How to Build Stakeholder Support and Write Business Cases

Last week, I helped a sales VP at a $850M+ company build a business case for a $50K sales training investment. His team was trending toward a $15.2M miss. Here's the exact framework we used to get it approved: STEP 1️⃣ Lead with the math problem, not the solution Don't walk in saying "we need training." Walk in saying: "Our org restructure and new quotas created a math problem. 50% of reps are under 20% to target, pipeline multiplier is 2x when we need 3.5x. We're trending towards 43% attainment despite showing 130% YOY growth." Numbers don't lie. Executives respond to math. STEP 2️⃣ Show what you've already tried "Here's what I've implemented: structured prospecting, improved joint sales planning, individual coaching, and a hiring pipeline." This proves you're leading, not making excuses. STEP 3️⃣ Zoom out to the bigger picture "Looking regionally, we're at $41.5M vs $150M target (27.7% attainment). Even our best territory is under 35%, with most averaging just 25%." Now it's an organizational issue, not just your team's problem. STEP 4️⃣ Present three scenarios Do nothing: 43% attainment Base case: 70% attainment with systematic approach Best case: 85%+ attainment with full implementation STEP 5️⃣ Make it easy to say yes Option 1: Pilot with one team ($25K) Option 2: Full organization ($50K) The secret? You're not asking for training. You're solving a business problem. The result? His RVP said "This makes complete sense. Let's move forward and get enablement involved with planning. Most sales leaders fail because they lead with solutions instead of quantifying the pain first. Bottom line: A $15.2M miss costs infinitely more than a $50K investment in systematic improvement. When you frame it as de-risking the business rather than asking for development budget, the conversation completely changes. Ready to build your own bulletproof business case? Here's what successful VPs do: 1. Run the math on your current trends 2. Document actions you've already taken 3. Present the strategic choice between hope and systems 4. Build your coalition before the big presentation The companies that consistently hit their numbers don't rely on heroics. They invest in systematic excellence. — Sales Leaders, want to be a world class sales manager and get your team crushing quota? Go here: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf

I was Wrong about Influence. Early in my career, I believed influence in a decision-making meeting was the direct outcome of a strong artifact presented and the ensuing discussion. However, with more leadership experience, I have come to realize that while these are important, there is something far more important at play. Influence, for a given decision, largely happens outside of and before decision-making meetings. Here's my 3 step approach you can follow to maximize your influence: (#3 is often missed yet most important) 1. Obsess over Knowing your Audience Why: Understanding your audience in-depth allows you to tailor your communication, approach and positioning. How: ↳ Research their backgrounds, how they think, what their goals are etc. ↳ Attend other meetings where they are present to learn about their priorities, how they think and what questions they ask. Take note of the topics that energize them or cause concern. ↳ Engage with others who frequently interact with them to gain additional insights. Ask about their preferences, hot buttons, and any subtle cues that could be useful in understanding their perspective. 2. Tailor your Communication Why: This ensures that your message is not just heard but also understood and valued. How: ↳ Seek inspiration from existing artifacts and pickup queues on terminologies, context and background on the give topic. ↳ Reflect on their goals and priorities, and integrate these elements into your communication. For instance, if they prioritize efficiency, highlight how your proposal enhances productivity. ↳Ask yourself "So what?" or "Why should they care" as a litmus test for relatability of your proposal. 3. Pre-socialize for support Why: It allows you to refine your approach, address potential objections, and build a coalition of support (ahead of and during the meeting). How: ↳ Schedule informal discussions or small group meetings with key stakeholders or their team members to discuss your idea(s). A casual coffee or a brief virtual call can be effective. Lead with curiosity vs. an intent to respond. ↳ Ask targeted questions to gather feedback and gauge reactions to your ideas. Examples: What are your initial thoughts on this draft proposal? What challenges do you foresee with this approach? How does this align with our current priorities? ↳ Acknowledge, incorporate and highlight the insights from these pre-meetings into the main meeting, treating them as an integral part of the decision-making process. What would you add? PS: BONUS - Following these steps also expands your understanding of the business and your internal network - both of which make you more effective. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

Ever presented rock-solid research only to hear "Thanks, but we're going with our gut on this one"? Securing stakeholder buy-in is rarely about the quality of your work. It's about something deeper. When you’re dealing with a research trust gap, ask yourself 5 questions. 👽 Are you speaking alien to earthlings? When you say jargon like "double diamond" or "information architecture," your stakeholders hear gibberish. Business leaders didn't learn UX in business school—and most never will. Translate everything into business outcomes they understand. Revenue growth. Customer retention. Cost savings. Competitive advantage.  Speak their native language, not yours. ⏰ What keeps them awake at 3am? Behind every skeptical question is a personal fear. That product manager who keeps shooting down your findings? They're terrified of missing their KPIs and losing their bonus. Have honest conversations about what they're personally on the hook for delivering. Then show how your research helps them achieve exactly that. ❓Are you treating assumptions as facts? You might think you know what questions matter to your stakeholders. You're probably wrong. Before starting research, explicitly ask: "What questions do you need answered to make this decision?" Then design your research to answer exactly those questions. ⚒️ Are you dying on the hill of methodological purity? Sometimes you have 8 hours for research instead of 8 weeks. Being dogmatic about "proper" research methods doesn’t always pay off. Focus on outcomes over process. If quick-and-dirty gets reliable insights that drive decisions, embrace it. 🍽️ Are you force-feeding them a seven-course meal when they wanted a snack? Executives need 30-second summaries. Product managers need actionable findings. Junior team members need hands-on learning. Tailor your approach to each one. You can also use my stakeholder persona mapping template here: https://bit.ly/43R7wom What’s the best advice you’ve heard about dealing with skeptical stakeholders?

