Managing and Motivating Imperfect People Basic Selling for the Workplace
Managing and Motivating Imperfect People Basic Selling for the Workplace
In spite of the fact that the company paid quite well, Mr. Lansdorf's people never performed the way he hoped they would when he hired them. His co-workers weren't much better. As for his boss, "He couldn't care less about my problems. He'd like to be able to forget about my whole department."
"So what exactly do you want?" I asked.
"What I'd like is for people to do the job they're supposed to do--the way they're supposed to do it."
"Which means?" I asked.
"To do something beyond the minimum--to go the extra mile for the company. Everybody expects something for nothing."
"Don't you?"
"Hey, I earn my money," Mr. Lansdorf insisted. "I go way beyond the minimum."
"And it gets you?"
"Nothing, that's the point. It gets me nothing."
"So how long are you going to keep doing that?"
"Not much longer, believe me."
"But you want others to go beyond the minimum--without putting something it in for them? Aren't you the one who's expecting for something for nothing?"
"I want people to do what they should do."
"So what we're talking about is morality and ethics? What people should do?"
"Exactly." he said.
"So as a manager, your ability to manage is based upon people doing what they should do? Otherwise you can't get the results you want?"
"No of course not. Nobody does what they should. At least nobody in my company."
"So wouldn't you be better off trying to find a way to get the results you need with the people you've got rather than the perfect people who do what they should and apparently don't exist. Or at least don't exist in your company?"
"Obviously."
Obviously. Bingo! I thought. I felt like Socrates: elucidating my point with just the right questions. Of course later someone reminded me of the famous report given by a third-grader: "Socrates was a Greek philosopher who went around giving people advice. They poisoned him." So much for the Socratic method.
Obviously, Lansdorf said. If it was so obvious why had he been asking his people to go the extra mile when there was really no advantage in it for them? Even if they went along in order to stay on his good side, how enthusiastic would they be?
Motivating for the Results You Need
Why do we all so frequently act like Mr. Lansdorf? Trish asks her boss to go out of his way for her and help get her promoted. There's nothing in it for him. If anything, losing Trish will make his job more difficult. He's a nice guy. He may help her. But wouldn't he go along far more willingly if he was
doing it to gain another ally in management; or to earn points with the company for having developed another manager; or to free up Trish's spot so he can reward--and keep from losing--that great new talent he's been grooming on the rung below hers.
It's obvious: you can't sell anybody anything if you don't offer them some benefit. You can't motivate anyone by offering them an empty glass. It's obvious—and we all forget it. Constantly. We hope ethics or morality or religion or character will make up for the lack of incentive.
Does your idea of character tell you that when there's little or nothing in it for you that you should devote yourself unstintingly to providing for someone else's welfare? If so please call, I've got a job for you.
Tip: If I believe that playing by your rules, systems, procedures, traditions or morality guarantees that I'm going to lose, do not expect me to play by them.
Bosses who tell you they can't hire good workers are usually telling you they're poor bosses. They're telling you they aren't providing sufficient incentive for people to meet their standards. Or if they have provided the incentive, they haven't provided sufficient nuts and bolts, real-world
training and direction. The leave their people wanting to climb the mountain but without a clear enough trail to follow. .
Managing and Motivating Imperfect People Basic Selling for the Workplace - To learn more about this author, visit Barry Maher's Website.
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Before one of my keynotes, an attendee who introduced himself as Mr. Lansdorf asked me, "What can I do about working for a corporation full of stiffs?"
In spite of the fact that the company paid quite well, Mr. Lansdorf's people never performed the way he hoped they would when he hired them. His co-workers weren't much better. As for his boss, "He couldn't care less about my problems. He'd like to be able to forget about my whole department."
"So what exactly do you want?" I asked.
"What I'd like is for people to do the job they're supposed to do--the way they're supposed to do it."
"Which means?" I asked.
"To do something beyond the minimum--to go the extra mile for the company. Everybody expects something for nothing."
"Don't you?"
"Hey, I earn my money," Mr. Lansdorf insisted. "I go way beyond the minimum."
"And it gets you?"
"Nothing, that's the point. It gets me nothing."
"So how long are you going to keep doing that?"
"Not much longer, believe me."
"But you want others to go beyond the minimum--without putting something it in for them? Aren't you the one who's expecting for something for nothing?"
"I want people to do what they should do."
"So what we're talking about is morality and ethics? What people should do?"
"Exactly." he said.
"So as a manager, your ability to manage is based upon people doing what they should do? Otherwise you can't get the results you want?"
"No of course not. Nobody does what they should. At least nobody in my company."
"So wouldn't you be better off trying to find a way to get the results you need with the people you've got rather than the perfect people who do what they should and apparently don't exist. Or at least don't exist in your company?"
"Obviously."
Obviously. Bingo! I thought. I felt like Socrates: elucidating my point with just the right questions. Of course later someone reminded me of the famous report given by a third-grader: "Socrates was a Greek philosopher who went around giving people advice. They poisoned him." So much for the Socratic method.
Obviously, Lansdorf said. If it was so obvious why had he been asking his people to go the extra mile when there was really no advantage in it for them? Even if they went along in order to stay on his good side, how enthusiastic would they be?
Motivating for the Results You Need
Why do we all so frequently act like Mr. Lansdorf? Trish asks her boss to go out of his way for her and help get her promoted. There's nothing in it for him. If anything, losing Trish will make his job more difficult. He's a nice guy. He may help her. But wouldn't he go along far more willingly if he was
doing it to gain another ally in management; or to earn points with the company for having developed another manager; or to free up Trish's spot so he can reward--and keep from losing--that great new talent he's been grooming on the rung below hers.
It's obvious: you can't sell anybody anything if you don't offer them some benefit. You can't motivate anyone by offering them an empty glass. It's obvious—and we all forget it. Constantly. We hope ethics or morality or religion or character will make up for the lack of incentive.
Does your idea of character tell you that when there's little or nothing in it for you that you should devote yourself unstintingly to providing for someone else's welfare? If so please call, I've got a job for you.
Tip: If I believe that playing by your rules, systems, procedures, traditions or morality guarantees that I'm going to lose, do not expect me to play by them.
Bosses who tell you they can't hire good workers are usually telling you they're poor bosses. They're telling you they aren't providing sufficient incentive for people to meet their standards. Or if they have provided the incentive, they haven't provided sufficient nuts and bolts, real-world
training and direction. The leave their people wanting to climb the mountain but without a clear enough trail to follow. .
Managing and Motivating Imperfect People Basic Selling for the Workplace - To learn more about this author, visit Barry Maher's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Speaker, Trainer, Barry Maher - EvanCarmichael.com expert Barry Maher is a motivational keynote speaker and workshop leader, who speaks and trains on leadership, management, communication and sales. And when it comes to sales training, as Selling Power magazine writes, "To his powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher is simply the best sales trainer in the business."
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