Become A Game-Changer With This Strategy to Gain Buy-In
Let’s say you have a brilliant new idea for the business. You tell people about it and they love it. They say they’ll do stuff to help make it happen but then, with all the other day-to-day needs and priorities, very little to nothing actually happens. We’ve all been down this road before. It’s normal. It’s also frustrating.
It begs the question of why some people’s ideas happen and others don’t. Is it because of the quality of the idea? …the urgency of it? …the authority of the person who presents it? Maybe… but we’ve all seen great ideas presented with urgency by a person in authority, and it still doesn’t happen.
What if how we set the stage is the determining factor to gaining real buy-in?
Setting the stage starts long before you make the big presentation about it. First, you need to strategize who your key players are and then talk with them in a way that they can genuinely get on board with your idea.
When you strategize who your key players are, remember that big ideas have big impacts; they affect people throughout an organization so your key players will include more than the decision-makers and power-influencers. You need to include people who:
- Have unique perspectives regarding employees, customers and/or market trends
- Have experience, expertise or a vantage point that you don’t
- Are quiet but influential
- Could unnecessarily or unintentionally slow down execution
- Are great networkers and could help promote your idea
- Oversee key resources
After you know who your key players are, talk with them one on one. Your mission in these conversations is to plant seeds and include them in the idea. Get them thinking about it with you.
- Tell people why you came up with this idea in the first place. What does it solve and/or what purpose does it support? When we communicate Why, we inspire, and inspired people are more likely to do stuff.
- Ask, “How could this help you?” (This is the classic WIFM: What’s In It For Me). Listen keenly when they answer this question because when someone articulates their value, the idea becomes clear and gains meaning.
- After they know how it will help them, then you can talk about a plan to make it will happen. Ask them – from their vantage point of the organization – what is needed? Then listen. Give them space to process your idea and the implications of it. Hold off on telling them what you need from them. In fact, if you want to see nothing happen with your idea, go ahead and risk overwhelming with what you need before they’ve had a chance to think about it. Overwhelmed people will say yes but because they haven’t been able to process it for themselves, they won’t act on it.
- After they’ve thought through their involvement and decide they want to move forward, be ready to make specific requests or raise potential issues. They may have a simple solution and if not, they’ve processed your idea enough to creatively problem-solve with you.
*Note: this process of setting the stage might take more than one conversation with each person. It can be tempting to rush it - but you can only move as fast as your audience can process it. You can’t make someone think faster than they do. Some people decide immediately and some people need to sleep on it.
By involving people in the beginning stages of your idea, you will gain their unique viewpoints and solutions, and their personal interest to make it happen.
Buying into an idea happens when people want to do it - after they’ve considered the pros and cons, and they have a realistic sense of will be needed from them.
Once your key players have processed your idea and its implications, it’s time to bring everyone together to finalize the Buy-In. Remember to start with Why this idea is important because even though people might conceptually remember why, they may not feel inspired by it. Inspired people take action. It’s your job to keep bringing the inspiration. Then propose your plan – with realistic, achievable actions and goals. By setting the stage and gaining buy-in this way, you are far more likely to have genuine allies who will make it happen with you.
