To achieve buy-in, budget approval, or a project green light you must first engage. As marketers we study the art of engagement. We develop programs, content, and analytics to maximize engagement with our prospects, customers, and channel partners. We recognize that we must deliver content that educates, nurtures, and motivates. As marketers we recognize that we must deliver the right content, to the right people, at the right time, and through the right channel. And as marketers we understand that the most effective form of engagement results from storytelling. So why do we fail so miserably at engaging our internal audience? More than any business unit, marketing should have perfected the business presentation. And yet, we often fall back into the bad habit of bullet-point heavy PowerPoint presentations, charts and graphs, and messaging that focuses on what’s missing versus what is possible. In order to succeed you must create an internal environment for success. To do this you must guide the company to the realization that the initiative is a change for the better and that they are a part of that positive change. And much like engaging with your external audience, engaging with your internal audience requires preparation, analysis, relevant content with context, and storytelling.

1. Manufacturing Project Green Light
How to Gain Corporate Buy-in

2. To achieve buy-in, budget
approval, or a project
green light you must first
engage.

3. You must guide the
company to the
realization that the
initiative is a change for
the better and that they
are a part of that positive
change.

4. Engaging with your
internal audience
requires preparation,
analysis, relevant content
with context, and
storytelling.

5. So let’s build a story ….

6. Audience Pre-education
Questions to be
answered before the
presentation is
developed

7. Exercise #1: Define who will be in the room.
Who is the target audience for the
presentation?
Example: CMO, CEO, CFO, Product
Management Team, Global Marketing
Team

8. Exercise #2: Define the benefits of the
presentation to the individuals attending.
Example: Gain power, gain influence, gain
accessibility, earn a promotion, earn a
bonus or pay increase, develop my skill
set and/or experience, love my job,
contribute to the success of the company

9. Exercise #2: Define the benefits of the
presentation to the individuals attending.
Example: Gain power, gain influence, gain
accessibility, earn a promotion, earn a
bonus or pay increase, develop my skill
set and/or experience, love my job,
contribute to the success of the company

10. Exercise #3: Define the benefits of the
presentation to the company.
Example: Develop customer intimacy,
increase productivity, increase customer
lifecycle revenue optimization, and
develop demand insight.

11. Exercise #3: Define the return for the company
with this type of initiative. Consult which
metrics are on the manufacturing executive
dashboard.
Example: Develop customer intimacy,
increase productivity, increase customer
lifecycle revenue optimization, and
develop demand insight.

12. Exercise #4: Define the return for the company with
this type of initiative. Consult which metrics are on
the manufacturing executive dashboard.
Example: Improvement against net income, return on
equity, return on assets, customer delivery and
responsiveness metrics, quality metrics, efficiency
metrics, inventory metrics, regulatory and
compliance metrics, maintenance metrics, new
product innovation metrics, brand loyalty

13. Exercise #5: What are you asking for
the company to invest? Define your
ask.
Example: Money, people, time, tools,
awareness

14. Exercise #5: What are you asking for
the company to invest? Define your
ask.
Example: Money, people, time, tools,
awareness

15. Now, let’s build the
presentation

16. Capture this conversation
in 18 minutes

17. Remember to
communicate your origin
story (where did you
start?).

18. Paint a mental picture
with multi-senses

19. You must take numbers
on a page and turn them
into something tangible

20. Define what the audience needs
to know during the
presentation to keep them
focused and what they need to
know by the time they leave.

21. Exercise #1: Define your passion
behind your marketing programs.
Is it supporting sales, helping the
customer, driving revenue, etc?
Consult your marketing charter and
define the passion within it.
Example: Our Company is passionate
about enabling customers and
dealers to ultimately drive revenue.

22. Exercise #2: Define the Origin Story
Example: In 1900 the industry was focused on
manufacturing. On building things. In 1960 the
industry shifted to an industry of distribution. In
1990 the industry shifted to an age of information.
In 2010 the industry shifted to the age of the
customer. While these points are succinct, it would
be more impactful to tell the story of a particular
customer(s) throughout each of those phases,
explain why the transformation occurred, and how
that customer was impacted.

