Influencing Change Within Your Company
Change within companies is hard, especially when things have been done a certain way for a long time. However, with the way technology is changing so quickly, modern companies need to be agile and malleable. If you are someone who embraces change, convincing your company to adopt a new technology can be daunting. Luckily, we have the resources to help influencers talk to key stakeholders as to why new technology should be adopted.
Today’s B2B purchasers are typically made by groups of diverse stakeholders. According to Gartner, the typical B2B buying group includes 6-8 decision makers, and increased stakeholder diversity leads to group dysfunction as buying group members’ goals and interests often conflict. In this instance, you could be trying to convince stakeholders who have little interest in technology to switch to a mobile device program, or more specifically to implement a secure storage system for those mobile devices.
According to CEB, half of willing buyers are unwilling to advocate for desired purchases. This is because bigger teams increase the perceived risk of advocating for a purchase. As someone who wants to introduce a new technology (such as LocknCharge) to your team, you have to be someone who is willing to take the extra steps to influence internally. Advocates must be passionate about the new technology and must be willing to rally support from key stakeholders. Some ways to do this are by introducing colleagues to the supplier sales rep to gain insights and formulate thoughtful talking points, connecting the stakeholders for a group discussion, and educating those stakeholders about the need for the new technology. The perfect advocate…
… is willing to talk at length about their position.
… does their research on the technology and is prepared to answer any questions that stakeholders might have.
… is good at influencing and connecting others.
… has personal needs that will be met by the technology’s offerings/features.
… is good at pushing high-performance thinking and brings a healthy debate to sales discussions.
Does this sound like you? If so, here are some potential challenges you could face, as well as some ideas to tackle those challenges:
Process Knowledge
Your challenge: You may lack experience driving change as well as enough knowledge about the product itself to convince someone to buy it.
Potential Solutions: Research the benefits driving your position:
- How will this affect your team?
- Who will be impacted by this change other than your team, in both positive and negative ways?
- Have other companies had a similar change, and how did it turn out for them?
- What is the potential ROI of this change?
For example, 91% of current LocknCharge customers prioritize charging in their mobile device initiatives.
Another potential solution would be to come to your talking points ready with real-life examples and testimonials from other companies who have adopted the technology you’re fighting for.
Cross-Functional Perspective
Your challenge: You may not understand how your idea could influence teams other than your own.
Potential Solutions: Talk to cross-functional team members to find out how this new technology could affect their teams as well. You could also create a trickle-down benefits map. This could be a simple illustration of the connections between each team’s needs. You can also explore the company’s blog or website to find research that positively affects yours and other teams. For example, this post about how a mobile device rollout can contribute to your company’s overall success is a great resource for making a case for secure charging solutions.
Persuasion Skills
Your challenge: You might be risk-averse and need confidence in your ability to persuade others.
Potential Solutions: Figure out who is the most likely to be least receptive to change, try to predict which objections they will raise and have answers ready for all possible objections. Also, identify which stakeholders will be your most powerful advocates so you can get them on board to help make your case.
If you are trying to persuade key stakeholders to adopt a new technology such as a mobile device rollout or LocknCharge mobile device secure charging stations, we are behind you every step of the way. Contact a sales rep for even more information to help build your case.
