What sometimes divides those who are successful in the workplace and those who cannot seem to get a break is the ability to sell a project internally. At first, that may sound ridiculous thinking that your success in the business world is tied to your ability to sell, well… you are correct. It actually is an indirect play at measuring your social credibility.

1. Art
of
the
Wingman
for
Business
is
dedicated
to
the
businesswomen
and
businessmen
who
seek
greatness
beyond
their
own
and
find
their
successes
through
helping
others
succeed.
The
Business
Wingman
follows
the
path
of
the
selfless
person.
How
to
Sell
a
Project
Internally
Key
Points
• Build
a
plan
that
is
beyond
you
• Develop
a
list
of
internal
advocates
• Sell
it
up,
down,
and
to
the
side
What
sometimes
divides
those
who
are
successful
in
the
workplace
and
those
who
cannot
seem
to
get
a
break
is
the
ability
to
sell
a
project
internally.
At
first,
that
may
sound
ridiculous
thinking
that
your
success
in
the
business
world
is
tied
to
your
ability
to
sell,
well…
you
are
correct.
It
actually
is
an
indirect
play
at
measuring
your
social
credibility.
Building
your
social
credibility
is
not
easy,
but
we
all
know
that
those
with
credibility
can
easily
sell
a
project
internally
and
gain
buy-­‐in
where
others
struggle.
So…what
do
we
mean
when
we
say
selling
a
project
internally?
Here
are
a
few
examples:
• You
are
developing
a
new
strategy
or
approach
to
a
common
business
issue
and
in
order
for
you
to
make
that
business
improvement,
you
need
to
get
buy-­‐in
from
a
series
of
senior
leaders
to
purchase
a
new
tool
to
manage
that
process
• Your
account
or
program
needs
extra
budget
to
be
sustained
or
grow
and
you
have
to
go
to
senior
members
of
finance
to
get
approval
• You
want
to
test
a
new
marketing
channel
because
you
know
that
it
will
drive
incremental
traffic,
but
the
test
will
cost
$25,000
and
need
get
your
management
to
approve
the
additional
funds
• You
have
an
idea
for
a
new
product
offering
that
you
feel
the
company
should
adopt,
test,
and
put
resources
behind,
but
you
need
buy-­‐in
from
a
series
of
leaders
to
get
the
idea
adopted
In
a
2012
article
in
Forbes,
“How
Extremely
Successful
People
Sell
Their
Ideas
Internally”,
the
author
gives
a
great
explanation
of
what
it
means
to
sell
an
idea
internally
especially
when
you
may
feel
discouraged
and
without
any
power
to
make
a
difference.
It’s
all
about
the
strategy
you
take
and
your
approach.

2. Forbes
Article:
You
can
complain,
“I
don’t
have
any
leverage;
I
can’t
change
the
cubicles,
I
can’t
rewrite
the
reward
system.
And
the
answer
is
“No
you
can’t;
don’t
even
try.”
But
simply
through
your
own
thinking,
and
getting
other
people
to
think
differently
as
well,
you
can
have
enormous
impact
without
changing
any
of
that
stuff
even
if
you
are
not
a
member
of
the
board.
The
simple
fact
is
“smart
is
smart,”
and
we’re
talking
about
you
offering
up
an
additional
way
of
viewing
problems.
You’ll
never
get
in
real
trouble
for
doing
that,
especially
if
you
do
it
gently
by
saying
“can
we
think
about
this
in
another
way?”
1) Build
a
plan
that
is
beyond
you
When
selling
an
idea,
asking
for
more
resources,
or
anything
that
affects
that
the
outcome
of
the
business,
you
have
to
always
think
how
your
plan/idea/solution
is
bigger
than
just
you
and
how
it
affects
others
or
the
company
as
a
whole.
The
first
thing
that
is
going
to
run
through
their
heads
when
you
are
presenting
the
idea
is
“What’s
in
it
for
me?”
and
“How
is
this
going
to
benefit
the
company?”
Remember
that
you
are
asking
for
them
to
champion
your
idea
and
put
their
name
on
it,
so
for
them,
there
has
to
be
some
value
in
return.
Don’t
get
caught
without
that
selling
point
or
the
whole
thing
will
fall
apart
and
you
will
not
be
able
to
recover.
Most
times,
there
is
only
one
chance
to
sell
it,
so
be
ready
for
anything.

