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You’re the sort of person who is full of good ideas. Some of them could save your company a great deal of money. Others would save valuable time. But does anyone ever listen to you? If only they would. Next time you have one of your light-bulb moments, here are some key techniques to getting people to pay attention.
Make sure you’re selling to the right people. You may have found great support from your co-workers, but if they aren’t the ones who can make decisions, there’s little point in bowling them over with your idea. You need to find a way of getting yourself and your idea in front of the right people.
Who are the right people? Most obviously, there’s your boss. He or she should always be looking for great ideas and ought to be supportive and encouraging.
Second, there are people who are respected and valued by the management team. Such people are often hugely capable and generous with their support of good ideas and people. These people could introduce you to more senior people than your boss (and may even put in a good word for you).
Lastly, you could decide to be very bold and approach your CEO directly. This is a high-risk strategy, but if it pays off, you could be earmarked as courageous and full of great ideas.
Once you’re in front of the right person, you need to adopt the techniques of a salesperson, and make the benefits of your plan obvious. If people seem cynical, you will have to provide the most compelling, fact-based evidence. It’s very difficult to dispute facts and evidence, so the more time you can spend collecting and collating this, the more likely your idea will be adopted.
If you find that your pitch isn’t engaging your audience, change tack and speak boldly. Focus on how much money/time will be saved by adopting your idea. Make a statement such as “give me two more minutes and I’ll prove to you how I can save/make this company money in six months. Here’s my evidence.” Practice your sales pitch because, in the words of Lee Lacocca (former CEO of Chrysler), “You can have brilliant ideas but if you cannot get them across, your ideas will go nowhere."
Whilst your idea may have significant benefits, with evidence showing that it has a good chance of being successful, you will still have to prove that you can turn theory into practice. Create a project plan containing the key elements that will demonstrate how your idea will bring about the benefits you suggested. Include details of who is going to be responsible for each stage of the plan’s implementation, and what the timescales and costs will be. It would be a good idea to highlight potential risks with details of how you intend to mitigate against them.
If, after your best efforts, you still can’t convince your colleagues to accept your idea, bow out gracefully. It may be that this is not the right time, or you haven’t captured people in the right frame of mind. Save your idea for another time, or take feedback on board, adapt your idea and return with a better one.
Ideas are important. Without them, businesses wouldn’t even exist. And being able to persuade other people of your ideas can lead to great things. In the words of advertising executive, Lois Wyse, “The only people in the world who can change things are those who can sell ideas.” Enjoy selling yours.
Heather Foley is a consultant at etsplc.com, a UK-based HR consultancy.
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