"People are usually more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves than by those found out by others."
--Blaise Pascal
Walk through the cosmetics section of any big department store. You'll come out the other end with free samples and the need to explain to your spouse exactly why you smell like a fragrance not found anywhere at home.
Do the fragrance folks make you plop down $60 for their new perfume or cologne before you can experience it?
Heck, no. And you want to do the same with the ideas you present in business meetings. Create ways for people to give your idea a low-risk trial before making a commitment of time, money, and corporate reputation. The lower the risk, the more likely people are to take a baby step in your direction.
When people ask, "What have I got to lose if I give it a go?", you know you've got it right.
The other great benefit of this technique is that they may actually have some ideas about how to say or do things better.
Posted by: Wally Bock | April 22, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Hi Steve.
I have experienced that including people in the prosess of creating the idea, often results in the people finding the same idea as I had in the first place, or they mostly come up with something better. And as a GREAT bonus, I do not need to convince them that this is a good idea, as it is theirs in the first place :)
Recent blog post: 4 things that you want in your job
Posted by: Frode H | April 22, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Hi Steve, I've found asking folks(and then listening!)(honestly, authentically and sincerely) "What do you think?" (re: an idea, proposal, etc.) leads to greater engagement and buy-in.
Posted by: peter vajda | April 22, 2009 at 01:32 PM
When you come back from conventions, training, or client visits, you can also alarm your colleagues with the peculiar ideas you may have picked up, not normally found at the home office. And so you do indeed want to find a way to explain them so that they receive fair and thoughtful - rather than hostile - consideration.
Great analogy!
Posted by: Jim Stroup | April 22, 2009 at 03:04 PM
Wally, Frode, Peter, and Jim:
By virtue of the comments and suggestions, I think we've proven the point of the post. What started off as an "idea" has expanded into a series of "how to's" that any manager could use to be even more effective.
Kudos to all.
Posted by: Steve Roesler | April 22, 2009 at 09:08 PM
Why do so many miss that simple marketing strategy? It works pretty much every time.
Roy http://realworldsalesstrategy.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Roy Gough | May 02, 2009 at 09:16 AM
Roy, I don't know, but it keeps people like us in business.
Posted by: Steve Roesler | May 02, 2009 at 09:23 AM