Month: July 2013

Posted on

One Mold Doesn’t Fit All

group of people going through a document together

When presenting documentation for approval, adjustments have to be made even if there is a set standard and style guide that lends itself to mold out documentation in a unified format.

Sometimes you have to make the adjustments and customize for the client, as not all clients are the same. They may prefer different ways to present what they want, especially to their own stakeholders, employees, or clients, etc. They may accept your explanations or reasoning behind what is presented, but they know their stakeholders best and may say ‘yes, ……’but’….For cases like these, bend the rules and go with whatever the clients wishes, as in the end, it is their choice.

They know their business better than you do and know how the business operates better than you do, so let them finalize, revise, organize, and handle their own forms of written communication. They may have their own communication department and their own standards or traditions to abide by; in other words, they have their own branding to maintain.

What I just described probably falls in the arena of a technical writing consulting communication position. The basis or foundation that you offer can be provided, but then in the end, it is up to the individual or company that you are working with or for. Some companies may just accept what you present and like it. But just as a precaution, prepare for more than one presentation. Be adaptable. Be prepared to change paths as you are speaking and presenting to them. The best way to accomplish this is to rehearse prior to communicating with them and play out different scenarios in your mind ahead of time.

Have you seen that show on television where improvisation takes place? Well you should apply the same techniques when you can. If you are relaxed and are confident and knowledgeable about your work, then you will have no problem. I find that if you are happy or have just laughed at a joke, then you are in a good mood with endorphins rolling in and will have that extra confidence. The audience will like how you are speaking and smiling and thereby exhibiting a lot of energy and vitality. It in turn puts the audience at ease and in a good mood. As a result an informal Q and A can occur where energetic atmospheres are brought about and in turn allows for a- good brainstorming session as well. When this situation arises, more creative ideas can be brought forth.

Even if you think you know your audience pretty well, they may have other priorities or a different agenda that they have to stick to. So when presenting your documentation, have available with you various documentation formats to see which the audience prefers. Be adaptable, confident, and be prepared and ready.

If you have had to make a presentation and have experienced being adaptable and making last minute adjustments, please share your experiences.

Posted on

Lower Level, Lower Pay, Lower Self-Esteem – Can We Fix It? Yes, We Can!

A-female-manager-trying-to-msettle-a-conflict-between-groups
job search
“We bring you back as soon as we can, but we don’t know when exactly.”

In this economy it is easy for any one of us to experience the title of this blog. Of course, we say at the beginning of it all, “I need a job, I can do anything for a while” and “who knows I might even get promoted right back up the ladder.” We want to put on the happy face and feel successful. With no job, even someone working for minimum wage has more prestige than we do, and higher self-esteem, too, but we try not to think of that too much at the time.

How did it happen? “I had a great job, at a great company, with a great salary, but…” First hired, first to go. Simple cutbacks. “We bring you back as soon as we can, but we don’t know when exactly.” So, the dialogue goes on. Being laid off is being laid off. We’re not even talking fired here, although I’m sure some people are so worried about their jobs they up and quit before they are laid off. I’m not sure that’s a good move either.

So, what can human resources and training do about it? It’s easy to say it’s up to the company that let you go. Is it too much to ask? Maybe. Perhaps, it is the hiring company that feels blessed with the quality of candidates and well-qualified employees who can increase productivity. Those who made $100,000 a year at Company A are now making the mid $30s at Company B, and for awhile everything is great.

Picture the employee for the first month or two. He or she is very grateful to have a job (any job), and very anxious to prove his or her worth. Certainly what was worth $100k will perform better at a job that generally employs someone expecting to make $35k. No insult intended, but the higher paid individual was probably more focused, more driven and had a stronger work ethic that made her or him worth the extra (assuming the jobs are nearly the same) to Company A. And, even if the jobs are unequal, the person’s skill set is probably still superior to someone who sat in that position previously, allowing the new employee’s boss to recognize talent and opportunity for new responsibilities.

eval-worker
Lower pay, lower level plus stress, but Überemployee is holding on.

