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How to get people to buy into your idea – Part 2

By Tito Philips, Jnr.
23 September 2016   |   2:14 am
There’s hardly anything we ever do on earth that doesn’t always require that we go back to the basics – life. Life truly is the basis on which every other thing on earth is built.

business-idea

Continued From Last Week

Who you are (character, life experience): There’s hardly anything we ever do on earth that doesn’t always require that we go back to the basics – life. Life truly is the basis on which every other thing on earth is built. The first source of credibility is your life. As I’ve always been known to ask; “what is commendable about your existence?” Believe it or not, the first place people look to tell if you are capable of a thing or not is your life.

They want to know the kind of person you are, the substance of your character, and the composition of your life experience. In other words, they want to know what makes you thick as a person. What drives you? What are your values or what do you value? You might want to ask “why are all these necessary for determining ones credibility?” The truth of the matter is this; at its very core, business is all about relationships. We don’t do business with things or animals, we do business with human beings and the crux of any human interaction is trust. Hence the need for you to have a credible life that is worthy of earning and inspiring other people’s trust. Selling your idea is about soliciting the trust and commitment of others, how else are you going to achieve this if there’s nothing commendable about your life!

WHAT you’ve done (track record, past experiences, results or accomplishments): The second source of credibility is your track record. Your track record generally refers to what you’ve done in the past or your past accomplishments. In other words, what victories have you won? What territories have you conquered? Sad as it may sound; rarely do people want to give a loafer a chance at anything. People would rather risk their lives with someone with a track record of commendable results or accomplishments than with someone with no track record whatsoever. The qualities of your past accomplishments to an extent are credible indicators of your capacity to make things happen. This is why people often clamour for experience as a proof of one’s capacity to perform. Therefore, in selling your idea, you should bring all your past victories to bear and leverage upon the fact that if you were able to achieve wins in certain projects in the past, you inevitably possess what it takes to replicate the process again.

WHAT You Know (Knowledge, skills): As I have always believed and professed; OUR ABILITY TO DO IS LIMITED BY WHAT WE KNOW. Therefore, what you know is another source of credibility. Owing to the dynamic nature of life, it’s almost impossible to see someone who has virtually experienced in the past all he/she wants to do in the future. Somehow, we still may not have all the track record we need to leverage upon by our own selves; this is where leveraging on the experiences of others comes into play. As a result of knowledge and skills acquired from others, we are half as capable as they are in doing that which we’ve learnt from them. You can compensate for what you’ve not done with what you can do as a result of what you know. In selling your idea therefore, people want to know how much you’ve learnt about your idea. In other words, how much do you know about where you are headed? Since you haven’t personally been down this road before, how do you intend to make it through? Your goal is to show how much you know and have learnt about what it takes to make your idea work. The quality of your knowledge about a particular thing or idea is proof that you don’t just have an idea, you also have a blueprint and the necessary skills to make it work.

WHO you Know (Network, Team, Association): The last source of credibility is who you know. It’s very closely related to what you know, but in its case, rather than knowledge or skills gained from others, it’s more like outsourcing tasks to those more capable than you. Surrounding yourself with people who possess all other forms of credibility listed above is another way of attracting credibility to your own self too. As the popular saying goes; “show me your friend and I will tell you who you really are.” People can tell how capable you are or not as a result of those people you are always in association with. A man in the company of fools will definitely be capable of doing foolish things and the one in the company of the wise; will ultimately end up doing wise things.

CONCLUDED

Tito Philips Jnr. is a young Nigerian that is M.A.D – Making A Difference

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