10 Ways To Sell an Idea

Good employees have ideas; influential employees transform ideas into action by getting buy-in from top decision-makers. A new book, Advocacy: Championing Ideas and Influencing Others (Yale University Press/Available now), looks at ways of convincing the bosses through the use of data, presentations, and political savvy. In an uncertain economy, leadership is especially reluctant to take on significant risk, so you need to convince managers that failing to green-light your proposal presents them with negative consequences. “You do this by not only describing benefits, but also by telling people what they’ll miss out on if they fail to adopt the idea,” says author John A. Daly. “People fear regret.” Daly is a professor of communications/management at the University of Texas. He’s also consulted on communications, influence, and customer loyalty with companies such as IBM, Marriott, Merck and Merrill Lynch, as well as the White House and Department of the Army. For more about the book, click here.