Episode 70 - The First Step to Getting Agreement is Get Their Attention
If you want people to agree with your new ideas, first you have to get noticed. For example, my friend, D.J. Harrington, a customer service trainer, felt frustrated because a company president wouldn’t return his calls, so he mailed a package that contained a single baby shoe and a handwritten note, “I just wanted to get my foot in the door with you…” It worked. He got an appointment to present his ideas.
When I used to work for a sales organization, I had a great idea for a sales contest so I typed it out in a memo and made 800 copies. But busy salespeople don’t always read memos so I went to the bank and asked the teller for 800 brand new pennies. And I glued a shinny penny to each one. They got noticed, got talked about, and the promotion was a hit.
What if you want the people who are around you every day to pay special attention to your new ideas? You still have to get their attention in above average ways. Here are some smart suggestions: volunteer for a high-profile assignment, make extra customer calls every day this month, invest in your self-development, risk being untraditional — in short, earn a reputation as someone who is above average.
The bottom line is, to earn special attention, do special things, because if you settle for being average, your new ideas will get an average response.
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