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- 🤘🤘 Trouble Getting a Buy-In From Your Boss - Here's What to Say
🤘🤘 Trouble Getting a Buy-In From Your Boss - Here's What to Say
I mean... we want to get more sales right?
Dejan Gajsek
April 24, 2023
A competitive intelligence program is the secret weapon your company needs to outsmart the competition.
But it sounds like a highfalutin' buzzword and the whole word combination feels like it's a complex and expensive subject. To do it right, the program does require resources (either time and budget) but the results far outperform the inputs (if done correctly).
To get it started you're going to have to make a solid case with your supervisor.
Here are the 3 most common objections your boss might have and 3 solid arguments what you can say and defend your staked flag.
These are the objections:
High Initial Costs - "This costs too much"
Insufficient Resources - "We don't have enough resources for this"
Time-consuming Process - "We don't have time for this right now"
🥵 This costs too much
CI "can" be an expensive effort which depends on the size of your team, aggressive levels of your market, and the situation of your company.Here's what you can say to battle this objection.
👋 Hey boss — I understand that initial costs can be a concern, but let me remind you of the old saying, 'You have to spend money to make money.'
The investment in a competitive intelligence program will provide us invaluable insights into our competitors' strategies, strengths, and weaknesses.
In the long run, this information will help us make more informed decisions, capitalize on opportunities, and ultimately, increase our market share and profits.
It's like an investment in our company's future success, and I believe we can't afford not to have this crucial information."
🥵 "We don't have enough resources for this"
CI does require focus to get it going. First, you need to use tools and methods to get the information, secondly you have to get the other departments to "get in" with the program, and lastly, you have to make sure that your efforts are being used and measured.
Here's what you could say to your boss in case of "too much of a big lift"
👋 Hiya boss!"I understand that we don't have unlimited resources, and it's essential to allocate them wisely.
But let me share a thought with you - 'You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.'
We don't need a large team or budget to begin a competitive intelligence program. We can start small, gathering insights from public sources and leveraging existing tools, then gradually expand our efforts as we see the benefits.
I'll take responsibility and create a mini-pilot project for our top competitor to start.
With a focused and efficient approach, the value we gain from the insights will far outweigh the resources we commit, and it's a step toward greatness for our company."
🥵 "We don't have time for this right now"
To prove a point, you'll have to rely on metrics. Just like any significant change at the company — you'll have to defend your statement by producing and measuring results.
CI can bring amazing results in the short term, but they aren't instant.
Here's what you can say if your boss is worried about slow results:
👋 Hey boss!
"You're right, the benefits of a competitive intelligence program might not be instant.
But you know what they say, 'You don't measure success by what you harvest, you measure success by what you plant.'
By implementing a CI program, we're planting seeds for future growth and success.
We'll gather valuable insights into our competitors' strategies and market trends, which will help us make more informed decisions and stay ahead of the curve.
I'll also make sure to talk with our sales teams and measure win/loss ratios and collect their feedback which will make us way better in the future since we'll know exactly at point we are losing deals.
Over time, these insights will translate into tangible results, positioning our company for long-term success and growth."
Hope that helps!
Looking to review how strong your competitive enablement is at your organization — take this free assessment quiz or forward it to your senior product marketing manager!
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