Sage Advice for Project Managers
According to Baker, "It is crucial to identify the most important request in precise detail, and then brainstorm before you decide on the best reasons. Similarly, each reason needs to be carefully selected from a larger number of options and be backed by three important facts."
It's that easy, and the power of this strategy is more than a little amazing. Baker has shown that this method can be successfully used to penetrate difficult accounts, close difficult sales calls, shorten a sales cycle, protect price margins, reduce meeting time, speed up PowerPoint presentations, structure personnel reviews, sales letters, company communications with suppliers, corporate memos and even email messages.
What's more it is proven to be quite helpful in corporate and business personal interactions with personnel, especially with supervisors and staff.
And it really helps if you put your money where your mouth is. For example:
"I propose that we implement the plan as follows. We'll meet with your top three Directors by the end of the week. We'll develop finalized specifications, clear up any unanswered questions once and for all, identify the start date, set the design schedule, and document the planning on the company-wide calendar. Then we'll deploy the program and monitor the progress and the results. We'll deliver the definitive design protocols and program documents to you. And it will happen in less than a month!"
"Conversations are clearer and there is less misunderstanding and I earn lots of points for being thoughtful", he says with a gleeful smile.
Accordingly, Baker's formula has three key rules:
- Only offer information that is meaningful. The rest is trivial.
- Get to the point and ask for what it is you want.
- Be quick about it.
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Introduction