By the third month, the new employee is no longer new, but is perceived by other employees to be the boss’ pet assistant, being groomed for better things (read that higher position, higher salary). Guess who else thinks that? The employee. Guess who still thinks he or she is so lucky? The boss. Then, the conflicts with the other employees begin as they start to worry about their jobs.

The “new” person, who is really no longer new, is making them look like they can’t do their jobs properly, and so they make life difficult for the Überemployee. Lower pay, lower level plus stress, but Überemployee is holding on. Stop! We all know where this is going. Right? The more stress we add. Financial difficulties because of the lower salary. Indignity felt due to the lower level position. Self-identity in ruins. Happy and grateful become angry and resentful.

I wrote an article not too long ago, Perspective of Demoting Yourself Depends on Being True to Yourself, which was the opposite of this one in that demoting yourself from a supervisory job would make sense if not being a supervisor made you happier, despite making less money. In this case, it’s easy to see that when the reduction is not of your own doing, the consequences are much worse than the “risk-taking” I point out in the article above.

In the words of the famous Bob, the Builder, “Can we fix? Yes, we can.” However, for this Überemployee, the damage is done. There is a future to think about. Human resources needs to think about this one as well as anyone who might find themselves in this predicament. No one is safe or immune. Our defense mechanisms that help us remain sane prevent us from seeing the reality before us. Bosses need to be aware of the consequences of giving the talented newcomer extra work and responsibilities when they are not able to reward them; however, knowing the situation should also be the job of the incoming employee and HR to make sure the information is understood. It’s hard to see the stress of not having a job when you have one, and everything else that goes with it.

This commentary is my opinion alone and The Free Management Library is not in anyway responsible for its content. I have written several articles of a similar nature. I tend to look at training, the workforce, business management, leadership and communication from a slightly different perspective than you might expect. I published an e-book called The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development in which I explain my reasons for looking at training and development in a different way. I look at it from the outside looking in, from the worker side, from the management side, from the trainer’s, and sometimes from the psychological side. I encourage others to talk about what they think about certain aspects of training on this website as long as they keep it generic. We’ll link to their site, and I hope you will comment here.

Take a peek at my site and you’ll find out more. By the way, I have an e-novel, Harry’s Reality, published by Amazon. It’s a scary look at what the future could be like if we stopped talking to one another and let the devices take over.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

Posted on

What consensus really means

two-happy-men-working-together-new-business-project

My experiences has led me to conclude that “consensus” is a widely misunderstood concept. Many people believe that for them to be in consensus with a decision, they have to believe that the decision is the best decision. With this definition, therefore, they believe debate must continue until they convince the others or the others convince them. But, what does consensus really mean? How a group defines consensus is critical to being able to facilitate the group toward decisions.

The implications of this definition of consensus on organizational productivity can be staggering. Allow me to explain by way of an analogy. In America, a jury is made up of 12 people. After naming a foreperson, the jury members have only one decision to make. They have to decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. Consider how long this one decision takes. Sometimes, it is a few hours. Often, it takes multiple days. And, all too often, it takes so long that they quit and declare a mistrial.

Let’s come back to the work environment and consider a sample scenario of a process improvement team. Let’s say this team’s objective is to improve an organization’s hiring process. They don’t have just one decision to make. They have a number of decisions to make about each of the steps in the hiring process and how to make the overall process better. If there were just two people on the team, and they had to debate until the two of them agreed that every aspect of the solution was the best that it could be, let’s say it would take three days. If you add a third person to the team, is it now going to take five days? Probably not. It would probably take considerably longer because the discussion couldn’t stop until all three agreed on every aspect of the solution. Some places where the first two agreed, and the third person disagreed, there would now have to be additional debate. And places where all three disagreed, the time it would take to bring all three to agreement would be considerably longer then it was with just the two. Let’s say, therefore, with three people, it would now take seven days. Then, let’s add a fourth person, and a sixth and a seventh, and so on. By the time you reach a team of 10 or 12 members who all had to talk about every aspect of the solution until each one of the 12 agreed that every part was the absolute best it could be, how long would it take? Several weeks at least, and more likely several months. And quite possibly, like the hung jury, they might not ever get there!

To avoid the major investment of time and energy that 100 percent agreement on every aspect of a solution would require, we believe a different definition of consensus is more appropriate.

