Making people want to help you

A lot of times, getting things done involves coordination between multiple people. One of the key rules for successfully getting things done, and for leadership in general, is learning to make people want to help you. This can be vital to any task but especially ones where you're working with people who you don't directly supervise.

Although this concept has handy applications in the workplace, the event that prompted me to think about influencing people had nothing to do with work. My brother-in-law called Dell because the battery on his new laptop wasn't holding a charge. After a bunch of run-around on the phone, they told him that batteries weren't covered under the warranty and that he'd need to pay for a new one. But rather than admit defeat, he took charge of the situation and tried a new tactic -- trying to make the customer service rep want to help him. Here are some helpful steps for doing this in any situation:

1. Butter them up - Give the person a compliment, tell them what a good job they did on a similar task and how you really appreciate their expertise.


2. Explain what you're trying to do - Often, just by explaining what the end goal is, you can get someone on your side. If they see that they'll play a crucial role in this accomplishment they're likely to help.


3. Describe the alternatives - This is a little bit of a cheap-shot but effective. Explain another hypothetical outcome that the person may not like (but don't be negative about it.) In the case of the Dell battery, Adam explained that he could make a big fuss on the phone, get all upset with the support rep, yell at her, ask to speak to her manager, and continue to be uncooperative. Or...they could just skip all that and she could ask her manager to make an exception to the policy. She keeps her sanity and avoids a negative customer experience and he gets the result of requesting an exception without needing to be a jerk about it.


4. Thank them publicly - If someone helps you, don't take all the credit. Give proper thanks to those who helped and do it in a public setting where others will see their contribution. It's best if you can thank them in front of their manager or other senior members of the staff.
   

My brother-in-law did end up getting his laptop battery replaced thanks to his gift for making people want to help him. And don't forget, another unspoken rule for implementing this concept is to be nice. Nobody wants to help a jerk.