Can You Sell Your Ideas?

By Geoffrey James

(Adapted from BNET.COM)

Good for you! But be forewarned:

Q. 1. Do you have great ideas? 

Selling an idea is not like selling a product. With a product, customers can see what they’re buying. With an idea, there’s nothing to see except you and whatever visions of the future you can conjure.

Here’s a fun interactive game that tests whether or not you’ve got what it takes to sell your ideas. Make your best move, but watch out!  One false move and you might annoy decision-makers and ruin your chances!

SCENARIO: You’ve got a killer idea that can help your firm (and your career) reach the next level of success. What’s your first move?

A.    1 Assess your own credibility. Are you sure that you want to do this? You may not be the kind of person or have the background that will convince the boss (or anyone else) that your idea is any good. So best you take stock before taking action.

EXCELLENT! YOU MADE THE RIGHT MOVE!

Q. 2.  What’s your next move?

Unless you’re a plausible source, nobody’s going to buy the idea from you. CEOs don’t take corporate strategy tips from mailroom clerks, no matter how brilliant. On the other hand, a top-performing district manager will likely get a fair hearing, even if he’s not upper-management.

So let’s assume that you’re a reasonably credible source for this kind of idea. Now you’ve got to figure out how to move the idea forward.

A.    2. To research the boss’s position. You’ll be asking your boss to make a decision, so you need to know where your boss is coming from, when it comes to issues of this sort. You decide to ask around and find out what’s what, before going any further.

EXCELLENT! YOU MADE THE RIGHT MOVE!

Q. 3.  When you approach your boss, she’s going to have three questions in the back of her mind:

1. Is this person competent, based upon past performance?

2. Is this person speaking with candor or handing me some BS?

3. Does this person care about me and my issues, or just about the idea?

You’re only going to make the sale if the answer to all three questions is a resounding “YES!” And that means thinking through your boss’s position.

OK. You’ve decided that the idea makes sense for your boss. What’s your next move?

A.    3. Adapt the idea to your boss’s “story,” Your boss, like everyone else, has a “story”. Maybe you should try to fit your idea into his plot line.

EXCELLENT! YOU MADE THE RIGHT MOVE!

Q. 4. People don’t get excited about the facts behind an idea; they embrace the story that surrounds the facts. For the idea to be salable, it must make intuitive sense to the idea-buyer. Likewise, it should also make the buyer feel good about the decision to adopt your idea.

The best way to build such a narrative is to tie it to current events within your corporate environment. For example, did your firm just lose a big customer? Chances are boss is worried about a larger exodus-that’s her worldview. So your idea should directly address the question of how to win customers back.

OK. You’ve got a narrative that’s compelling from your boss’s point of view. What’s your next move?

A.    4.  Review it with a trusted colleague. You’ve got a great story, but there may be some holes in it. Maybe you should get some help to find them!

EXCELLENT! YOU MADE THE RIGHT MOVE!

Q. 5.  OK. You know what objections might come up. How do you deal with them?

Even the boldest decision-makers want to cover their bottoms, so you need to handle potential problems and objections right up front. Turn to a trusted friend or colleague to act as a reality-check, to ensure that you’re not just huffing your own fumes. Get your friend to list every doubt or glitch that comes to mind.

A.    5. Minimize the risks. If your boss is going to sign on to your big idea, she’ll want to know exactly how you plan to handle the inevitable problems.

EXCELLENT! YOU MADE THE RIGHT MOVE!

Q. 6. OK. You’ve written the memo and you’re ready to email it to your manager? Who should be on the mailing list?

You avoided the temptation to brush-off the objections and instead are treating each objection as a practical problem that demands an effective response.

For example, if the objection is “we did this before and it didn’t work,” be ready to articulate how your idea is substantially different. Similarly, if the objection is that the idea will cost too much to implement, you should prepare a spreadsheet that shows to fit it into the current budget.

The end result of this process is an internal memo describing all of the above.

A.    6. Email only your manager. Big opportunities need to be approached with caution. Many a career has been ruined by overconfidence and too much gung-ho, way too soon.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Now that you’ve done your homework and written the memo, all you need to is the “close” which in this case is making sure that the boss signs on to take the first steps.

The future is bright, and so are you!