When you seek approval for resources or budgets, whether operating, capital, resources or initiatives such as implementing FM Systems, subcontracting, outsourcing, etc., you aren’t just selling the merits of your own requirements, you are competing head-to-head with your colleagues in the company for those resources.
If your colleagues are more prepared than you are to make their case, they are more likely to get the funding or resources instead of you. It’s not about the merits of your request, it’s about how you sell it, how you influence decision makers, how it compares to other company priorities and whether your colleagues do a better job selling their initiatives than you.
To win your share, you need a strategy and an arsenal.
The strategy is important. Your company colleagues know they can’t just put together a business case or presentation and deliver it or present it and expect approval. They start early and build support while building their business case. Even if you feel your colleagues are better connected with the decision makers or with the C-suite, there are things you can do to influence decisions anyway.
Building support includes not only your boss but other decision makers and influencers within your organization. Does your proposal benefit other departments? if so, meet with the department leaders and get their support.
Financial benefits? meet with the right people In the finance department and not only get to know how to present your financial business case, but get their support before you even write your business case or present your concept.
HR benefits? meet with your Human Resources department head and identify the benefits and value of what your are proposing. Their support, particularly for something that impacts your fellow employees, improving the working environment, reducing risk or providing similar benefits, is crucial to success.
Once you’ve lined up your support, you can proceed.
What if you encounter groups who don’t support your business case? That’s your opportunity to develop a counter argument and either convert them or be better prepared in your business case. Even more importantly, knowing what the obstacles are help you address pointed questions during your presentation and provide a counter argument to questions even before they are raised.
Of course, to get support for your initiative and to develop your business case or presentation effectively to sell your initiative, and yes, you need to sell it, you need facts and evidence, not emotion and gut feelings.
Leverage your internal systems, gather insight from your fellow FM’s and even get information and details from suppliers that can bolster your case. Use information from your discussions with department heads and your exploratory discussions with senior management.
Decision makers are always receptive to evidence and not very interested in anything else. And remember, you aren’t competing just against the merits of your initiative or request, you are competing against your company colleagues. You need to be better prepared to fight for your initiative than they are.
To do that, learn how to develop a compelling business case, put together a high impact presentation and develop influential arguments and how to network and build support before you take it to the decision makers.
One source of information is “Write to Influence”, a free ebook available from Successfuel For Managers in epub, Kindle or PDF format.
