How to Gain Committee Approval for a New Business Plan
Influence and persuasion can get you far when proposing a new business plan to a group of stakeholders. Understanding the motivation of others is the key to being persuasive. There is a process for being persuasive that requires due diligence and continuous follow-up to gain a stakeholder committee's acceptance of the plan. Certain steps can bring your plan closer to approval.
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Instructions
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Involve the committee in aspects of creating the business plan. You want to promote ownership to committee members by making them a part of the creation process. This can come from soliciting or voting on ideas, or simply listening to what they want and incorporating some of those thoughts in the plan.
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Schedule a meeting with the committee members to present the new business plan and accept questions.
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Campaign for the business plan with committee members and other stakeholders before the meeting to get early acceptance. You can do this by briefly discussing the plan with individuals during informal events, and providing brief information through email or print materials. Use this time to solicit feedback that will strengthen the business plan.
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Prepare a lively, interactive presentation that brings your business proposal to life. Include several illustrations of ideas in the plan using graphs, pictures and video. Write out answers to questions that you anticipate being asked during the presentation. Show that you considered the risks and how you plan to mitigate them. Also state how this plan benefits the organization and its stakeholders. Practice giving this presentation until you can confidently relay the plan with little help from aids or prompting.
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Present the new business plan to the committee at your scheduled meeting. Arrive early and greet all committee members as they enter the room. Answer questions confidently. Show excitement for the plan and an eagerness to get started contributing to the organization's bottom line.
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Tips & Warnings
Be succinct in your presentation by not providing too many details.
Have an ally on the committee who is a senior member of the organization and can help secure resources to ensure the business plan is executed correctly.
Discuss the losses the organization could experience by not adopting this business plan.
Assuming there is no risk with the business plan will demonstrate a lack of analysis and set you up for disappointment when presenting it to the committee.
Taking personal offense from the questioning of the business plan will likely lead to the plan's rejection by the committee.
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Resources
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