Feature
So you want to get buy-in? Navigating sign-off for new digital tools
September 11, 2024
6 mins
We all know the feeling when you’ve spent weeks, months (or in some cases years) searching for the perfect solution to a digital challenge that your team has been facing. Maybe it’s a sticking point in your purchase path that results in users jumping through hoops. Or a daisy chain of third-party systems collecting data in detached, disparate locations that require manual intervention to piece together customer information.
As your organisation's digital lead or systems expert, you’ve scoped out the requirements for something new, you’ve done your research exploring various options, and have finally found the ideal tool that you’re confident is going to streamline workflows for both you and your users.
There’s just one problem… getting other internal stakeholders equally excited to embrace ‘yet another’ system and ultimately secure that all-important sign off to unlock budget. So what can you do in these scenarios to help colleagues and equally critically, senior management, to recognise the value and benefits of a new product before you roll it out?
Experience tells us that without early buy-in during the acquisition process, teams can feel at best confused about the purpose of a new tool and at worst disempowered because they weren’t consulted. Start involving other people in your quest as early as you can to avoid siloed thinking and friction amongst colleagues. Prepping a manager ahead of time about your requirements also helps them to be aware of a potential upcoming expenditure rather than springing it on them at the last minute to get a signature and that all-important PO number.
When considering who to loop into the process, here at Action Links we encourage thinking about who you ‘could’ involve rather than ‘should’. There will be some obvious need-to-know roles to consult (e.g. your immediate team who will likely be primary users of the tool; possibly your head of department if you’re not a budget holder) but why not think more broadly than that?
Which colleagues in other departments have influence amongst their teams - could they help you to champion something new? Exploring a combined ownership approach with other team leads can help to strengthen your cause, possibly even sharing costs across multiple budgets. What about colleagues with varying levels of seniority? Junior members of staff can often get overlooked in these instances but as people who are typically eager to learn and actively in a growth mindset, they can be a hugely beneficial asset when trialling new tools.
We see a wide range of roles attend our demos and in truth, it doesn’t necessarily matter what your job title is - the most successful adopters of Action Links are those who are passionate, have creative ideas for cross-departmental usage, and are not afraid to embrace new ways of working. Multiple voices are always stronger than one so take a beat to think about who would sit where if you were to draw up a RACI matrix for this new endeavour (who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed). Find opportunities for broad application across multiple departments - what use cases can you identify in other teams as well as your own? - then stress the wide-ranging potential of how this investment could aid workflows cross-organisationally.
Always keep in mind your organisation's wider perspective. How does a new tool progress your department’s contribution to the business objectives? Which mission or vision values does it align with - could it improve the way you work and the dynamics of your teams? Do you have specific targets or KPIs that this tool could help meet, either directly or indirectly?
Identifying these strategic anchor points will help you to stay focused on the purpose of the product from a macro level (what does it need to achieve to establish success), whilst also allowing you to demonstrate ROI should it be questioned. With budgets being tighter than ever, each spending decision is understandably subject to scrutiny so be prepared to justify costs to your Leadership and Finance teams. Think ahead about how a single, relatively small addition to your toolkit feeds into the bigger picture of your organisation’s goals so that you can feel confident when justifying a product’s necessity.
And if this all feels a little nebulous or you’re not sure how to approach identifying the links between your digital tools and your holistic strategy, the Action Links team can help you. As well as our Subscription Plans, we also offer strategic guidance to audit current processes and workshop opportunities for progression.
As obvious as it sounds, arm yourself with a list of benefits that your new tool will provide. It’s easy to assume that colleagues will immediately grasp the rewards of investing in something new, but don’t forget that they will be less familiar with the nuance of why you need it and how you plan to use it.
By not explicitly spelling out the point of the tool and explaining or demonstrating the difference it could make, you risk alienating senior stakeholders and leaving them unenthused. With tech products especially, it’s easy to bamboozle your colleagues if they’re not digital specialists, so remember to tailor the detail to who you’re speaking to.
Although most new tools usually require an initial investment, your overall resource can be radically reduced in the long-term due to wide-ranging benefits beyond those seen from an individual perspective. When securing sign-off internally, be clear about initial monetary and time commitments required but don’t hold back on walking your colleagues through the potential savings and rewards that could be tapped into.
With Action Links for example, that list could look something like this…
Identify the benefits that will resonate most strongly with your organisation and actively start voicing them - then voice them again, and again, and again.
Most organisations have a myriad of digital tools. Some of them you might use every day and know like the back of your hand, others barely at all. Some may be creaking at the seams and no longer fit for purpose and some may be powerful but perhaps overwhelmingly so, causing colleagues to run like the wind. Whatever the makeup is, try to pinpoint what a new product can offer that your existing toolkit cannot. How is this tool different from your others and which business problems will it help solve?
Even Digital, Marketing and Sales teams who are typically technologically savvy can get fatigued with the number of systems, logins, and accounts that they encounter, so always consider how you can shake that presumption of ‘another tool that we have to get our heads round’. (Trust us - we know the feeling, which is why at Action Links we make sure our subscription onboarding takes minutes rather than days, and prioritise a user-friendly UI for our clients so that navigating the CMS feels intuitive and familiar).
A quick audit of any current licences (reviewing how many users you have regularly using the tool, which plan level you’re on, and whether the product is genuinely serving a significant ROI) can almost always highlight fat that could be trimmed, allowing you to assess where new tools could update and streamline your current footprint.
Navigating sign off can seem daunting, especially if you’re working to a deadline. But your stakeholders can be your cheerleaders rather than your challengers so don’t restrain your enthusiasm for a new solution. Emphasise the possibilities that a new product could unlock; be they related to revenue, audience growth, or simply the opportunity to work in more collaborative ways with colleagues. Disseminate your learnings as you scope out the most suitable tool for your company, taking colleagues on the journey with you so that they can share your enthusiasm and reinforce the need for sign off.
Express your excitement to others and it will be infectious.
To find out how you can use Action Links to empower your customers, book a demo or get in touch.
