You have a great idea for a new project. You’re probably feeling excited and slightly apprehensive. You have an idea you know will work, but how do you convince other people in your organization to get on board?
You want to put your ideas into play and see their results, but your boss only wants you to do what you’re told. Getting buy-in on a new idea can be a difficult and lengthy process regardless if it is your co-workers or managers.
Convincing someone to give your idea a shot is no easy task, especially when it’s your boss. Converting your idea to a reality requires you to help others understand your vision. Selling idea is much like selling change.
Here we have compiled a list which has some highly rated points that help you to understand “How to Sell Your Idea to Your Manager”. So go ahead, check-out below some suggestions on how to approach getting buy-in:
Table of Contents
Prove You Can Handle It:
- If you are working in an organization or company and you have your own ideas that related your work and can give a boost in growth, then you feel excited to share your thought with your team leader or boss.
- But, many places have their own rules and they not give a permit to employees to make decisions or give suggestion to their bosses and that time it will be difficult to share your ideas with your manager. So, if you want to sell your idea to your boss it’s depending on how you present your new idea to your boss.:
- Communicate the way your boss likes to communicate
- Customize Your Message and Approach
- Describe Your Idea in Clear, Simple Terms
- Demonstrate the Relative Advantage
- Earn trust
- Identify a Possible Pilot Project
Show Enthusiasm/Confidence:
- An employee with enthusiasm comes across as someone who wants to be at work and who is willing to do what it takes to get the job done. When you will receive an opportunity to present your idea, that time confidence is one of the most things you should have.
- Showing your enthusiasm reflect your ideas on your managers or colleagues minds. Confidence also helps you to give your presentation or ideals correctly with strong feelings.
Come in With a Clear Plan:
- When presenting your idea, simplicity is the key. When you are going to present an idea you should have all clear points that help to understand your idea easily.
- A clear plan gives chances to approve your idea or suggestion by your boss.
- If your idea makes sense within the context of current management priorities, it could get fast-tracked, rather than being rejected altogether.
You Need to Research all Possibilities Around Your Idea:
- For starters, make sure you’re prepared to sell your idea, and that means fully understanding and being able to explain why your idea is so important. Identify the problem and explain how your idea will be the perfect solution.
- You have to become the expert on the thing you are trying to get others to do and know the pros and cons so you can address any pushback that you may get.
You Need to Test Your Idea:
- Once you’ve figured out the issue, fully explain how you are going to solve it — and don’t settle with one solution, brainstorm as many as you can think of. Then go through what you’ve come up with and pull out the best solution.
- You need to test your idea out by talking to others or hosting a pilot to see if it actually will work or be valuable. Without this, you limit your ability to persuade your co-worker or manager of the idea because you have no evidence to help convince them of the potential success.
- Through testing your idea, you will also know where things need to be improved or what needs to be changed to make it successful.
You Need to Practice Your Pitch:
- You need to practice your pitch. In doing so, you need to think through all the possible objections that your manager and/or co-workers could have about your idea.
- Also, it is worth thinking through the audience and what they would want to hear in order to accept your idea.
- With practice, you will be ready to handle the difficult questions and have thoughts on ways to convince them that the idea is a good one.
You Need to Be Willing to Accept Defeat at the Moment:
- If you still believe it is worth pursuing, go back to the drawing board and try again. Don’t give up!! Sometimes timing is everything.
- Just because your idea did not gain traction at that moment doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. Keep in it in your back pocket for when the moment is right.
Prepare to Defend Your Idea:
- Be prepared to answer any tough questions that might come your way and write up a one-page overview of your idea so your boss and other colleagues can see your proposal on paper.
- Whenever you propose an idea there are certain to be people who do not understand the idea, do not like the idea, or simply don’t like you.
- Tap your network and find people who will advocate for your idea along with you.
Focus on the Product’s Potential:
- People who are effective at getting buy-in usually are immersed in their idea fully, have strong influencing skills, don’t stop at “no” (persistent), have patience, and are willing to take feedback to revise their plan.
- “Make it clear how the project will benefit the company—higher profits, an improved reputation, better contacts, etc. Be ready to answer the question: What sales opportunities will your project lead to? Make sure you can demonstrate how to turn your idea into reality. Discuss the risks, and prepare a viable plan to show you’re committed to the work and invested in its success.” —Jyot Singh, RTS Labs