How To Create More Buy-in, No Matter What Stakeholders You’re Dealing With
More often that not, people don’t care about what you present on. E.g. The tool you’ve just delivered, or process you’re seeking buy-in for.
Ouch.
Harsh but true unfortunately.
The reason I say that – is that people are much more interested in what they’ll get out of the tool or process. Than the tool or process itself.
Everyone is interested in the >>> TRANSFORMATION.
This was made super clear for me about 15 years ago and I’ve kept it in mind and used it to my benefit, ever since.
So, I was scrolling through Facebook at the time and I started to notice these before vs after images coming up (from this fitness lady named Kayla Itsines).
They were selfies of the average female on the left, vs a very toned version of them on the right (not extreme, but in incredible shape).
At the time, I looked a lot like the before photos. But I really wanted to look like the after photos.
So I started to see these photos keep coming through, week after week after week.
I was so curious by this stage.
I really wanted to know:
“How is this lady getting these transformations for these people, so consistently!?”
It turns out she had a fitness app.
So, naturally I had to get it. As I wanted the same transformations her other clients had got.
For a period of months, I did her workouts and lo and behold, I got pretty much the same transformation she had been showcasing on her Facebook page.
However, this isn’t a story about her fitness app. It’s really a story about how she got me to buy the fitness app in the first place.
Had she just been posting the details about the app and its features (E.g. How much it cost, what the screen shots of the app were, what the workouts were like, the fact that it had meal plans, etc – I would NEVER have bought it.
It’s simply because she focused on the transformation people got after using the app. The valueof the tool.
It was an incredible lesson to learn and it’s stuck with me, ever since.
Whenever I seek buy-in on something now (whether it’s an idea, a tool, or process, etc) I now focus far less on ‘the thing’ and far more on what I call the before, and the after.
FYI – This is one of many nuggets of wisdom and lessons I share in my Captivating Storyteller Group Program(which is coming up soon).
IN SUMMARY
If you want to showcase the value of something moving forward, keep this gym selfie analogy in mind.
Try to give people a very clear view of:
→ What life is like beforewhatever you’re proposing
→ What like after whatever I’m proposing.
i.e. The TRANSFORMATION.
As that’s what people care most about.
Q – Like this idea? Think you can apply it in your role?
Emily
Hey, I’m Emily Edgeley, a Public Speaking Coach for the Tech industry. Since 2017 I’ve transformed the lives of thousands, by helping them to communicate with more power. I’ve run 300+ group coaching sessions, coached more than 250 people privately, and helped more than 100+ others give their first ever Conf talk.
I’m on a mission to help people in Tech communicate with clarity, impact, and confidence. To boost your brand, career and industry influence.
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