💼 Making the business case for sustainability projects 🌎 For those working on climate and sustainability projects within an organization, the reasons of "it'll save/make us money" and "it's the right thing to do" is often not enough to get approval and resources. Throughout my career, I've found that the strongest business cases for sustainability projects typically contain three aspects: 🎯 Alignment - idea aligns with strategic business objectives outside of sustainability goals and will help achieve them. If a sustainability project's only objective is to get closer to a sustainability goal, it will live and die on the prioritization of that sustainability goal. Aligning the idea with additional business objectives, either clearly defined, formalized, written objectives or fuzzy, more informal, aspirational objectives, will help attach the idea to something that already has buy-in and integrated through the organization. 🤝 Allies - idea has support and buy-in from stakeholders beyond the sustainability team. The most impactful sustainability projects are often the most integrated throughout the organization. Which means an idea can be strengthened when it involves others that sit in different departments that will bring skills, connections, and influence outside of the sustainability team. This could include senior champions, skills experts, connectors and gatekeepers, and external partners. 📈 Value - idea will bring value beyond the environmental or social impact. Instead of an or, it should be "This will help us reach our sustainability goal AND..." bring value to a business metric already being tracked and prioritized. That could include cost savings, market differentiation, customer loyalty, employee retention, business risk, and more. Curious to hear what other aspects people have found successful?

The last two weeks, I posted about the common challenges in data governance projects, particularly when business stakeholders aren’t engaged early enough, and shared a rare success story of a #CDO who avoided this pitfall through proactive engagement from day one. This week, we’ll turn to remedies: strategies for early stakeholder engagement. To lead with the conclusion, for the most part, there is no secret methodology. It’s as simple as identifying the #business unit or functional leaders and asking them a few questions. In fact, especially in the beginning, the simpler, the better. No slides, no demos – focus on the business context. One recommendation is to separate the understanding of the use cases from the data-related analysis. For example, if it has been determined that a company cannot create effective customer segmentation because data from different sources cannot be linked together, the first step is to thoroughly understand the use case. Articulate this understanding clearly—don’t settle for a mental check. Ensure the use case is explicitly defined and described. Describe at a high level what is being done and how it drives value. Also ask the business stakeholders about the impact. In the case of the segmentation, how much could customer experience increase, how much could churn be reduced, how much could cross-sell be increased? This step is extraordinarily critical now. It is very tempting to dive into practical solutions for the data integration problem, but if you cannot articulate a defensible value rationale at this point, you will not be able to build your business case later on either. The business case for the data capabilities will have an upper bound that is equal to the value of the entire use case, as only a part of that value can later be attributed to the data solutions. My advice is to make this a hard go/no-go tollgate: if you do not have a strong value rationale that is supported by the business, do not proceed. This first hurdle is the most substantial one. Once you have a clear value statement, then business buy-in will be guaranteed. Moreover, because the expected outcome is clearly quantified, throughout the program, solution requirements can be much more transparently reviewed. To effectively engage stakeholders early in the project, consider the techniques shown on the attached image to: 🗣️ Initiate Open Dialogues 🧑🤝🧑 Create Collaborative Workshops 🌟 Bring in External Success Stories For more details, see the full article ➡️ https://lnkd.in/exkiQYXE One Data #datastrategy #datagovernance

Struggling to get everyone on board? Some clients complain that they feel like they are hearding cats. I remember leading projects like this and was frustrated until I learned a better way. Here's a step-by-step guide to achieve stakeholder buy-in: 1. Gather Perspectives → Why it works: Provides a complete view of stakeholder positions. ↳ Action: Ask each stakeholder about their understanding of project goals, benefits, and concerns. 2. Identify Misalignments → Why it works: Pinpoints areas needing attention. ↳ Action: List key differences in a shared document, analyzing root causes and impacts. 3. Plan Actions → Why it works: Creates a roadmap for resolution. ↳ Action: Develop specific steps to improve alignment, assigning owners and deadlines. 4. Implement Strategies → Why it works: Addresses concerns systematically. ↳ Action: Adjust project elements as needed and enhance communication to meet stakeholder needs. By following these steps, you'll turn potential roadblocks into a path to project success. — P.S. Unlock 20 years' worth of leadership lessons sent straight to your inbox. Every Wednesday, I share exclusive insights and actionable tips on my newsletter. (Link in my bio to sign up). Remember, leaders succeed together.