Don’t tell me to get executive sponsorship, tell me HOW!

Don’t tell me to GET Executive Sponsorship, tell me HOW to get it.

Y O U C A N ’ T H AV E A S A L E S S K I L L S C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H O U T H E A R I N G A B O U T “ S E C U R I N G E X E C U T I V E S P O N S O R S H I P ” . N I C E

I D E A , B U T W H AT D O E S T H AT A C T U A L LY E N TA I L ? T H E S E S L I D E S C E N T E R O N E X E C U T I V E S P O N S O R S H I P F O R C R E AT I N G A

F I N A N C I A L B U S I N E S S C A S E , B U T T H E P R I N C I P L E S A R E T R A N S F E R A B L E .

T H E S U P P O RT O F S O M E O N E I N A P O S I T I O N O F A U T H O R I T Y A N D I N F L U E N C E I S E S S E N T I A L F O R G A I N I N G A C C E S S T O

I N F O R M AT I O N R E Q U I R E D F O R A C R E D I B L E B U S I N E S S C A S E . W I T H O U T S P O N S O R S H I P, P R O D U C I N G A C O M P E L L I N G A N D

D E F E N D A B L E B U S I N E S S C A S E I S H I G H LY U N L I K E LY.

T H E F R A M E W O R K W E F O L L O W I N C L U D E ; S E C U R I N G T H E I N I T I A L M E E T I N G , F R A M I N G T H E M E E T I N G , T H E B U S I N E S S C A S E

S T O R Y, O F F E R VA L U E , P R O C E S S & D E L I V E R A B L E S , A N D F I N A L LY: R E Q U E S T I N G E X E C U T I V E S P O N S O R S H I P

F R A M E D B O X E S O R A U D I O C L I P S A R E E X A M P L E S O F W H AT C O N C E P T S “ S O U N D L I K E ” W H E N D E L I V E R E D I N A

C O N V E R S AT I O N . T H E Y A R E N ’ T M E A N T T O B E A S C R I P T B U T R AT H E R T O P R O V I D E C O N T E X T F O R T H E P R O C E S S .

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To hear a sample, download this Presentation and click on the speaker.

The intent of both Tell me and See me messages below is to the peak the executive’s interest, in order to secure a meeting. If you’re successful, you'll have plenty of time during the meeting to explain the business case sponsorship in more detail.

Arranging the initial meeting to request Executive Sponsorship

Tell Me Message

You already have a relationship with

the executive whose sponsorship you

are seeking. Simply explain why you

would like to schedule a meeting

See Me Message

Secure a meeting with an executive

at a higher level than your existing

relationship. Much more effective if

you have an “internal referral”

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Frame the MeetingEvery meeting needs an introduction that sets the stage for why you

are there. It doesn't have to be elaborate, it needs to be clear.

Here’s a sample:

“We’re here for one very simple reason. Your company is evaluating the

business value of your Support Program renewal. We would like your

executive sponsorship to conduct a business case which will demonstrate

exactly where and how much value will be realized from this program. Today,

we'd like to share what you can expect from the business case and why we

need your endorsement to proceed”


The Business Case StoryThere’s lots of buzz today around storytelling. Your success at gaining ExecutiveSponsorship rests with your ability to intrigue your audience about the value ofa business case.Here’s one way you can tee up the conversation about the need for the businesscase. Be creative in coming up with your own “story”.

“Tina, we’re here to discuss a business case supporting Sourcing / Procurementtransformation. Before we begin, I’d like to tell you about Nikola Tesla, a technology visionary.In 1887 Tesla perfected the A/C motor, but he never envisioned the business activities wherehis technology would have impact. He aligned himself with those interested only in monetarygain. As a result, he sold his patent to Thomas Edison. History would have turned out quitedifferently if he realized his impact to the business. By the way, the Tesla car company isnamed after him.So how does this relate to the Business Case Process?We need to look at today’s technology in terms of business impacts. Technology fortechnology's sake is pointless. You need to be able to recognize the business value of your ITinvestments. The business case process, examines the alignment between your company’smost critical success factors and our technology, services and support. It quantifies value infinancial terms, and addresses the risk to value, in a timely and cost effect way. Both theapproach and metrics are validated by your team throughout the process.With your sponsorship, the business case team, including people from both our firms willgather information from critical business areas inside Dessault. As executive sponsor, you'll bethe recipient of the final deliverable, but the team will do the heavy lifting.


Offer Value, Process & DeliverablesYou may choose to offer to conduct a business case for free, or you may ask thecustomer to put some "skin in the game". Either way, the customer, needs tounderstand the "street value” of the business case and what they will receive in theform of a deliverable. A simple outline of typical business case readout may suffice oryour customer may ask for more, such as a sanitized business case sample. Here is asample "talk track" for this stage of the meeting

“Typically when our customers request that we develop a business case the cost issomewhere between 30K and 40K but given the situation at Dessault, we recognize thisstudy is warranted because of the transformation timeline. We’d be willing to establisha team and use our business case methodology over the next 4 to 6 weeks. Your finaldocumentation will include:

• Capture of critical business success factors• Proposed solution impacts• Financial quantification of benefits and costs as well as risk mitigation. We can

use your models and metrics if you like. The financial outputs will allow you toclearly see if this is a sound business decision.”

After finishing, be prepared to answer questions such as "how many resources do you need", are there other costs? Remember they need to be excited because your final "big ask" is going to be their executive sponsorship.


Request Executive Sponsorship

“If you have no other questions I'd like to go forward with your executive sponsorship of the business case. You can expect to be invited to a read-out session in about 4 to 6 weeks, unless you would like status reporting on a regular basis. It's up to you.”

(If your customer is concerned about endorsing this process some further explanation may be in order. )

“Your endorsement only includes the creation of the business case. As I mentioned earlier, your sponsorship will allow us to access information critical to a conduct a valid study. You will base any further support on the actual business case findings.

Well there you have it. I hope that this executive sponsorship tutorial has helped you. The best thing you can do now is get out there and practice! Experience is a wonderful teacher! Best wishes for much success. Your comments on LinkedIn are most welcomed or email me directly at [email protected]

At this point, if you have completed the steps effectively you should be in a comfortable position to ask for sponsorship. Here’s a sample:


mailto:[email protected]

Sales

Don’t tell me to get executive sponsorship, tell me HOW!