23. Exercise #3: Create your twitter
headline. What’s the one thing you
want your audience to know?
Example: Why We Need to Evolve
From the Age of Manufacturing to
the Age of the Customer

24. Exercise #4: Build in the Rule of 3. People can
remember 3 things at once. Define those 3
points that support your Twitter headline.
Example:
1. We’re developing an understanding of
the customer
2. We’re building a consistent branded
experience for the customer
3. We’re providing proactive support and
opportunity to our dealer network

25. Exercise #5:
Support each of the 3 points with a story.
Tell a story.
Have a conversation.

26. Example Story for Point #1:
We’re developing an understanding of the customer. Through
nurturing programs including helpful newsletters and
educational blog content, we’re capturing and analyzing
customers’ digital body language. And we’re using the
information to better support and educate the customer. At our
recent trade show our customer FlowJoe stopped by the booth
to learn more about our backhoe work tools. He had been
researching backhoe work tools online, but abandoned his cart.
We entered him into an educational nurture program about the
value used parts, like backhoes. He engaged with this content,
researched used parts available, and inquired into financing.
After stopping by the booth we connected him with a local
dealer selling the used backhoe. He purchased the backhoe for
$10,900. He explained that it was because of the information
delivered that he discovered an affordable alternative to his
purchase. We upsold a customer that had initially walked
away from a purchase.

27. Example Story for Point #2:
We’re building a consistent branded experience for the
customer. We’ve consolidated dozens of fractured
websites into a single website. Our dealer, FABCO
Equipment, has had an 82% increase in engagement on
our website. We reached out to talk with FABCO. They
explained how pleased they are that they can now
access all information in one central location. They used
to search multiple sites, including competitor sites, for
information on parts, maintenance, and rentals. Because
they can find all needed information in one location they
no longer bounce from the site. When looking at the
revenue performance for FABCO we can see that their
revenue contribution has increased by 13%.

28. Example Story for Point #3:
We’re providing proactive support and opportunity to our
dealer network. Customers can now request quotes and
view important content (while bypassing gated content).
These opportunities are then accurately funneled to the
appropriate dealer. One of our dealers, METSO had a
32% increase in revenue and a 43% increase in product
registrations. By accurately matching opportunities with
dealers, revenue is increasing, as is dealer satisfaction.
Because we’ve become easier to do business with,
dealers like METSO are providing an increase in product
registrations.

29. Exercise #6:
Support each of the 3 points with
data that has context.

30. Example Supporting Data for Point #1:
We’re developing an understanding of the
customer. We’ve discovered that 26% of
leads are “just looking”, 66% are
“comparing company specs”, and 8% are
“ready to buy”. This data is justifying our
pursuit of a more comprehensive nurture
strategy to address the buying stage of
each prospect. This is allowing us to better
support the dealers, improve both the
customer and dealer experience, and as
we’ve seen from the FABCO story,
increase revenue opportunities.

31. Example Supporting Data for Point #2:
We’re building a consistent branded experience for the
customer. 80% of construction customers use the internet
to do research. 70% of B2B customers use the internet to
buy. 57% of customers are typically 70% through the
buying process before the contact suppliers. These data
points have allowed us to identify what percentage of
business opportunities we’re missing out on. We can
now work to provide more early and mid-stage content
to those buyers who are self-educating. This will
accelerate the sales process and lead to greater revenue
generation.

32. Example Supporting Data for Point #3:
We’re providing proactive support and opportunity to
our dealer network. Dealer opportunities have
increased by 43%. Closed dealer revenue has
increased by 18%. These stats support our digital
marketing and sales investment thus far. But given
the digital buying behavior defined earlier, we
must continue to invest in our digital initiatives if
we’re going to capitalize on the 80% of construction
customers utilizing digital channels.

33. Now, REHEARSE!

34. REMEMBER …..

35. ENGAGE

36. Deliver content that
educates, nurtures, and
motivates

37. Deliver content that
educates, nurtures, and
motivates

38. Define your target
audience.

39. Define the benefits to the
individual.

40. Define the benefits to the
company.

41. Define the return for the
company.

42. Define your ask.

43. Define your passion.

44. Define your origin story.

45. Create your twitter
headline.

46. Define your 3 points to
support your twitter
headline.

47. Define your supporting
story.

48. Define the supporting
data and include context
for each data point.

49. Define the supporting
data and include context
for each data point.

50. Tell Your Story in 18
Minutes.