HOW TO OBTAIN EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT

Projects, ideas and new procedures all require more
than just brainpower and planning by management.
They require commitment on the part of the
employees to follow through with the plan and
actually make it happen. But how to get that
employee commitment? Have you ever presented a
new idea that you thought was the greatest thing in
the world only to find out no one else cares about
it? Or worse, won't support it?

Employee commitment comes from understanding
what radio station they all listen to. I'm serious!
Every employee in your company listens to WII-FM.
No exceptions! While you're talking to them about
your wonderful new idea and how great this is going
to be, in the back of their mind they are listening to
WII-FM - What's In It For Me. We are all alike in
this matter in that we all want to know how we will
benefit from this idea and what sort of effort is
required on our part to receive this benefit. So
discover first what they want before you present
what you want.

Once you know the desires of your employees, then
you must present your idea in the form of an
excellent sales call. After all, they are buying your
idea no differently than they buy a car or new shirt.
It's all the same.

We each go through 5 stages in every buying
process:

• Unaware
• Aware
• Comprehend
• Conviction
• Action

The most important of these stages, the one that
causes the greatest difficulty, is "conviction." We
seem to think that if we do a good job of making
our employees "aware" of a new idea and we get
them to "comprehend" or understand the details of
it, then we should be home free. But the truth is
that we must take ownership or be "convicted" that
this would be a good idea for ME! Discover all the
wonderful ways to help employees take ownership
of ideas and projects and you are on your way to a
successful implementation of that idea.

How do you discover this information?

Ask! There are 2 types of questions to ask in order
to have a successful sale. Type 1 are Questions To
Learn and Type 2 are Questions to Lead. Questions
to learn are the open-end questions that help you
to know what the other person is thinking. These
questions include "how do you feel about..." and
"what would you do if...". Questions to lead are
questions that help a person to assimilate and
process information in order to make a decision.

Three of my favorite questions are:

#1) The Assumptive or Involvement question

#2) The Alternative of Choice question, and

#3) The Porcupine question.

Each of these questions must be answered by the
other person to automatically move the process
forward.

Once you have successfully sold the idea, then you
will always need some basic negotiation skills to
complete the process. There is always room for
improvement and alterations with every idea, so be
sure to be flexible and open to incorporating these
suggestions for everyone's benefit.

WII-FM, 5 STAGES IN THE BUYING PROCESS,
EFFECTIVE QUESTIONS & NEGOTIATION SKILLS
will all lead you to successfully obtain more
employee commitment which generates greater
productivity and a happier work environment.