If Oprah Winfrey agreed to say she loves your product or service, would that help your business grow? To compete successfully, organizations need marketing, advertising, public relations, promotions, Internet and social media strategies. They also need to connect with the people who can influence mass decision-making in others.
You may not be able to reach Oprah, but you can win over the few decision-makers who are “influencing” the choices of others in your specific market. Their opinions make the difference between success and failure. Winning over influential people begins by getting good information about their values and decision-making process. Ask whether your company”™s products or services, environmental stance, and business practices are in line with their expectations.
Authors Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan and Switzler in the book “Influencer” say Dr. Everett Rogers”™ contribution to “influence theory” remains one of the greatest in history. As a freshly minted Ph.D., Rogers took a university job with the responsibility of encouraging Iowa farmers to use a new and improved strain of corn which was disease resistant, therefore producing greater yields and higher profits. Because he had never plowed a field, he made no progress ”“ farmers viewed him with suspicion, not as an expert.
Rogers looked for just one farmer to embrace his seed and then let that farmer persuade everyone else. The one he found wasn”™t much like the others, drove a Cadillac and wore Bermuda shorts. But he tried the new seed and got a bumper crop which his neighbors could see. Rogers thought that everyone would now use the new seed.
But, according to “Influencer,” other farmers wouldn”™t use the new seed. “They didn”™t like the weirdo in Bermuda shorts who spurned their lifestyle any more than they liked the pretentious academic who had the nerve to tell them what to do. This failure changed the course of Dr. Rogers”™s life. He spent the rest of his career learning why some ideas are adopted and others aren”™t.”
Rogers discovered that the merit of an idea did not predict its success. What predicted success was whether a specific group of people embraced it. He learned that the first group of people to buy any new idea is not like the masses, and called them “innovators.” They are usually different than others, like the farmer in the Bermuda shorts.
Rogers wanted to know why certain individuals are far more influential than others and learned about a second group willing to try an idea, calling them “early adopters” or “opinion leaders.” Rogers found that although they only represent about 13.5 percent of the population, this group of people is socially connected and respected.
“Influencer” concludes, “The rest of the population, more than 85 percent, will not adopt new practices until opinion leaders do. When it comes to creating change, you no longer have to worry about influencing everyone at once. Spend disproportionate time with the opinion leaders. Listen to their concerns. Build trust with them. Be open to their ideas. Rely on them to share your ideas, and you”™ll gain a source of influence unlike any other.”
Although Oprah may not agree to say she loves your product or service, by converting the small number of opinion leaders or influentials to the benefits offered by your organization, they will tell the other 86.5 percent how wonderful you are and help you enjoy a competitive advantage and lasting success.
Questions for discussion:
- Who are the opinion leaders or influentials in your marketplace?
- What are their values and what”™s their decision-making process?
Joe Murtagh, The DreamSpeakerâ„¢, is an international motivational speaker, meeting facilitator and business trainer. Email Joe@TheDreamSpeaker.com, visit TheDreamSpeaker.com or call (800) 239-0058.
