Selling Ideas in Your Company? Be Ready for the Executive Inquisition

© 2015 Planning Innovations www.planninginnovations.com
Can You Survive the
Executive Inquisition?
The Secrets to Being a
Savvy Corporate Innovator
Dorian Simpson
April 1 , 2014

What BIG ideas are we talking about?
• New product or service?
• New approach to business?
• New types of customers?
• New technology?
• New application?
Any idea that:
• Leads to growth or profit
• Is not part of the plan
• Needs funding and resources

Starbucks
• Offer advanced coffee-making kiosks for
any location.
• Create packaging to absorb and release
heat to make a latte a consistent
temperature.
• We could detect you walked in the store
and immediately prepare your beverage -
prepaid.
• Off coffee subscription service like Netflix.
Just pay Starbucks $24.99/month and get
whatever you want 8 times a month!
Etc. etc. etc. etc.
We could…

Corporate Innovation is Not Entrepreneurism
• Entrepreneurism
– Create the vision
– Create competency
– Many funding sources
– Self realization
– Personal risk ($K’s at
stake)
– Incentive: Get rich
• Corporate Innovation
– Meet financial goals
– Leverage competency
– One funding source
– Self preservation
– Shareholder risk ($B’s at
stake)
– Incentive: Thank you!

Part I
Every great business or product
starts with an idea…
Ideas come from everywhere.
So what’s the problem?

Innovation is Really a Fight for Resources
Bus./Manuf. Operations
Product Development
Mergers & Acquisitions
Internal Startups
Idea
Funnel
1) Ideas 3) Results
Problems. Trends. Technology. Revenue. Profit. Productivity.
2) Opportunities
The Easy Part The Hard Part

Innovation is Really a Fight for Resources
Bus./Manuf. Operations
Product Development
Mergers & Acquisitions
Internal Startups
Idea
Funnel
1) Ideas 3) Results
Problems. Trends. Technology. Revenue. Profit. Productivity.
2) Opportunities
To get your first morsel of funding…

SVP
Sales
CFO
COO CMO
CEO
Innovator
SVP
R&D
Look at this cool
concept! Check out
these features!
Where’s the
ROI data?
Where’s your
revenue forecast??
Where’s your
market forecast?
What are your
expected COGS?
What resource
funding do you
need?
How will you
manage risk?
You Must Survive… The Executive Inquisition

How it can feel...
9

Preparing Can Feel Like an Unsolvable Puzzle
“How am I
supposed to prove
my idea will be
successful when it
doesn’t exist??
They just don’t get
it.”

Let’s Say for Now…
• You are an “innovator”
for a consumer
appliances company…
• You have observed that
bananas have a very
small window of perfect
ripeness.
• Eureka! The Perfect
Banana!
11

Part I
Can you solve the puzzle to
survive the executive
inquisition to move this idea
forward?

The Savvy Corporate Innovator Puzzle Challenge
13

19 Factors + a Wild Card = Funding Success
14

What prevents idea acceptance?
Opinions – “We’re way too early!”
Momentum – “We don’t do that.”
1
2
Fear – “What if we fail?”3
Skepticism – “That won’t work.”4
Personal Bias – “I wouldn’t buy that.”5
Biggest mistake innovator’s make?
Not recognizing that innovation is a HUMAN
Process

#1 – Specific Needs of Each Decision Maker
16
Understand the
specific needs of
each person
behind the funding
decisions

#1 – Specific Needs of Each Decision Maker
17
Understand the
specific needs of
each person
behind the funding
decisions
Understand the
specific needs of
each person behind
the funding
decisions
“How does this fit with our
corporate strategy?”
CEO
“What will our margins be
in 2 years?”
CFO
“How the hell are we
going to test this?”
CMO

#2 – The Right Data to Get Support
18
Understand the
specific needs of
each person
behind the funding
decisions

#2 – The Right Data to Get Support
19
Present data
that supports
your idea to the
satisfaction of
executives
“Ok.. But I need to know
exactly how many people
are trying to preserve
bananas today…”
Executive Says…
“Look at all of this great
data!”
Innovator Says…

#3 – Real Customers that Say “Yes!”
20
Understand the
specific needs of
each person
behind the funding
decisions

#3 – Real Customers that Say “Yes!”
21
Provide solid
data from 5+
targeted
customers
“Customers throw out 30%
of banana purchases worth
over $200M. They need
this product!”
“Really? Prove it to me..
Show me exactly who wants
to buy this…”
Innovator Says…
Executive Says…

#4 – Get Support for Approaches (not numbers)
22
Understand the
specific needs of
each person
behind the funding
decisions

#4 – Get Support for Approaches (not numbers)
23
Have gained
support for
your approach
to forecasting
revenue
“I used Bass Diffusion
Modeling to estimate the
market size at various
prices!”
Innovator Says…
Executive Says…
“I don’t have time for
this…”

#5 – Pre-sell! Remove Objections. Repeat.
24
Understand the
specific needs of
each person
behind the funding
decisions

#5 – Pre-sell! Remove Objections. Repeat.
25
Have gained
support for
your approach
to forecasting
revenue
Pre-sell the idea
to influential
executives
before the
inquisition
Not this.
This.

Which Pieces Are You Missing?
26

Part I
Let’s talk…
Personal
Experience?
Questions?

The Book
28
30 Day
Action Plan
5-Point
Inspection
Opportunity
Portfolio
Rapid Learning
Cycles
How to navigate complex
innovation environments
How to evaluate and communicate
value, risk and forecasts
Step-by-step plans to develop a
compelling proposal in 30 days
How to sell an idea to risk-averse
executives
How to identify and select the most
promising ideas

Let’s Connect…
29

Part I
Thank You…
I hope you enjoy
the book.

Selling Ideas in Your Company? Be Ready for the Executive Inquisition

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