The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Turning Dreams into Profits

EFFECTIVE LEADERS KNOW HOW TO GET SUPPORT FOR THEIR IDEAS

When you’re excited about an idea, you will be tempted to get up in front of the whole company and announce it to everyone at once. But successful leaders recognize that if they expect their ideas to be implemented, they have to get the support of the people who will be doing the implementing.

Usually, that means selling the idea to a handful of influential people—maybe a few department heads, a few technicians, and one or two customer service people. You sell them on the idea by showing them how the company (and they) will benefit from it. Then you let them work the ground troops for you.

A FIVE-PART STRATEGY FOR SELLING YOUR IDEAS TO KEY PEOPLE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

In Chapter Seven, I outlined the process for writing strong marketing copy to sell your products. The process of selling ideas to your key people is very similar:

1. You identify the biggest benefit of your idea.

2. You turn that benefit into a promise. And you express it in a way that allows your people to visualize it as making their jobs somehow better or easier.

3. You offer proof that you can make good on your promise. (“If ‘a’ happens, then ‘b’ will happen … and if ‘b’ happens, then ‘c’ will happen.”)

4. You anticipate objections and concerns before they’re articulated. You’re ready with solutions for every potential problem and answers for any possible questions.

5. You provide assurances. You won’t always have solutions for all the problems. That’s ...