I’m interviewing more than 100 twenty and thirty-somethings for my new book on dream careers, How’d You Score THAT Gig. In order to effectively manage the tidal wave of information, I thought it would be easiest to start by sending my subjects written questionnaires that they could fill out and send back to me at their leisure.
I was terrified that no one would send back the interviews, but I needn’t have worried. As my deadline drew near, something amazing happened. The questionnaires started pouring in, chock full of wonderful, detailed anecdotes and clear, coherent insights. I only had to send ONE reminder to a few stragglers, who then responded promptly. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve spent the last eight years begging my colleagues at work to send me materials it’s their JOB to provide, and I’ve never gotten anywhere near this rate of compliance. My interview subjects wouldn’t face any negative consequences if they bailed on me. They weren’t even being compensated!
Or were they?
The truth is, though my interview subjects weren’t getting paid, they did get something for their participation. They’ll have their names, and possibly the names of their businesses, in a published book. This is something that people apparently want, and so they cooperated to the fullest. This crystallized an important business world lesson for me that I first heard at Dale Carnegie a few years ago. If you want someone to help you out, think about the situation from her perspective. What does she want, and how will assisting you help her get it? Appeal to her subconscious (or conscious) sense of “what’s in it for me” and watch the roadblocks vanish.
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