Consensus means: “I can live with it and I will support it.”

Consensus does NOT mean: “I think this is the best solution.” Consensus simply means, “I can live with it and I will support it through implementation.”

________________________

Certified Master Facilitator Michael Wilkinson is the CEO and Managing Director of Leadership Strategies, Inc., The Facilitation Company and author of The Secrets of Facilitation 2nd Edition, The Secrets to Masterful Meetings, and The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy. Leadership Strategies is a global leader in facilitation services, providing companies with dynamic professional facilitators who lead executive teams and task forces in areas like strategic planning, issue resolution, process improvement and others. The company is also a leading provider of facilitation training in the United States, having trained over 18,000 individuals.

Posted on

Strategies for getting your ideas on the table without overpowering the group

Business professionals deliberating in a workspace

In strategic planning, it is important that all voices be heard, and that includes yours. Unfortunately, if you are like most leaders, your voice comes with considerable baggage. When the boss speaks, people listen. And, they listen differently from when other people speak.

Sure, there will likely be some people in the room who treat your voice like every other voice in the room. Whether the idea comes from you or a first-year manager, these people will state their agreement or disagreement with the idea in the exact same way, regardless of the source.

Unfortunately, this probably isn’t the case for most of the people at the table. When you speak, most may be quick to respond when they agree, and very, very slow to respond when they disagree – so slow, in fact, that sometimes they may never get around to it!

As a result of the lack of challenge many leaders experience within their own walls, the views of the leader can easily overpower the group. And even when someone dares to challenge with a question, some leaders, often without knowing it, respond with statements that belittle the questioner or not-so-subtly communicate that challenging the boss is not welcome.

Consider the following strategies.

STRATEGIES FOR GETTING YOUR IDEAS ON THE TABLE WITHOUT OVERPOWERING THE GROUP:

Explain how your role differs inside and outside the room. Let your team know the following.

  • Your leadership title was left outside the door when you walked in.
  • Inside the planning room you are one member of the planning team and have one vote just like everyone else.
  • The strategic plan being formulated inside the room is the recommendation of the team and will go to the leader for the final decision.
  • Outside the planning room you put your leader title back on and will have the final say on the recommendation of the team. Should you as the leader decide to not accept a recommendation, you will let them know why.
If you have a vision, goal, strategy or other element that you know you want to have the team consider, be intentional about getting it on the table.

  • In some cases it will be more helpful to state your view up front and gain feedback.
  • In other cases, it will be more helpful to give the team a chance to develop their ideas first and to suggest your idea only if the group did not come to it on its own.

How do you decide which approach is more appropriate?

  • Generally, if you idea is focused on broad strategic direction (i.e., vision, mission, goals, and to some extent objectives), consider putting them on the table first for reaction.
  • If you idea is more narrow or focused on implementation (i.e., critical success factors, barriers, strategies or actions) it may very well be more appropriate to suggest your idea only if the group does not come up with it on their own.
Avoid being the first, second or third person to respond.

  • Many leaders find it difficult to sit back when a comment is made that is clearly off track or may take the discussion in what they believe is the wrong direction. As a result, they speak up and give their comments first and predictably, the rest of the group typically follows the direction of the leader.
  • When I facilitate strategy sessions I make it a point prior to the first session to ask leaders to specifically not be the first, second or third person to respond to comments. I ask them to allow their people to speak up first and comment only after at least three others have given their views.
Use open, rather than closed, language.

  • When a person says, “It won’t work,” that response is what I call closed language. The words say you have already made up your mind. And unfortunately, if someone has a different opinion, they will have to disagree with you, which many will typically choose not to do, as mentioned before.
  • A more open language statement would be, “I don’t see how that would work and still make us money.” The simple phrase, “I don’t see how,” implies that someone may be able to show you. The phrasing invites people to provide you information.
  • As a leader you may very well find that using open language gives people permission to provide you information that they might otherwise keep to themselves.

Learn more ways to facilitate your group through strategic planning so that all voices, including yours, are heard. Take this course to discover more strategies – Secrets to Facilitating Strategy.

