Its OK to listen to station WIIFM? What’s in it for Me?

by Dr. Don Daake

Published in the Kankakee Daily Journal September 9, 2020

Station WIIFM

Most of us profess to be against selfishness. We teach our children to share and reprimand them if they always want their way. As adults, while we profess the goodness of giving and altruism, we often look around at others and deep down have a sense of envy. Unfortunately, in politics today, we have wide-spread appeals to create class envy and pit one group against another while at the same time accuse others of what they may be guilty of themselves.

So what does all this have to do with listening to station WIIFM? If you check a local listing of radio or television stations, you’ll find no such station. Maybe it is something from the Twilight Zone. And yet this station is playing in every town and village across the country. We all listen to it. It is, of course, not a conventional station, but all of us (at least in our heads) listen to WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME. Paradoxically, after condemning true selfishness, I want to make the case why it is appropriate and necessary for each of us to ask what’s in it for me. 

The late Dr. Bill Anthony and I published a study (Daake & Anthony, Health Care Management Review, July 2000) looking at the perceived stakeholder power of various groups at a large regional medical center in Florida.  The study has been cited by over 80 scholarly journals and dissertations since then.  The bottom-line was every group, whether it was nurses, doctors, patients, community groups, etc. (except for Board members), thought every other group had more power and influence than they themselves had.

An essential finding of the study was that people make poor partners if they feel powerless or unappreciated. In other words, in a dynamic and stressful environment, feeling that you or your reference group does not have an adequate stake or something significant for them can lead to a demoralized existence.

I further contend that people who do not properly ask for and get what’s in it for them will lead them to something even worse–apathy. For managers, if your employees’ needs are not being met in the long run, this can lead to a condition where “The best will give up and leave, and the bad will give up and stay.”  Great companies and organizations are not only aware of station WIIFM, but mandate their managers listen to WIIFT-what’s in it for them.  

Unfortunately, during these times of economic stress, it may be hard to deliver much more than genuine thanks and gratitude.  But smart organizations will be “Santa-like” by keeping a list and checking it twice. For instance: employees going beyond the call of duty, coming back to work rather than sitting at home with overly generous unemployment benefits, treating customers all the nicer, and being a dedicated team member.

Once we get through this health crisis, leaders will need to have a plan to deliver generously for the sacrifices made. Rather than ignoring WIIFM, you need to encourage employees to talk to you about what they want and need. Many times it will not be much more than being appreciated and acknowledged.  One dangerous sign you are not doing this: cutting off employees when they indicate they are being overloaded, under-resourced, or just burned out. You will need to recognize these symptoms and do what you can.

There is wisdom in the scriptural imperative in Matthew 22: 37-39. Jesus replied:“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you do not love God or yourself, it is difficult to love others.  Ironically, absent from this kind of proper self-love and appreciation, we will likely become disenchanted, bitter, and selfish.  On the other hand, we are also repeatedly warned about being arrogant, haughty, or seeking only our desires.

Let me briefly describe four things I think we as individuals should seek in our self-interest. If you are a manager or boss, try and help your people articulate these and help where you can.

First, as much possible, we all need growth opportunities. During this time (where some employees are furloughed or under-employed), consider subscribing to a service like LinkedIn’s Lynda.com. For less than $30 a month, you have unlimited access to hundreds of high-quality training courses on management, math, science, computer software, photography, and hundreds of others. I myself am a subscriber.  (By the way, it is so good and useful that as a parent or grandparent, you might find this an incredible way to boost the quality of children’s education.  Consider subscribing at http://www.Lynda.com–they offer a 30-day free trial.) If you are an employer, your employees, by using this resource, can dramatically increase their productivity and eventually earn a raise or promotion.

Secondly, most of us, with our hidden skills and experience, are woefully underutilized. If the truth be told, at least 30-50% of employees are “over-qualified.”  While that is usually seen as a negative, it is more of an indictment of allowing this to happen.  Across the years, I have seen scores of people who had expertise that was ignored.  Rather than find out what people can and want to do, organizations hire an outside consulting firm, a new employee, or use some unqualified person.

