If you’ve got a great idea for growing your business, convincing leadership to get on board is crucial. Without their buy-in, your plans won’t get the resources or attention needed to succeed. But getting executives excited about business development is an art – one that requires understanding their priorities, making a compelling case, and savvy navigation of corporate politics. In this post, we’ll share some battle-tested tactics to turn your business development vision into leadership’s new reality.

Why You Need Them on the Bus

Before we dive into strategies, it’s worth stepping back and asking – why go through all the trouble of getting leadership buy-in anyway? Couldn’t you just forge ahead, prove your idea works, and then show them the hockey stick growth afterward? In theory, sure. But in reality, trying to drive major business initiatives without executive air cover is a suicide mission.

CEOs

As heads of the organization, CEOs take a broad view and prioritize goals that support the overall corporate strategy. They care deeply about shareholder value, profitability, and sustaining a vision. To gain buy-in, show how business development aligns with and enhances the CEO’s strategic agenda. Be prepared to discuss financial returns, company valuation, and brand.

CFOs

Financial executives care about the bottom line. They want to see how investments will impact revenue, cost, risk and profitability. Quantify the market opportunity and expected ROI. Be realistic about costs and consider running pilot initiatives first. Discuss impacts to the balance sheet and shareholder value.

COOs

COOs care about operational excellence and meeting targets. They dislike disruption and change. Position business development as fuel for achieving operational goals. Be prepared to discuss how new initiatives will be managed for minimal disruption. Have a detailed project plan and change management strategy.  

CMOs 

Marketing leaders want to see how business development aligns with their goals of increasing market share, building brand awareness, and enhancing thought leadership. Discuss how new initiatives support marketing programs and messaging. Outline how marketing will be involved and how results will be measured.

CHROs

Human resources leaders care about people and culture. They want to understand how business development will impact talent needs, employee experience, and retention. Be prepared to discuss comp strategies for sales teams, training programs, and culture integration for mergers & acquisitions. 

While titles are the same, each executive has unique experiences that shape perspectives. Do your homework before engaging. Tailor your messaging and data to resonate based on what motivates leadership.

Communicating Value: Linking Business Development to Broader Goals 

Business development may seem peripheral unless connected to goals leadership cares about. Be prepared to contextualize how new initiatives support executive priorities:

– Improved Financial Performance. Business development creates new revenue streams and access to emerging growth markets. Whether broadening product lines or entering new geographies, new initiatives are a proven way to meet aggressive growth targets.

– Increased Organizational Resilience. New partnerships, customers, and offerings reduce dependency on existing business lines. Diversifying through business development hedges against disruptions and unlocks new sources of value.  

– More Innovation. Partnerships with startups, academic institutions and vendors opens access to new technologies, insights, and capabilities. Rapid experimentation and incubating new offerings creates pipeline for future growth.

– Enhanced Competitive Advantage. Business development is required to gain edge over rivals also pursing M&A, partnerships, and new product launches as part of their own growth strategies. It’s tablestakes to remain competitive. 

– Greater Brand Equity. Orchestrating mergers, acquisitions and high-profile partnerships enhances prestige and awareness. It signals a strategically aggressive firm with ambition to lead.

– Stronger Talent Positioning. Top talent is attracted to firms driving growth through new projects and emerging spaces. Business development funds exciting initiatives talent wants to be part of.

Beyond financial returns, business development enables strategic outcomes leadership cares about. Anchor proposals in the broader vision and priorities executives feel accountable to.

Quantifying the Opportunity: Making the Case with Data 

Leadership teams rely heavily on metrics and data for decision-making. To secure buy-in, armed with tangible evidence that business development will create substantial, measurable value. 

Size the Total Addressable Market

– Conduct thorough market research to quantify the revenue opportunity new offerings or segments could capture

– Leverage data from analysts to validate estimates with credible third party perspective 

– Determine share of market reasonably attainable based on competitive dynamics  

Build the Financial Case

– Model revenue expected over a multi-year horizon from successfully entering a new market or launching an adjacent offering. Be realistic.

