Buy-In: Getting Others to Champion Your Ideas

Business buzzwords are a funny thing. You might not talk to your kid about the need to get alignment in order to move the needle on her chemistry homework, or tell your mom you wanted to circle back to close the loop on your last conversation. You’d probably use simpler words. But sometimes, a buzzword has a particular connotation that you really do find yourself needing at work.

“Buy-in” is one of those terms. It’s only been around for 30 years, according to Merriam-Webster, but it’s probably been important forever: the idea that you need to get people to actively support and participate in your ideas if you want them to succeed. Particularly, at work, from your colleagues and managers. With others willing to add their credibility, you can make much bigger things happen.

But … how? Here are a few tips for getting that invaluable, intangible thing: buy-in.

• Think it through. Before you even begin to try to convince anyone else, think through what might go wrong — what the worst-case scenarios are — and pre-empt each one of them as best you can in the event of pushback. Scenario plans show that your thinking has been thorough, and realistic, and that you’re prepared to implement your idea in reality, not just in an ideal imagination. 
• Create steps. “Yes-loading” is one term for the sales technique of getting agreement on small things, not just a big decision. If your plan has a pilot (as pharma projects often do!), or phases, or small increments, you’re asking your manager to take on less risk (and probably cost).
• Tell a good story. Facts make a plan make sense. But a story is what will make people care. If you can paint a picture about why your idea matters, you’ll start to see people nodding. If you start with why YOU care, you can show them why THEY should care.
• What’s the “why”? “WIIFM” (what’s in it for me) is another one of those phrases that has been around as long as there have been humans. If you can’t show them the “why,” you’ll never convince them. How will your idea help reach key business goals? How might it benefit other departments? How will your idea make your own boss’s life (job, fiscal year) better? How will it make her boss’s life better?
• Be specific. Exactly what will you need? How much time, and whose? How much money? From whose budget? In order to get what? By when?
• Have a track record. If you have the world’s best idea, but you have absolutely no experience making anything like that happen, you might succeed … but you’re asking people to take a gamble on you. If you can point out all of the reasons why you can do this — that you have the resources, a capable team on your side — you’re changing it from a big gamble to a safe bet.  
• Choose your moment. You probably know what your boss is up against: can you have this conversation when she’s not dealing with a crisis? And can you book enough time to have this conversation? If you only get halfway through your explanation before she’s done, you’ve sold your great idea short. (Oh: and learn how to sell it quickly! “Elevator pitch” is another buzzword that’s important, too.)

Curious to learn more? In a recent Intouch white paper, VP of Strategic Planning Tina Iglesias explains a five-step framework familiar to consultants — but often new to pharma marketers — for how to make the best possible strategic decisions. Her advice works, whether you’re making choices for your brand … or managing your career!