Thirdly, promotions, pay, and compensation needs to be determined equitably. We’ve all been in situations where due to favoritism, nepotism, or a rigid benefits system, some people are vastly underpaid even though they do substantially more than others. WIIFM is loudly broadcasting that to people if your system is unjust.

Fourthly, all of us want to know what’s going on. That means managers can’t just offer sugar-coated platitudes about everything being just fine.  As a professor, one of the worst approaches that employees have told me about in their organizations is that they hear nothing at all. The employer obviously can’t reveal everything, but being tight-lipped and operating on a strict “need to know” basis can be devastating on morale.  But great leaders communicate frankly, honestly, and yet with a sense of realistic optimism.

In summary, WIIFM is broadcasting loud and clear everywhere, 24/7.  Appreciating that fact and tuning into it, in the long run, is in everybody’s best interest.

Don Daake, MBA, Ph.D. and Professor Emeritus, holds degrees from Kansas State University, the University of Iowa, and the Florida State University. He can be contacted through the Daily Journal at editors@daily-journal.com or directly at ddaake@olivet.edu

The Professors answer questions from MAIN STREET

Published in the Kankakee Daily Journal August 26, 2020

Editor’s note: The last Wednesday of every month, Dr. Piatt and Dr. Daake, will be jointly writing this column entitled Main Street – Ask the Professors – Questions on Main Street.

This month’s question came from Lou Fahey of Bradley. What is a salesperson to do in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis?  Dr. Piatt will address the first part of this question, and then Dr. Daake will offer some additional insights into dealing with this issue.

Mr. Fahey offers us a compelling question for salespeople who make their living dealing with clients in face-to-face interactions. However, during this pandemic, it is not always possible, and creative solutions need to be implemented to sustain the relationships and grow them. The current climate reminds us to be creative, and, as such, an interesting article titled, “5 Strategies to Manage Sales During COVID-19” written by Kayla Keyser, FLM Harvest, offers some compelling factors to consider. I will briefly outline these five strategies and then comment in parentheses on how to add to your leadership domain.

1. Acknowledge the Reality: (Adjust and recalibrate how you move from face-to-face to online communications. Focus on creating goals and refocus on how you can best serve your customers. It requires finding solutions to problems previously not dealt with, and, in the process, it centers on finding proactive solutions by meeting the needs of the customer. Finally, it is asking the right questions and fulfilling the expectations of the customer) 

2. Empathize with Your Customer: (Covid-19 affects everyone differently. The key is to understand your customer’s needs and adjust your tactics accordingly. This process includes getting to know your customers at a deeper level by developing stronger, deeper, and sustainable relationships. Keep in check your emotions and center on how you can fulfill your customer’s wants and emotional needs.  By utilizing these key concepts, and by further developing your Emotional Intelligence skills, it will lead to managing others’ emotions to fulfill their purpose, and, thereby, solidifying the customer-client relationship.)

3. Plan and Prioritize: (Central to dealing with an online presence encapsulates the relationship by planning and prioritizing communications to enhance and maintain the customer’s efficiency and time. The salesperson needs to focus on clarity of purpose, increased communications to the client, responding promptly on time, and acting diligently on promises made to your customers.)
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4. Don’t Back Away: (Despite the pandemic, it is essential to focus on the task at hand by meeting your customer’s needs. Even though you might not be able to connect physically with your customers you can still communicate and make sure you are positioning to sell your products by offering high-quality service over your competitors. Now more than ever, you must produce and provide an excellent customer experience.)

 5. Lead with Confidence: (Sales leaders need to lead with confidence. This process includes building transparent procedures; best practices, managing your s

ales team efficiently and effectively; and improving the team’s competencies by establishing virtual learning opportunities to reinforce critical selling skills in the face of this ongoing pandemic. This can assist in reducing your team’s anxiety on a personal as well as professional level.)