– Factor in costs required to fund initatives like R&D, sales & marketing, ops infrastructure

– Project margin these new offerings are expected to generated

– Highlight key financial metrics like ROI, IRR, NPV that demonstrate favorable returns  

Supplement With Benchmarking Data

– Provide examples of other companies in adjacent spaces realizing strong growth through business development (but avoid cherry-picking outliers)

– Showcase industry research on performance of recent partnerships, new product launches or entries into new segments

– Analyze competitors pursuing similar initiatives and achieving meaningful gains 

Convey Strategic Value  

– Complement financials with analysis of how new initiatives support strategic goals – expanded TAM, new capabilities, etc. 

– Discuss risks of not pursing business development when rivals are aggressive

Leadership teams need data-driven business cases to justify allocating resources. While projections are imperfect, solid analysis provides confidence in the opportunity.

Addressing Concerns Head-On

While leadership may buy into the broader vision, they often have understandable concerns that create reluctance. Some common objections include:

We Should Focus on Our Core Business

– Reinforce that core business remains priority 1, and new initiatives will have dedicated resources/oversight

– Note times in the past when focus on core created blindspots and missed opportunities in hindsight

– Characterize business development as a “rising tide lifts all boats” way to also strengthen core business

Now Is Not the Right Time

– Emphasize that timing is ideal given market conditions like changing consumer preferences, competitor vulnerability, etc. 

– Discuss risks of competitors capitalizing on opportunities if firm waits

– Suggest starting with small pilot initiatives to test waters before major investments

Our Culture Won’t Support This

– Outline how change management and communication plans will aid adaptation 

– Note how elements of culture like innovation and ambition naturally align  

– Discuss lessons learned from other organizational changes that were eventually embraced 

It Will Distract From Operational Excellence  

– Set expectations that rigorous governance will ensure business development aligns with and enhances operations

– Highlight how increased resources and capabilities from business development will support operational goals

– Review how similar initiatives have been managed for minimal disruption by other organizations

Rather than dismiss concerns, listen sincerely and address them head on. Executives want to believe these initiatives are the right move – help them get there.

Managing the Politics: Navigating Competing Interests

A major part of gaining leadership buy-in is managing corporate politics. Initiatives inevitably impact power dynamics and compete for influence: 

– Upsetting influential leaders: If some executives have reservations, this can poison support. Carefully assess potential landmines and objections ahead of meetings. Socialize ideas one-on-one if needed to mitigate blindsides.

– Sparking turf wars: Entering new markets or categories may be seen as encroaching on other leaders’ turf. Define roles upfront and emphasize opportunities for collaboration 

– Threatening the status quo: Leaders have vested interests in the current way of operating. Position change as an evolution vs. revolution.

– Shifting budget: Some may see business development as siphoning too many resources from their own priorities. Make the value case for investment, manage expectations, and offer concessions. 

– Ruffling individual egos: Even leaders not directly impacted may push back if they feel their status is being threatened. Avoid words like “demote,” “break up,” or “ambitious” that can trigger defensiveness.  

Corporate politics reward influence and relationships. Spend time understanding motivations, mapping coalitions and anticipating friction. Savvy navigation of competing interests smooths the path to buy-in. 

Sustaining Support Over Time

Gaining leadership’s endorsement is an important first step, but business development requires nurturing support well beyond initial budget and backing. To sustain alignment: 

– Report progress frequently: Provide regular visibility into KPIs, milestones achieved, and outcomes delivered. But avoid unnecessary noise.

– Acknowledge failures quickly: When initiatives underperform or hit roadblocks, bring issues to light fast. Be transparent about challenges, but also have plan to course correct.

– Celebrate wins: Ensure leadership participates in high-profile successes like closed deals, product launches and new hires. Capture quick wins to maintain momentum. 

– Facilitate executive engagement: Frequently loop in leadership for strategy sessions, market assessments, and talent reviews. Make them feel invested.

– Request public endorsements: Testimonials, town halls and team meetings from executives keep middle managers enthusiastic and remind organization it’s a priority.

– Watch for changes in context: If business conditions evolve be prepared to re-make the case for business development under new circumstances.

Ongoing engagement, transparent communication and demonstrated progress builds enduring executive sponsorship that fuels business development implementation over the long-term.

Conclusion

Getting leadership buy-in is a complex, political endeavor. But their endorsement unlocks the resources required to propel new growth initiatives forward. Taking time to understand your audience, make a compelling value case backed by data, address concerns, and manage competing interests ultimately secures the sponsorship needed for business development success. With executive alignment, ambitious efforts to expand into new markets, forge strategic partnerships, and launch emerging offerings gain the backing to deliver substantial value.