Getting support for an IT project or even being given the financial room to explore an innovative idea can be challenging. IT is often seen as a cost centre rather than an investment, where businesses look to save as much money as possible if they need to, so it tends to run on a pretty tight budget.
However, if you don’t ask, you don’t get, and it pays to have a few tried and tested techniques up your sleeve when you need to convince the business owner or the board that your idea is good enough to put some cash behind.
Here are my top tips for getting a project thumbs up.
- Make it about the business
The first and most important thing to concentrate on is how it will impact and ultimately improve the business. It’s the starting point and the bottom line as far as budget is concerned, so don’t pitch your idea before you’ve nailed exactly how the IT change:
- Reduces business cost
- Reduces business risk and/or
- Adds value for the business
Any case you put forward that ticks one or more of these boxes stands a much greater chance of getting a green light, because you demonstrate that it’s more than just another IT project and another IT cost, it’s a technology investment – and that holds a lot more weight.
For instance, if you want to move the entire company on to cloud computing, present the benefits of having enhanced accessibility and communication for specified team members.
- Get the right people on board
Talking to team leaders and business managers across the business will help you work out how your project can save money or add value. Front line managers see the business in a very different light to a CIO or CFO, making them valuable sounding boards and invested partners in what could become a collaborative initiative.
You’re also likely to get the CEO’s attention much faster if you’ve done your homework and have the support of the business going in, adding strength and credibility to your proposal.
- Know your audience
A whizz-bang presentation full of jargon and industry stats won’t win favour with a CEO or business owner who wants to see how your idea works in their world. Keep it simple, think about their needs, speak in their language and build your pitch around the things you know matter most to them (again…think cost, risk and value).
It’s a good idea to use real examples if you can prove your suggestion is already working successfully in another business, or highlight inroads competitors are making – signalling the risk of being left behind or overtaken in the market.
- Use your resources
You should tap into all available resources to make the information you take to the table as rich as possible. Other business managers, your vendors and agencies, as well as the expertise of IT consultants or an outsourced IT support are a good place to start, as they may have first-hand experience of successful implementation elsewhere.
- Make it easy to digest
Making it easy to digest will also make your proposal for an IT project more impactful and memorable, and the conversations that happen afterwards can start from a more comfortable and informed place. Again, this makes it much more likely your project will generate discussion and gain momentum.
- Suggest an agile approach
Bite-sized pieces are easier to swallow, so if the project is big and requires substantial investment, it might be wise to look at how it could be broken down into stages. An agile methodology is preferable in some industries, allowing you to start smaller, iterate, test, learn and develop the full solution over time.
An IT roadmap that outlines what technology is needed at specific stages helps to make the whole project process more understandable. It’s a smart approach and because the costs can be broken out across the financial calendar too, that can make the whole thing feel a lot less daunting.
- Focus on outcomes over cost
Avoid the trap of suggesting you can make the project happen on the cheap just to get approval. If the conversation starts with cost, it’s likely to stay there and you could find yourself forced to cut corners to keep it on budget.
IT projects don’t have to cost the Earth, and you can tailor them to meet the budgets you expect to work from, but the cost should be justified by the benefits it creates, so focus on value and outcomes.
- Look at cross-funding
The project might require new software or technology so it starts with the IT team, but chances are it’s going to benefit another team or function, and if a split cost with that area makes it more achievable, a cross-funding approach might be worth discussing.
- Use analytics well
There’s a growing appetite for using analytics to drive better decision making across every industry, so if the new technology generates data streams or provides commercial insights, it’s crucial to underline the benefits they can provide. Any analytical output that can help take the business forward should be included.
To summarise, make it about the business, focus on the value and benefits, get the right people in your corner, pitch it in a language the boss or board will understand, and be prepared to break it down into manageable chunks of development. Stick to the guidelines above and your IT project proposal is likely to be met with approval rather than a door slammed in your face.
Need to find the right way to convince the boss that IT is an investment rather than an expense? Download our eBook on The Role of IT In Your Growing Agency below:
