategically and handle the heavy lifting.
Oliver is a business owner running a $3–5 million company. He’s focused on keeping the wheels turning and doesn’t have time to figure out marketing. He doesn’t need lectures or fluff—he needs a partner who can guide him, get results, and help his business grow.
By defining our Who, we know how to talk, where to show up, and which problems to solve. It’s why our marketing isn’t trying to be all things to all people. We speak directly to Mary and Oliver.
Living In The Golden Circle
So why should you, as a business owner or marketer, care about the Golden Circle?
Because when you clearly define your Why, How, What, and especially your Who, everything gets easier.
Your marketing stops feeling scattered. Your team knows why they come to work, and the right people are excited to do it. Sales conversations become natural because you know exactly who you’re speaking to and what matters to them.
For us at Sanctuary, this framework has been a compass. In addition to our values, it guides decisions big and small: Who we hire, which clients we take on, how we build our services, and even how we measure success.If you haven’t gone through this exercise for your own business, we highly recommend it. Start with Why. Then get clear on How you deliver that Why.
Define What you do in simple, practical terms. And finally, paint a vivid picture of Who you serve.
When all four parts connect, your company stops being just another option and starts being the obvious choice.