Hey all! Wanted to share this as an encouragement: If you have a great idea that makes a lot of business sense and you're not getting buy-in, the timing might be wrong (and it's not your fault).
I've been aware for ~7 months that we have NOTHING in place to track and report on references, and yet almost everything deal touches one. This is egregious. We all thought so. And yet there was SO MUCH transition happening for account management, sales, and marketing that we all agreed to put it on the back burner.
As a capstone for our leadership development course, I had to pitch a strategic initiative and chose to resurface customer references, now that a lot of those changes have been settled & implemented. Had unanimous buy-in across the board to fast-track this and, at the very least, create visibility into who's being tapped and when.
Personally, I hate seeing systems broken. I hate inefficiencies. I hate when customers are endlessly asked for things because no one knows who's been asked for what. But I am learning to make my peace with this in favor of implementing programs when the timing is right, instead of right when I notice the problem.
Thought this might be helpful as we all navigate the buy-in process for better customer-focused initiatives.
Phew this is the dang truth! It’s so easy to take it personally too when it’s not you, it’s the business. A big part of all of this is reading the room. I’m so glad this is finally happening for you !
Thanks, Val! Prioritization is a fun exercise on paper, but hard to actually let things go in practice when you realize how much better they could be.
It’s a challenge trying to be a catalyst for efficiency. Forget about change. I found that in organizations windows open and close. Sometimes it’s a new leader, other times one listens and hears something, or the company has a new goal. The trick is to slowly build allies, bring up your idea as just that an idea, no PowerPoints. Then when you hear a signal pounce. Your inner lion may miss the first time, but there will be another opportunity or maybe an ally will make it happen for you. I know it’s hard to play the long game when something is so obvious.
Couldn't agree more ! I also think having executive buy-in is the secret sauce that will elevate your ideas. Executive sponsor provides a seat at the table. Without one, you’ll have to drag in your own chair and do a lot of extra legwork to get your customer marketing strategy adopted. While everyone thinks they know marketing 🙃, having a C-level ally will keep the opinions at bay and champion your process.