________________________

Certified Master Facilitator Michael Wilkinson is the CEO and Managing Director of Leadership Strategies, Inc., The Facilitation Company and author of The Secrets of Facilitation 2nd Edition, The Secrets to Masterful Meetings, and The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy. Leadership Strategies is a global leader in facilitation services, providing companies with dynamic professional facilitators who lead executive teams and task forces in areas like strategic planning, issue resolution, process improvement and others. The company is also a leading provider of facilitation training in the United States, having trained over 18,000 individuals.

Posted on

Twitter v. Traditional Media: Who Breaks Stories First?

two-users-pointing-digital-tablet-with-blank-screen

Report sheds light on heated race

A new study has revealed that, contrary to what many believe, major news websites and Twitter are neck and neck when it comes to breaking high-profile stories.

The UK’s Metro has more details:

The research by the University of Edinburgh shows Twitter brought ‘added value’ by providing ‘local perspectives on major news items’.

Dr Miles Osborne, who led the work, said: ‘Twitter and traditional news outlets each have their strengths in terms of delivering news.

‘In contrast to popular belief, our results show that neither stream consistently reports on breaking news first. Indeed, traditional newswire sources often report events before Twitter.

What the study didn’t investigate is the thing that’s sent a growing number of mainstream news outlets into crisis management mode, namely the lapse of fact-checking and other traditional journalistic ethics considerations that has occurred in the rush to beat social media to print.

The precise roles that social media and traditional news outlets should play remains a hot topic, but perhaps studies like this one will help the organizations involved determine who should be reporting on what, and how.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Posted on

The Foundation of Your Planned Giving Program: Bequests IV

Lego blocks

In June I shared ideas on what to do with your direct mail letter. See the Planned Giving Series.

This month we’re taking a hiatus from promotion to look at why bequests are basic to your Planned Giving program.

You should expect 75 to 80 percent of your planned gifts to be bequests. They are the foundation of any Planned Giving program, irrespective of mission. Because of time and money constraints, you may start and stop your program with bequests and you will have a very respectable—and appropriately scaled—program.

There is no shame in a small shop limiting its PG program to the promotion and marketing of charitable bequests. That organization can do quite well, with 100% of its planned gifts as bequests.

Why Are Bequests So Popular?

Because wills are popular. Every adult should have one, though the reports I see say about half don’t. That still leaves half the adult population as charitable bequest prospects.

Easy. People understand how wills work. Your prospects don’t need fancy calculations or detailed projections, though they do need an attorney’s help to write their wills.

Quiet. Donors don’t have to tell you they’ve put you in their will. You hope they do, and you give them opportunities to share their secret, but they can make you wait until after they’re gone. And most bequest donors do.

Undoable. You can change your will anytime you like. If you get angry at a relative, you can cut them out. If a donor gets angry at your office, they can cut you out. Donors find this reassuring.

Easy on the wallet. Bequests cost nothing during life. Gifts are paid out of your donors’ estates after they die. That makes them . . .

So perfect for donors of modest means. For lots of people, their will remains the only way they can make their ultimate gift to your work. They’d like to give you more during life, but they’re doing what they can.

Time is on their side. I don’t know if there’s research to back this up, but it feels like bequest donors have longevity working in their favor. They live longer than the non-charitably inclined. Is there a secret among the Boomers that I haven’t been let in on?

For all these reasons bequests will make up the vast majority of any Planned Giving program. (Extra points if you recognize that I spelled out BEQUEST with the first letter of each heading.)

In August, I’ll go deeper into the “quiet” above. Why is it that a mere one-in-three to one-in-eight bequest donors reveals their intention while they’re living?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Tony Martignetti, Esq. is the host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. He’s a Planned Giving consultant, speaker, author, blogger and stand-up comic. You’ll find him at TonyMartignetti.com.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and cheap 🙂
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Posted on

Pathways for Leaders

Middle-aged-CEO-posing-to-the-camera

The wrong path.

Alex was explaining some startling figures to the head of a global division with $7 billion in sales. Craig was thirty eight but had already been in this job for several years. Alex’s team had built the figures from many global data bases and cross-checked them exhaustively. They showed that the division’s markets in Europe and the US were growing much faster than Craig’s reports. So the division’s real market shares were bad and getting worse. And Craig’s shiny new strategy was built on sand. He looked up from the figures at Alex and said smoothly, “That’s very interesting. You should get on our management meeting agenda. See Frank.”

