How To Sell Your Idea

by John R. SedivycloseAuthor: John R. Sedivy Name: John R. Sedivy
Email: john@capecodbranding.com
Site: http://www.capecodbranding.com
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Do you have a big idea that you just can’t seem to get off the ground? Do you have difficulty convincing others of not only your big idea, but other things of sometimes trivial value as well?

You’re not alone.

The good news is that I’ve discovered a solution while reading Seth Godin’s Free Prize Inside. Regardless of what you are trying to convince someone of – perhaps your next big idea, a small project, or a new direction – I believe this concept will work and change your perspective on how to sell and package your ideas.

In How To Find Your Your Free Prize we had discussed how seemingly unimportant changes can have a large impact on you and your business. This free prize can be extremely valuable – high profit at low cost. But how does one find their free prize? In the last article we had talked about using edgecraft – today I will discuss another important method of leveraging your ideas – the Fulcrum of Innovation.

The Fulcrum Of Innovation
Check out the picture at the beginning of this article – it’s the Fulcrum of Innovation developed by Seth Godin. This fulcrum does what fulcrums do best – apply leverage, which will ultimately get you and your idea off the ground.

Remember the seesaw on the playground as a child? You’re using your weight to lift another on the other side by using a board over a pivot point. This device applies leverage and allows you to perform a feat that you would not otherwise be able to accomplish on your own. This is the idea behind the Fulcrum of Innovation as well.

Late in business school and early in business I had found that to most individuals and businesses, it matters least what is written, what matters most is leverage. This is not to say you shouldn’t honor your word – you most definitely should. However, leverage is a powerful tool and in general, vastly understated and overly employed.

The purpose of the Fulcrum of Innovation is to serve as a leverage point that magnifies your efforts and your ideas and turns them into reality. No man or woman is an island. As we’ve discussed in our previous partnership articles working with others is vastly more effective than working alone.

The fulcrum forces you to ask three questions and provide the answers to others when attempting to convince others:

1. Is it going to be successful?
2. Is it worth doing?
3. Is this person able to champion the project?

Whether you are asked these questions directly or not – you must realize that people are considering these questions – especially if you are asking for an outside investment.

If the answer to any of these questions is no, you should revisit and refine the idea until you get a yes – if you do not believe or cannot defend the idea others will not believe in it.

Let’s explore each question in greater detail.

Is Success Guaranteed?
Success is never guaranteed and the more certain success appears to be likely, the less likely it is to occur. Most truly remarkable ideas come out of nowhere. The difficult part is that you need to convince others that your project or idea will be a smash hit!

Is It Worth Doing?
Obviously to you the project is worth doing, but is it worth doing to others? This is where knowing your audience is critical. What do the people you are trying to sell care about? Who are you selling to? Your boss? Investors? Teammates? Know your audience and tailor your pitch accordingly.

An attempt should be made to maximize benefit to the audience while maintaining the integrity of your idea. Make people care by giving them a compelling reason to do so.

Are You The Champion?
Before you answer with a resounding yes consider the perception that others have of you – especially those who you are selling the idea to. Does your audience believe you can take your idea through development and final execution?

You can have the best idea in the world, but if the audience doesn’t believe in your ability to pull it off the sale is dead.

Of course championing a project requires you to wear many different hats.

First, you need to have, or have access to the technical abilities to pull off the idea. You also need to manage the implementation of the idea and assure it meets schedule and cost limitations placed upon you and your team. Finally, you will need to keep motivation high and be the biggest cheerleader throughout the duration of implementation, even when times are tough.

The details of how to become a good champion are outside the scope of this article. Seth Godin provides some excellent advice on how to improve the perception of you as a champion for a groundbreaking idea in Free Prize Inside.  For more on how perception relates to reality and how to manage this complex relationship refer to my article Perception Vs. Reality.

Leverage Is Key
Leverage is the key to selling your idea to your audience and making it become a reality. Leverage is attained by applying the Fulcrum of Innovation which  leads you to consider and convey your likelihood of success, the value of your idea, and your ability to champion the idea.

Successfully applying leverage by means of the Fulcrum of Innovation will greatly increase the likelihood of others accepting your idea and ultimately your idea will see the light of day.

Sell your idea by applying leverage!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

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