Selling Ideas in Your Company? Be Ready for the Executive Inquisition

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© 2015 Planning Innovations www.planninginnovations.com Can You Survive the Executive Inquisition? The Secrets to Being a Savvy Corporate Innovator Dorian Simpson April 1 , 2014

Transcript of Selling Ideas in Your Company? Be Ready for the Executive Inquisition

Page 1: Selling Ideas in Your Company? Be Ready for the Executive Inquisition

© 2015 Planning Innovations www.planninginnovations.com

Can You Survive the Executive Inquisition?

The Secrets to Being a Savvy Corporate Innovator

Dorian SimpsonApril 1 , 2014

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© 2015 Planning Innovations www.planninginnovations.com

What BIG ideas are we talking about?

• New product or service?

• New approach to business?

• New types of customers?

• New technology?

• New application?

Any idea that:

• Leads to growth or profit

• Is not part of the plan

• Needs funding and resources

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Starbucks

• Offer advanced coffee-making kiosks for any location.

• Create packaging to absorb and release heat to make a latte a consistent temperature.

• We could detect you walked in the store and immediately prepare your beverage - prepaid.

• Off coffee subscription service like Netflix. Just pay Starbucks $24.99/month and get whatever you want 8 times a month!

Etc. etc. etc. etc.

We could…

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Corporate Innovation is Not Entrepreneurism

• Entrepreneurism– Create the vision– Create competency– Many funding sources

– Self realization– Personal risk ($K’s at

stake)

– Incentive: Get rich

• Corporate Innovation– Meet financial goals– Leverage competency– One funding source

– Self preservation– Shareholder risk ($B’s at

stake)

– Incentive: Thank you!

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Part I

Every great business or product starts with an idea…

Ideas come from everywhere.

So what’s the problem?

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Innovation is Really a Fight for Resources

Bus./Manuf. Operations

Product Development

Mergers & Acquisitions

Internal Startups

Idea Funnel

1) Ideas 3) ResultsProblems. Trends. Technology. Revenue. Profit. Productivity.

2) Opportunities

The Easy Part The Hard Part

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© 2015 Planning Innovations www.planninginnovations.com

Innovation is Really a Fight for Resources

Bus./Manuf. Operations

Product Development

Mergers & Acquisitions

Internal Startups

Idea Funnel

1) Ideas 3) ResultsProblems. Trends. Technology. Revenue. Profit. Productivity.

2) Opportunities

To get your first morsel of funding…

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SVP Sales

CFO

COO CMO

CEO

Innovator

SVP R&D

Look at this cool concept! Check out these features!

Where’s the ROI data?

Where’s your revenue forecast??

Where’s your market forecast?What are your

expected COGS?

What resource funding do you need?

How will you manage risk?

You Must Survive… The Executive Inquisition

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How it can feel...

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Preparing Can Feel Like an Unsolvable Puzzle

“How am I supposed to prove

my idea will be successful when it

doesn’t exist?? They just don’t get

it.”

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Let’s Say for Now…

• You are an “innovator” for a consumer appliances company…

• You have observed that bananas have a very small window of perfect ripeness.

• Eureka! The Perfect Banana!

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Part ICan you solve the puzzle to

survive the executive inquisition to move this idea

forward?

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The Savvy Corporate Innovator Puzzle Challenge

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19 Factors + a Wild Card = Funding Success

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What prevents idea acceptance?

Opinions – “We’re way too early!”

Momentum – “We don’t do that.”

1

2

Fear – “What if we fail?”3

Skepticism – “That won’t work.”4

Personal Bias – “I wouldn’t buy that.”5

Biggest mistake innovator’s make?Not recognizing that innovation is a HUMAN Process

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#1 – Specific Needs of Each Decision Maker

Understand the specific needs of

each person behind the funding

decisions

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#1 – Specific Needs of Each Decision Maker

Understand the specific needs of

each person behind the funding

decisions

Understand the specific needs of

each person behind the funding

decisions

“How does this fit with our corporate strategy?”

CEO

“What will our margins be in 2 years?”

CFO

“How the hell are we going to test this?”

CMO

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#2 – The Right Data to Get Support

Understand the specific needs of

each person behind the funding

decisions

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#2 – The Right Data to Get Support

Present data that supports

your idea to the satisfaction of

executives“Ok.. But I need to know exactly how many people

are trying to preserve bananas today…”

Executive Says…

“Look at all of this great data!”

Innovator Says…

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#3 – Real Customers that Say “Yes!”

Understand the specific needs of

each person behind the funding

decisions

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#3 – Real Customers that Say “Yes!”

Provide solid data from 5+

targeted customers

“Customers throw out 30% of banana purchases worth

over $200M. They need this product!”

“Really? Prove it to me.. Show me exactly who wants

to buy this…”

Innovator Says…

Executive Says…

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#4 – Get Support for Approaches (not numbers)

Understand the specific needs of

each person behind the funding

decisions

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#4 – Get Support for Approaches (not numbers)

Have gained support for

your approach to forecasting

revenue

“I used Bass Diffusion Modeling to estimate the

market size at various prices!”

Innovator Says…

Executive Says…

“I don’t have time for this…”

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#5 – Pre-sell! Remove Objections. Repeat.

Understand the specific needs of

each person behind the funding

decisions

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#5 – Pre-sell! Remove Objections. Repeat.

Have gained support for

your approach to forecasting

revenue

Pre-sell the idea to influential

executives before the inquisition

Not this.

This.

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Which Pieces Are You Missing?

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Part I

Let’s talk… Personal

Experience? Questions?

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The Book

30 Day Action Plan

5-Point Inspection

Opportunity Portfolio

Rapid Learning Cycles

How to navigate complex innovation environments

How to evaluate and communicate value, risk and forecasts

Step-by-step plans to develop a compelling proposal in 30 days

How to sell an idea to risk-averse executives

How to identify and select the most promising ideas

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Let’s Connect…

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Part IThank You…

I hope you enjoy the book.