A month later, Alex was still calling Frank. After six weeks with no response, Alex had to include the data in the company’s strategic overview so he sent the presentation to Craig’s head of marketing. Three days before the executive council meeting, the marketing director called Alex, hysterical. “Are you trying to kill my boss?” A month later, after almost twenty years of success and promotions, Craig was sidelined to a regional job. Six months later he was gone. It took more than two years for his successors to return the division to real growth and increased profitability.

A better way

Over the last several years this blog has explored a variety of insightful and useful models for leading effective change. But to lead change, you have to see the need for it, preferably before it’s too late. And that can be a problem if your mind can’t see what your eyes can. We all have a welter of thoughts, experiences and beliefs, what Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck calls our “mindset”.(1) And they can help or hinder effective thinking, deciding and acting, often without our knowledge. This was Craig’s problem: his mindset made him, and through him his team, blind to information inconsistent with his beliefs, with severe adverse consequences.

In this next series of blogs, we will explore in detail internal limitations that affect our individual performance. Leaders of knowledge workers need to be aware of these limitations: in themselves, those they work with and their organizations. And we will introduce techniques and practices for recognizing, overcoming and eliminating these limitations, permitting all of us and those with whom we work to become the leaders we are meant to be.

Rapid self-assessment

Since we are unaware of many sources of self-delusion that can undermine our leadership, we can start by checking the state of our inner awareness. There are simple but effective exercises that can assess and increase it: simple, yet their results consistently shock hard-charging business leaders.

Here is one that takes just a few minutes. If you want to try it, don’t read beyond step 4 until you complete it.

1-Sit in a straight backed chair. Slowly clench your fists, tighten your arm and back muscles and bend from the waist as far as you can. As you lower your torso, frown and tighten your facial muscles.
2-Tighten the rest of your muscles and hold that position for a few seconds.
3-Try to feel happy, joyful. What happens?
4-Now try to feel angry, frustrated. What happens?

Pause briefly to observe the outcomes of steps 3 and 4.

5-Sit back up, relaxing as you do; then without stopping stand up.
6-Take several deep breaths. Shake and loosen your shoulders, gently swing your arms, easily rotate your neck and head.
7-Continue breathing slowly, deeply. As you straighten your posture, lift up your chest and head, open your arms wide and raise them above your shoulders.
8-Smile. Really smile. Keep it up.
9- Try to feel angry, frustrated. What happens?
10-Now try to feel curious, happy, joyful. What happens?

Lessons for leaders

Our inner thoughts, emotions and beliefs can affect decisions and actions without conscious knowledge.

Our mind, brain and entire nervous system are connected and highly interactive. Our mind can control our body, but our body can also control our mind.

The less we are aware of our complex inner life, the greater the risk that key decisions will be affected without our knowing it and produce sub-optimal, even disastrous results.

There are simple ways to assess our internal awareness that can lead to sustained improved performance.

Next blog
Types of awareness and why they are important to the leader in all of us.

(1) Dweck, Carol S., Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House, New York. 2007.

Tom is founder of Thomson-Roy Advisors, a firm providing international strategy consulting and senior leadership development. He is also a Program Director at The Mahler Company and an instructor in MBA and Executive Education programs in business schools in the US and overseas. He was an international executive with the Michelin Group for nearly thirty years, working in over forty countries while holding positions in law, finance, emerging market business development and global strategy. Tom is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Virginia Law School. Please contact him on LinkedIn or at tomroyjr@gmail.com.

Posted on

Jailed Texas Teen, a Social Media Crisis Management Lesson

middle-aged-man-spending-time-jail.

The wrong words online can come back to haunt you

The case of Justin Carter, the Central Texas teen jailed for over five months as a result of a Facebook comment, is a powerful lesson in just how serious social media has gotten, and why your personal crisis management considerations should include careful censorship of controversial conversation.

