The News Journal summarizes wooing to win [“The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas” by Wharton professor G. Richard Shell and management consultant Mario Moussa] (excerpt):
The word “woo,” the authors note, has many meanings, but all of them relate to focusing on the person you are trying to persuade more than on your own needs and fears. . . .
“The Art of Woo” presents a simple, four-step approach to the idea-selling process. First, persuaders need to polish their ideas and survey the social networks that will lead them to decision makers. . . .
The second stage of the Woo process is confronting what Shell and Moussa call “the five barriers” — the five most common obstacles that can sink ideas before they get started. These include unreceptive beliefs, conflicting interests, negative relationships, a lack of credibility and failing to adjust one’s communication mode to suit a particular audience or situation. . . .
The third stage is to pitch your idea in a compelling way [for example, short, punchy presentations showing exactly what problem your idea addresses, how your idea will solve it and why your idea is better than both the status quo and available alternatives]. . . .
The final stage of Woo is to secure both individual and organizational commitments. . . . “Research shows that in most organizations, a minimum of eight people will need to sign off on even simple ideas.”