In
their new book, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas,
G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa, two experts in the
field of negotiations, demonstrate that winning others over to your cause takes
not only solid arguments but emotional and relational know-how. In the
first chapter of their book, Shell, a professor of legal studies, business
ethics and management at the
When
the young Sam Walton was trying to figure out what to call his first large
discount store in
Bob
came up with his "Walmart" idea by
combining the first syllable from Sam's last name with a shorthand word for
"market." It was a pretty good idea, but pitching his boss on it was
tricky. Bob figured Sam would be flattered to have a
store that alluded, however indirectly, to his name. But Sam Walton did not
like to parade his ego. So Bogle decided to sell his
idea by appealing to one of Sam Walton's most fundamental core values: saving
money. Listen as Bob Bogle tells his simple story (as
recounted in Sam Walton's autobiography Made in
I
scribbled W-A-L-M-A-R-T on the bottom of [a] card, and said [to Sam] "To
begin with, there's not as many letters to buy." I had bought the letters
that said "Ben Franklin," and I knew how much it cost to put them up
and to light them and repair the neon, so I said, "This is just seven
letters." He didn't say anything, and I dropped the subject. A few days
later I went by to see when we could start setting the fixtures in the building,
and I saw that our sign maker ... already had the W-A-L up there and was headed
up the ladder with an M.... I just smiled and went on.
Bob
Bogle's sale of the name "Walmart"
to his boss is as straightforward as idea selling gets. But even this simple
example illustrates some basic principles of effective persuasion.
First,
Bob had a specific goal: persuade his boss to adopt the "Walmart" name for the new store.
Second,
Bob identified the decision maker -- Sam Walton -- and presented his idea
directly to this person.
Third,
Bogle drew on his credibility as one of Walton's key
employees. You don't need to be a key employee to sell an idea. But you do need
to have credibility.
Fourth,
Bob Bogle appealed to one of Sam's core interests --
a single-minded focus on cost. Low cost was a value that Sam Walton saluted
every day, so pitching the "Walmart" idea
in terms of cost was exactly the right way to get Sam's attention.
Fifth,
Bogle used his knowledge of Walton as a person. Sam
solved problems as they came up, so Bob picked his moment to pitch his idea.
That moment came during a trip the two men were taking together just days
before a sign would be needed to go on the front of the new store. And because
the sign was something the public would see, Bob wrote it out for Sam to
visualize.
Walton
also liked to mull things over. So Bogle resisted the
temptation to oversell. He put his justification out there and then stopped
talking.
Finally,
all of this took place as part of a relationship. Bogle
and Walton were working together to solve problems. They trusted each other. So Bob "just smiled and went on" when Sam decided to use
the Walmart name. And Walton put Bogle's story his autobiography after he became a
billionaire. Both men, in short, did very, very well in this relationship. We
will be emphasizing the importance of relationships, communication channels and
presentation strategies throughout the book.
With
this example in mind, it may be easier to understand what makes selling ideas
different. It's not about tricking people into buying things they do not need.
It's about helping people see things your way -- engaging their minds and
imaginations, then getting them to take action on the
idea you recommend.
Note: This excerpt is