Next, Dr. Daake will offer his unique perspective in dealing with this Covid -19 crisis.

“If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.” – Bob Hooey

There are all kinds of selling these days from customers coming into the store, online sales, and using sophisticated software such as salesforce.com.  Increasingly, though in this era of Covid-19, companies are starting to change and adapt for safety reasons and frankly for cost-cutting reasons. Everything from clothing, to insurance, and now even cars can be purchased online. At first, when I saw the ads about car vending machines, I thought it was a joke until I drove by one of Carvana’s locations on I-275 in Tampa.

As it gets easier and easier to find alternatives to buying online and with more flexible return or exchange policies, it can threaten the tried and true methods of face to face contact that generations of salespeople know is the gold standard. For many salespeople with an established book of business, the ability to go out and visit their clients (who over several years become friends) is why they love their jobs.  We were recently talking to a salesperson for Sysco Foods in Central Florida. He has been at it for years, and even though he can sell online, he told us he is so tired of sitting at home.

In time, the threat of Covid-19 and its restrictions will go away, but like so many other things, the sales profession is changing forever. In the meantime, there are things the traditional salesperson can do to get through the present and prepare for the future. Steli Efti, in his article “Q&A: Remote selling during the COVID-19 crisis” offers some good ideas. Let me summarize two of his key points and add my comments. The entire article, it can be found at

https://blog.close.com/remote-selling-qa/  Then I will add one more suggestion about travel.

First, Steli says, “Listen to your prospects and understand what’s going on in their world right now.” Whereas it is easier to do when you can meet face to face, you can do it with multiple phone calls, relevant and helpful e-mails, and newsletters.  For many of us, the idea of using online services such as Google Meet, Skype or Zoom is foreign. If you are not using them, try them. Don’t know how–ask your children or grandchildren!

Many of your clients like our Florida friend who works for Sysco are working from home and frankly could use a change of pace. If you play golf or some other sport like that, invite and pay for a round of 9 or 18 holes.  Additionally, while many businesses are not fully open yet, the possibility of meeting face-to-face outside your client’s business at a restaurant still exists.

Secondly, Efti says, “Find ways to either be helpful or give them confidence.”  The fact is that almost every business or client has been impacted by the economic slowdown (except for specific sectors such as hardware, building suppliers, and some general merchandise stores.)  There is a lot of discouraged business owners who, through no fault of their own, have been hurt.  Even though your business may be suffering, be empathetic. Are there things you can do to be more creative on payments, delivery dates, and so forth?  Hopefully, your company will be amenable to working with you and your clients. Many salespeople are under quotas. Everyone may need to take a look at these and be more flexible.

So much of business travel has stopped. People have fear, and companies have cut down on allowed travel. But this may be the very best time to go and see your client, especially if being on-site could help them in a particular way.  Having flown recently, I can tell you I felt safer on Southwest Airlines than I do at local grocery stores (even though they are reasonably safe). Of course, you will have to make sure your client’s company policy allows for it, and your company will support you in doing this. But just the fact that you may be the only supplier/vendor that has the bravery to pay them an in-person visit will long be remembered.

In the final analysis, dealing with this pandemic of Covid-19 certainly produces anxiety on many levels. However, by utilizing the information above, you can reduce anxiety by implementing these strategies. It centers on communication, providing excellent customer service, and meeting the needs of others.

Don Daake, MBA, Ph.D. holds degrees from the University of Iowa, and the Florida State University. He can be contacted through the Daily Journal at editors@daily-journal.com or directly at ddaake@olivet.edu

Dr. Edward Piatt, Ed.D., MBA, is an adjunct professor of business at Olivet Nazarene University in the MBA/MOL program. He also serves as an adjunct professor in the doctoral program and doctoral dissertation advisor at Trevecca Nazarene University. In addition, he is also an organizational consultant and specializes in Emotional Intelligence. He can be contacted through the Daily Journal at editors@daily-journal.com or directly at epiatt@olivet.edu