Have you ever felt like implementing best training practices is like swimming up a waterfall? It’s not unusual for us to get a lot of pushback from managers when we’re trying to use better processes in our business. Some of the most commonly rejected practices are needs analysis, task analysis, and evaluation that go beyond end-of-course surveys. We often hear the following responses to these great ideas: “We don’t have time for that.” or “We don’t need to go that far in this case.”
Howard Aiken, a computing pioneer, had some insight on this problem. He once said, “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” Here are a few techniques that can help you to help your organization.
Adjust Your Expectations
We’ve seen too many movies where someone presents a rousing, heartfelt speech. The inspirational music cues up, and the camera angles show the depth of the interaction. In the end, the good guy wins the day. That just ain’t real life. Don’t expect to win someone over in one conversation. Plan a series of chats revolving around your idea. It may take weeks or even months to work up to your actual pitch. People need time to warm up to a new way of doing things.
Leave Ownership of the Idea Open
Don’t present your suggestions as your ideas. People often find themselves having to abandon their point of view or defend it in those cases. Open with where you first came across the new process. Share what you’ve read or heard about it. Don’t give them the impression this is your idea. This is an industry idea. Just leave it at that. Don’t even ask for a response. Just work it into the conversation and leave it at that for now.
Present Options
This is an old persuasion trick. If you present your idea on its own, people have two choices: accept it or reject it. But if you present multiple ways to implement your idea, the choices become: accept option one, option two, option three, or none of the above. You just increased your odds of acceptance from fifty percent to seventy-five percent. Many people argue that you actually double your chance of success with this little trick.
Present Outside Evidence
If the idea you’re pitching really is a good one, there must be some material written about it. Find articles in magazines or posts on the web. Find anything written down that supports this new approach. Print or photocopy them and pass them along. You can stick notes to them with something like, “This reminded me of what we talked about last week.” Spread these over time rather than one big pile of “evidence.” The point is to subtly show how that idea is embraced by others, not just you.
Socialize Your Idea
Don’t just build your plan around convincing the decision-maker. Use the ideas above on other people who work with that person. While it’s still just a harmless train of thought, people will hopefully chat about it when it’s relevant. The best case secenario would be for them to end up talking about your idea even when you’re not around.
Present Your Idea Backwards
At some point you’ve got to “make the pitch.” This means presenting your idea, explaining its benefits, and trying to seal the deal. A better order is to explain the benefits first. Relate the benefits to business goals. Connect them to the things that matter to the decision-maker. Then bring up the process they’ve already heard about from you and hopefully from others. Be ready to make very clear links between this new process and the business outcomes and benefits it will produce.
Reduce the Risk
Now for the closer. Make it easier to say yes. Pitch your idea on a small training project as a pilot of the new process. Explain that this is a chance to “try it on for size.” If your decision-maker has the impression that this isn’t a permanent commitment, the element of risk may be less intimidating. Then give everyone involved a chance to make the ideas their own. Close with something like, “Can we adapt this process to our way of doing things?” If they answer, “Yes…” then you’ve just closed the deal!
Closing Thoughts
If managers have ever said something like, “We already did our own needs analysis, just design the course for us please,” it may mean one of two things: They are expert training needs analysts, and really have a handle on the situation, or they just brushed you off. If it’s the second option, you need to walk the long path of persuasion. The ideas above require patience, planning, and research. For the really important things trainers should be doing, they can make a huge difference to the organization. Here’s one last suggestion: Take heart. Don’t give up after the first rejection. Keep at it. As Mark Twain put it: “A crank is someone with a new idea, until it catches on.”
Alan
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This is a great insight. What you’re talking about is selling your idea. When I teach the program “Selling When You’re NOT in Sales” I highlight that selling is helping someone make a great decision. Trainers are in sales (much as they are horrified at the thought!) As trainers, our information is a great decision. Next, we have to use persuasion strategies to help our “customers” implement what they’ve learned.
Regards,
Maura Schreier-Fleming
Alan this is wonderful. I have run into these very obstacles frequently but now I have some new techniques to try. Broadening the ownership of the idea to “the Industry” will also help overcome interoffice politics. Too often ideas are dismissed based on who they come from rather than their merit.
As for training and sales to me we are internal marketing agents. We are selling new ideas, new concepts, new processes. In a word we sell change. Selling the training is one key componet that motivates learners to transfer the skills. I would hire a trainer with a strong sales background over one with a strong operations background anyday.
Adam