How can you explain the value of your passion project to profit-focused stakeholders?

Market Alignment: Aligns with #Trends, promising #Profitability. ?? Unique Selling Proposition: Stands out innovatively in the market. ?? #USP Long-Term Viability: Clear roadmap for sustained revenue. ?? #Sustainability Customer Retention: Builds loyalty for recurring income. ?? #CustomerEngagement Risk Mitigation: Strategies in place for security. ?? #RiskManagement Brand Reputation: Enhances brand image, social impact. ?? #BrandImpact ROI Projections: Data-backed promising returns. ?? #ROIProjection

It's crucial to highlight both its tangible and intangible benefits. Innovation and Market Differentiation: Consider a passion project focused on sustainable packaging for consumer goods. This initiative aligns with ethical standards and taps into a growing market segment. Data can showcase the rising consumer demand for environmentally conscious products, demonstrating how the project can capture a market niche, potentially leading to increased sales and market share. Sense of Purpose and Brand Identity: Frame the project as a reflection of the company's commitment to social responsibility & environmental stewardship. This approach can enhance the company's reputation, fostering stronger customer loyalty and trust.

First, you probably want to focus on the profit potential. Your passion is not worth anything if you can't demonstrate how it converts to corporate value.

As a passionate digital copywriter, I've witnessed firsthand the remarkable impact of storytelling on business success. What sets a business apart isn't just products or services; it's the emotional connection with the audience. My expertise lies in crafting content that builds trust and lasting relationships. For profit-focused stakeholders, this means: ?? Expanded brand recognition ?? Increased organic traffic ?? Heightened engagement ?? Improved sales figures It's more than metrics; it's creating an immersive experience that captivates and converts. When an entrepreneur knows they can rely on you for their company's progress, they're willing to invest in that.????

Understanding stakeholders is vital for pitching your passion project. Identify their goals, motivations, and concerns. Tailor your message to each group, highlighting benefits that matter to them. Differentiate priorities—financial returns, social impact, innovation, or work quality. This approach, with a focus on unique perspectives, not only secures support but also demonstrates a commitment to meeting individual needs. Proactive engagement fosters collaboration, ensuring your project resonates positively across diverse stakeholder expectations.

In my experience a strong value proposition is the best tool to sell your passion project to anyone. It should not only speak of the quantitative benefits of your project, in the more traditional sense (what problem are you solving and how), but it should also focus on the intangible value: the way your project helps customers, how it reflects your own passion, your energy and your willingness to bring it forward no matter what. Stakeholders care about how invested you are with your project because it gives them a measure of your commitment to it, which eventually tranlates into value.

Aplicando as ferramentas certas, um bom contador de histórias consegue criar conex?es que potencializam o valor que o público atribui ao projeto. Criar uma narrativa memorável é o primeiro passo para que os stakeholders comecem a considerar o projeto como algo alinhado a seus próprios propósitos.

Something i have heard very often is that investors do not invest in ideas but in people, and I tend to agree. The best ideas can flop if they do not have the right person or team behind, with passion and determination. Storytelling can help you show your stakeholders that you have the right skills, and attitude to make your passion project a reality, showcasing your strenghts but also showing vulnerability and emotional intelligence. We are all people after all!

Understanding your audience is the key to great communication. For some people "breakfast at 6, and we are having beans on toast" is enough. they can infer everything from these 8 words. Others explained "They might like to wake at 5 to enjoy the sunrise and relax into the day with the morning newspaper and break their fast with harico beans in a salted tomato-based sauce on lightly toasted artisanal bread with locally churned butter". The audience and their needs help to define which communication type is best. It is likely more fun to work with more words and add embellishments, taking your audience on the "heroes journey" but... if you only have time or audience energy to process the key points, that is where to focus your energy.

It doesn't make sense for any business decision to incur unnecessary costs while giving less/ no returns. And every request for resources on passion projects will face this objection. The solution is to pitch the idea in a manner that connects it to: 1. Tangible business metrics. Eg. the new product packaging may lead to x% more sales. 2. Intangible benefits that still positively impact the business. Eg. the team offsite will keep them more engaged, reducing attrition. In the end, no expense is big enough if you can justify it. Simply find the justification.

When addressing stakeholder objections, there are three dimensions of risk that will influence their perception of your passion project: 1. perceived likelihood that risk will occur all things considered; 2. perceived susceptibility (that’s your vulnerability to this risk) and; 3. perceived severity (the extent of damage that the possible risk could cause). Risk perceptions are central to most decisions and so successfully handling them before they arise is key to getting stakeholders on board.

The only thing I could add to all the great comments is to understand the barriers to entry and offer substantial practical solutions. The objections and risks will be rooted in this perception or experience.

After you have answered the previous questions thoroughly and established your expertise, ask for feedback specific to the stakeholder’s area of business or interest. You might say, I envision impacting your business in this way, but I could also use my product in “area X”. “Do you prefer one over the other?” “Have I left any factors out that are important to you You want to strike a balance between humility and confidence in this phase. By pointing out the stakeholders’ abilities and expertise, complimenting them, etc., you provide an opportunity for the stakeholder to form some emotional attachment to your product/project. This factor can make all the difference in moving the needle from a “maybe” to a “yes!”

A tool that many people don't consider but essentially creates an "easy mode" is collaboration. If one's creative brain and all of its experiences are a good asset then being able to harness other people's ideas and experiences gives an amazing advantage. If you can create an opportunity to gain this insight, examine it, and potentially implement it or explain elements that might not have been thought about when giving feedback the people who were invited to give the feedback will feel valued and will have created value. A great but obscure model of this happening is the company Quirky.com in its early years, it implemented this model and gained a very loyal and active community who actively helped in the design and promotion of products.

Personalize intended outcomes for each stakeholder. Take time to know what drives their individual support and identify the benefits in that focus area. Stakeholder buy-in is similar to selling someone on a product or idea. Being a compelling influencer means articulating "what's in it for me" to your audience.