You have a high-risk, high-reward idea to pitch. How do you convince a risk-averse stakeholder?
Pitching a high-risk, high-reward idea to a risk-averse stakeholder requires strategic persuasion and clear communication.
When proposing a bold idea to someone who is cautious, you need to focus on building trust and demonstrating the potential benefits clearly. Here are some strategies to help you achieve this:
How do you approach pitching bold ideas to cautious stakeholders? Share your strategies.
You have a high-risk, high-reward idea to pitch. How do you convince a risk-averse stakeholder?
Pitching a high-risk, high-reward idea to a risk-averse stakeholder requires strategic persuasion and clear communication.
When proposing a bold idea to someone who is cautious, you need to focus on building trust and demonstrating the potential benefits clearly. Here are some strategies to help you achieve this:
How do you approach pitching bold ideas to cautious stakeholders? Share your strategies.
-
Convincing to support a high-risk, high-reward idea involves addressing concerns while highlighting potential benefits. Some suggestions to include in the pitch are: Most importantly, identify the stakeholder’s concerns and goals, ensuring the idea aligns with their priorities. Next doing some market research & exploring industry trends to present a strong, evidence-based argument. Try to include success stories of similar cases to enhance credibility. Focus on the potential benefits, such as ROI, market share, and brand recognition. Emphasize unique advantages like first-mover benefits. Showcase the team's expertise & past successes to strengthen credibility. Addressing these aspects would increase the chance of gaining support
-
Outline concrete strategies for mitigating risks. Explain how you plan to manage potential pitfalls and provide contingency plans. Suggest starting with a smaller pilot program or phased approach to test the concept, allowing for assessment and adjustment before full implementation.
-
Present your risk management perspective. You likely have already considered their questions but have a different opinion or risk tolerance. Your confidence in the plan should reflect this. Individuals with lower risk tolerance can follow those with higher risk tolerance if they trust the confidence, determination, and intelligence of the person or team, even if their risk-taking approaches differ. Ultimately, achieving the same goals through different methods (riskier vs. less risky) requires trust in the risk taker's ability to succeed. Trust leads to good teams which leads to good plans and good execution.
-
When I pitch bold ideas to cautious people, I focus on keeping it clear and relatable. Here’s how I usually approach it: 1. I start by understanding what they care about most and show how the idea aligns with their goals. 2. I share real examples or data to prove the idea has worked before. 3. I’m upfront about any risks and explain exactly how I’d handle them. 4. I highlight the long-term benefits and why it’s worth considering. 5. If they’re hesitant, I suggest starting small to test the waters.
-
It's all about data and logic for me. Keep emotions to a minimum. Present real evidence and numbers in a digestible manner. Also remember some people's risk aversion is what got them to where they are. Don't take hard questions or a no go personally. Listen to feedback and learn from it.
-
What are you solving? What is the problem and the story? If the value of the vision is not clear and the stakeholders is spending their time trying to understand the basic concept of Why? They come tone deaf to the rest. But when you have walked them into a vision of a world with said problem solved. Then they can partner into strategy. You see the gleaming eyes and they are engaged. They want to be a part of the solution.
Rate this article
More relevant reading
-
Risk ManagementYour team is struggling to meet its goals. What can you do to get everyone back on track?
-
Risk ManagementWhat are some of the best practices for developing and reviewing your risk appetite and tolerance statements?
-
Business DevelopmentHow do you balance innovation and risk management when exploring new revenue streams?
-
Risk ManagementHere's how you can build and sustain relationships with key stakeholders in your industry.