3. To
best
help
you
prepare,
here
are
3
things
that
you
can
do
to
ensure
that
you
are
building
a
plan
that
is
beyond
you
and
to
ensure
that
your
goal/project
is
big
enough.
1. Create
individualized
value
for
each
person
that
you
will
pitch.
Remember
that
they
don’t
care
what’s
the
value
to
others;
it’s
all
about
the
value
to
them.
So
be
sure
to
sell
them
on
why
they
should
champion
it.
2. Create
milestones
or
quick
wins
to
keep
momentum.
When
gaining
buy-­‐in
from
others,
you
have
to
be
able
to
manage
you’re
their
excitement
and
keep
them
motivated.
If
the
project
is
going
to
take
6-­‐months
to
a
year
to
get
off
the
ground,
then
keep
them
excited
with
milestones
and
quick
wins.
3. Create
realistic
expectations.
The
last
thing
you
want
to
do
is
overpromise
and
gain
buy-­‐in
for
something
that
is
impossible
to
reach.
Remember
that
most
management
need
tangible
and
measurable
results,
so
give
them
something
that
they
can
measure.
2) Develop
a
list
of
internal
advocates
After
you
have
done
your
planning,
ideation,
and
valuation,
the
next
step
is
to
identify
the
key
people
that
you
want
to
sell
this
idea
to.
Not
sure
where
to
start?
I
recommend
pulling
out
the
company
org
chart,
identifying
the
top
person
that
must
approve
the
idea,
and
then
draw
links
to
that
person
through
your
own
connections.
Build
a
path
of
success
and
advocacy
that
will
eventually
get
to
the
final
approver,
and
build
advocates
along
the
way
that
will
support
you
up
to
the
top.
Here
are
4
things
you
can
do
to
help
you
build
that
list
and
gain
buy-­‐in.
1. Identify
key
advocates
and
champions.
Looking
at
the
org
chart
and
your
connections,
find
the
optimal
path
to
success.
2. Ask
for
their
inputs/buy-­‐in.
When
selling
your
internal
advocates,
be
sure
to
involve
them
in
the
planning
and
ask
for
their
inputs.
Make
them
feel
that
they
now
also
own
the
idea
and
are
giving
their
own
ideas.
If
you
can
make
them
feel
a
sense
of
ownership,
then
you
are
more
likely
to
gain
their
buy-­‐in.
3. Go
through
trial
runs.
Because
you
are
receiving
inputs
from
various
people,
you
will
need
to
constantly
make
updates
and
changes
to
your
presentation/proposal.
If
may
take
a
few
sessions
with
each
person
to
get
their
approval,
so
look
at
this
as
a
series
of
trial
runs
and
you
are
getting
in
a
lot
of
practice
before
making
the
final
presentation
to
the
top
person.
4. Manage
the
pace
of
the
project.
You
may
be
working
to
gain
champions
and
advocates,
but
that
doesn’t
mean
that
you
should
lose
control
of
the
project.
It
is
your
job
to
maintain
the
scope,
the
expectations,
and
especially
the
pace
of
the
project.
Don’t
let
it
slip
out
of
your
hands.

4. 3) Sell
it
up,
down,
and
to
the
side
Remember
that
the
path
to
success
may
not
always
be
up.
Looking
at
the
org
chart,
it
seems
logical
to
just
get
buy-­‐in
from
your
boss,
then
their
boss,
and
so
on
and
then
you
are
at
the
top.
Well,
in
a
perfect
situation,
that
may
be
the
case.
But
with
the
unique
structures
of
today’s
organization,
you
have
to
be
agile
and
be
willing
to
sell
in
multiple
directions
to
get
to
the
top.
• Selling
up:
selling
to
Management
or
Leadership
above
you
• Selling
sideways:
selling
to
your
work
colleagues
or
other
teams
within
your
department
or
outside
your
department
• Selling
down:
selling
to
your
team
and
gaining
their
support
so
that
they
can
help
spread
the
word
to
others
In
conclusion:
Selling
a
project
internally
is
not
easy
and
is
not
for
everyone.
It
takes
practice,
great
connections,
and
social
credibility
to
make
it
happen.
But
when
it
does
happen,
it
is
a
great
feeling
to
see
how
a
great
idea
is
sold
step-­‐by-­‐step
through
the
company
and
up
to
the
top
until
the
day
it
gets
recognition
by
Leadership.
Everyone’s
path
to
selling
internally
is
different
and
it
may
even
be
different
for
someone
each
time
they
sell
a
new
idea.
Be
agile
and
be
prepared.
You
only
have
one
first
impression.
Check
out
our
blog
at:
www.artofthewingman.com