Ricky Penfold

How To Get People To Do What They Know How To

But Don't Do.

The power and art of influence in my opinion is very much underestimated. From a young age I
feel most of the time we have been using this technique unconsciously however after getting
involved in sales 5 years ago I began to see how powerful it can really be. In terms of
management within the workplace, sporting roles or even within the household with young
children, I feel the traits you need to have in order to manage, motivate and influence effectively
all fall in with one another. In this case, I will give examples of what I think is most crucial within
the working environment of sales and sales management.

● Show Me, Don’t Tell Me.

This is by far something that I have felt many times in the past with previous managers and
having led a team back in the UK within a previous company, I can also admit to falling victim of
fellow and previous colleagues thinking the same of me. There is a saying “ Never ask
someone to do something you haven’t, wouldn’t or couldn’t do yourself “. In order to gain
respect from someone you could potentially end up managing you have to be able to be
competent within his or her role. As a manager the best way to get someone to follow what you
want them to do is by leading by example, using your power to pull rather than to push.

● Incentivize.

Speaking from personal experiences, added incentives and perks within the workplace for target
hitting and overachieving was and still is a massive factor in creating drive for myself. With that
being said, everyone is different and everyone has different ‘whys’ so not everyone would be as
acceptable to following orders just because a reward is up for grabs. It is well known that most
sales floors have a healthy competitive nature so for the ones that are driven by incentives
putting a monthly competition for top performers with a ‘winner takes all’ prize will only help in
the employee and individual pushing that little bit extra. Single individual incentives are also very
good because everyone has a reason why they get up and go to the office every morning so by
listening and understand that person's motivation and desires you could effectively tailor a
specific incentive that they would ultimately go the extra mile in order to get. This point leads on
to the next important trait.
 ● Connect.

Many times in life we are all guilty of not doing something we know how to do simply because
we just don't want to. But on the flip side we have also done something we did not want to do
simply out of respect for the person asking that of us. For example, if you have a connection
and mutual respect with an individual the chances of them following you and being influenced
are significantly higher than someone than that of the opposite. Like minded people is key here
and as a manager if you want to get the best results out of your team connecting with your
members will ultimately result in better results. Listening, understanding, and many other ‘
qualities of being a good human being’ will all play a major part in achieving the end result of
your employees and team members feeling like they actually want to work for you rather than
with you.

● Discipline

Discipline is of course crucial in being a respected manager by your team members because if
discipline is not put in place having order within your establishment would be virtually
impossible. In regards to an individual being managed, but is not quite following orders or doing
the necessary requirements being asked of him, it is imperative that discipline is used in
accordance to that individuals mindset. If you are to go into ‘power mode’ of course it will have
an effect but in the long run that individual could end up resenting you and you could potentially
end up losing the respect of the team member. This is a tough one because if you are in an
establishment that follows ‘company work company way’ you will have to follow the
hierarchies style of management. If you have an individual that has potential but is not quite
doing the things they should or is lacking in certain areas you might want to think of taking a
different style of approach. Everyone would react differently into being forced into doing
something that they don’t want to do but of course if that something is a company requirement
there can be no exceptions of special treatment for different employees as that could potentially
have a negative impact on the remaining team members. Instead, I would suggest maybe using
a program, for example, Success Dynamics Alliance to figure out exactly how that person
should in fact be managed, understand the individual and you will have a much better chance of
them following you and lets not forget, discipline is established by you, the manager, being
disciplined and setting an example. Never lose integrity as respect amongst your peers will be
lost almost instantly.

The title of this essay is in my opinion is a tricky one as there are so many examples you could
use and so many areas that it can fall into. I am writing this from my own personal experiences
having been on both sides of the table and I think the best way to figure out how to get someone
to do something they know how to but don’t do, you have to put yourself in their position and
ask yourself what it would take to get you to do something you did not want to do. Bruce Lee
once said “Know yourself and you will know others” and that quote pretty much sums up
what im trying to get across in this paragraph. By knowing the individual and having an
understanding of what drivers them, what upsets them, what motivates them, you will have a
much higher chance of them following you, following company orders and ultimately being
influenced into doing the things they don’t want to do simply because it's the right thing for them
to do.