Here’s what went down, as described in a HuffPost blog by Ryan Grenoble:

Earlier this year, Carter and a friend got into an Facebook argument with someone regarding “League of Legends,” an online video game with notoriously die-hard fans. Justin’s father, Jack, explained to ABC local affiliate KVUE that at the end of the conversation “[s]omeone had said something to the effect of ‘Oh you’re insane, you’re crazy, you’re messed up in the head,’ to which [Justin] replied ‘Oh yeah, I’m real messed up in the head, I’m going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts,’ and the next two lines were lol and jk [all sic].”

Now, we fully agree that Justin’s comment was wildly inappropriate, and warranted a full investigation, but here’s the rub…after finding no weapons, plans, web searches, or any other evidence that Justin was using anything other than very poorly planned sarcasm, he still went to jail with a $500,000 bond. Nearly six months later, having celebrated, if you could call it that, his nineteenth birthday behind bars, and, according to his father, being beaten and thrown naked into solitary confinement for a large part of that time, Justin’s family has just barely managed to bail him out. Of course, he’ll still stand trial for making a “terroristic threat,” a charge that could haunt him for the rest of his life whether he is exonerated or not.

From what we see on Facebook and other social media sites on a daily basis, this could end up being just about anybody. People post statements like, “I wish I could just burn this office down” or “I’m going to kick my boss’ ass if he yells at me one more time” without a second thought, not realizing that with a phone call and the wrong judge (of which there seem to be an inordinate number in Texas), they could wind up in a situation very much like Carter’s.

Crisis Management 101 for personal social media communications: You aren’t just speaking to your friends. Sure, those close to you may know you, and “get” your sick sense of humor, off-color jokes, etc, but when you post a message on social media, it’s out there for all to see. If you want to cover your own behind, make sure the things you post can’t be misconstrued, especially as a threat against person or property, or you could wind up the next Justin Carter.

——————————-
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
——————————-

[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Posted on

The Secret to Connecting with Buyers: Emotion-Based Questions

A satisfied customer holding a cellphone

Guest Author: Michael Boyette

Chances are you learned how open-ended questions differ from closed-ended ones back in Sales 101. And of course, you learned that open-ended questions are the best kind during sales discovery.

That makes sense, because the yes-or-no answers you get with closed-ended questions don’t stimulate dialogue.

But here’s the rub: An open-ended question doesn’t necessarily engage the prospect emotionally.

That’s where you need to connect. Brain science research suggests that most buying decisions are made emotionally and then justified logically – even when the buyer believes that

emotion didn’t play a significant role.

Emotion-based questions

So it makes good sense to engage the prospect’s emotions early in the sales process. Your discovery questions create a great opportunity to do exactly that.

No matter what you sell or how you sell it, be it over the phone or across a desk, the need for emotional involvement is there with you. The buyer wants to take ownership, and your role is to get them to visualize that ownership, get engaged, build their “buy in,” have trust in you – and sign on the dotted line.

Important note: When we talk about emotional involvement, we don’t mean manipulation, or pressure, or “closing” techniques. We do mean genuine emotional engagement that aims to touch both the heart and mind.

The idea is to develop a different strategy, one that involves emotion-based questions, not just logic-based ones.

Breaking away from logic

As you will see, this concept breaks away from traditional questioning styles, and involves formulating questions that are emotionally engaging.

Before getting into sample questions and phrases you can use as a template, let’s look more closely at the process.

Logic-based questions typically involve old-fashioned “qualifying” questions that buyers often find aggravating or downright annoying. They may even fall into the “none-of-your-beeswax”

category.

Examples include financial questions like “What’s your budget?” or “What are you paying for this now?”

The concept underlying an emotion-based approach is that you want the prospect to qualify themselves because you are engaging and friendly, and sincerely care about them.

To quote Dale Carnegie, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people, than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in

you.”

For example, before jumping into a sales presentation, ask emotion-oriented questions that open with phrases like: “How long have you been considering…” or “What are you hoping for….”

As the sale progresses, ask emotion-based questions like, “Is this what you have in mind?” or “Can you see this achieving your goals?” or “How might your company benefit from this?” Consider going deeper with “What do you think the CEO will say?”

Such questions get prospects to reveal their feelings – and become more engaged. They’re more likely to produce honest answers about your offering and how it will affect their expected outcome.

Help visualize ownership

What follows the purchase is more important to the buyer than the sales process. But drawing out their emotions during the process is the key to getting them to take ownership.

To help them visualize ownership, ask emotion-oriented questions during the presentation: “What do you think about solving this problem once and for all?” “How will your team use this?” or “How do you see this boosting productivity?”

Pleasure, not pain

You hear a lot about “finding the pain” as a key to uncovering a buyer’s real needs. And you can use pain to make an emotional connection. But pain is negative, and can be a turn-off.

Jumping in with pain-oriented questions like “What keeps you up at night?” or “Where does it hurt?” can create a negative, defensive atmosphere. And in any event, the answer you get is very likely to be evasive or only partially true.

Instead, use questions that find the pleasure. That usually lies in the positive emotions around their expected outcome, their true purpose, and their true motives.

—

Author Bio:

Michael Boyette is the Executive Editor of Rapid Learning Institute and thought leader for the Top Sales Dog Blog. Michael is a nationally recognized authority on selling and has written hundreds of articles and training programs for sales reps and sales managers. Over the course of his 30+ year career, Michael has written ten books for publisher such as Simon & Schuster, Dutton, and Holt. Michael has managed public-relations programs for US Healthcare, Bell Communications Research, and DuPont. Michael is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Journalism.

Posted on

CFC Summer 2013 Outreach Campaign – Part One

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Update on Proposed Changes to CFC Regulations:
As I write this, a Congressional Hearing about the
proposed CFC regulations are scheduled for July 10th.
I will have a special update on the proposed CFC regulations
after the hearing, and what next action steps are recommended.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Have a plan, work the plan!
In my June 27th post I talked about the importance of selecting your CFC team, and that one of the factors that helps keep people motivated and dedicated is the ability to learn, develop and practice new skills; and, I noted that workplace giving actually provides many opportunities for staff, volunteers and board members to do that.

In this post, and the next three, I’ll discuss some specific approaches you can use to get ready for the 2013 CFC campaign.

Before getting into the specific tactics of workplace giving fundraising, I want to highlight an important report that was released in January. It is “Under Developed: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising” by Jeanne Bell & Marla Cornelius, and was underwritten by CompassPoint, where Ms. Bell is CEO.

An important success factor that is identified in the report is that high-performing non-profits have created a “culture of philanthropy” within their organizations, and this is one of the keys to their success. The report uses this explanation of what a culture of philanthropy is:

Culture of Philanthropy:< While familiar to fundraising professionals, the term culture of philanthropy is not yet well understood nor commonly used across the sector. Not to be confused with institutional grant-making or the act of giving money as a donor, a culture of philanthropy refers to a set of organizational values and practices that support and nurture development within a nonprofit organization. For the purposes of this study, we used the following definition: Most people in the organization (across positions) act as ambassadors and engage in relationship building. Everyone promotes philanthropy and can articulate a case for giving. Fund development is viewed and valued as a mission-aligned program of the organization. Organizational systems are established to support donors. The executive director is committed and personally involved in fundraising.

To read the complete report, (which I recommend), go to: Under Developed.

Your non-profit’s CFC fundraising plan provides the ideal practice field for your entire staff, including both paid and volunteers, and board members to develop their “ambassador skills and engage in relationship building” and learn how to “promote philanthropy and articulate a case for giving.” This is where some of the unique characteristics of a Combined Federal Campaign fundraising campaign come into play by letting your CFC action plan activities be the beginning of how to learn to develop a culture of philanthropy within your non-profit.

What’s next?
In my July 25th post I will discuss some of the unique factors of CFC fundraising and why they matter, and I will suggest some specific actions you can take to be more effective in your CFC fundraising efforts.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
During his 25-year career in the Federal sector, Bill Huddleston, The CFC Coach,
served in many CFC roles. If you want to participate in the Combined Federal
The campaign, maximize your nonprofit’s CFC revenues, or just ask a few questions,
contact Bill Huddleston
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks.
They’re easy to read, to the point, and cheap ($1.99 – $3.99) ☺
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.