A simple framework to pitch an idea to senior management

In my last newsletter , I gave you some tips on how to remain agile and flexible when presenting to senior executives. Perhaps you need to present a proposal that solves an emerging problem and you’re looking for buy-in from your audience.

If that’s the case, this month I want to give you a simple framework you can use as the basis of a presentation to pitch an idea. (Obviously, you’ll still need to demonstrate your skills of agility when you actually get to pitch the idea.)

When listening to a pitch presentation, a senior management audience are often thinking:

1. Is it worth investing time and money in this idea?
2. If so, do I believe this person/team can get it done?

Although a lot of attention is given to solutions with this type of audience, don’t make the mistake of spending little time communicating a good understanding of the problem you face.

Both problem and solution are important.

Similarly, don’t make the mistake of focusing only on the big picture. Yes, the executives want to know how the bottom line and key performance indicators will be affected in terms of both problem and solution, but they also want to know whether your team knows enough about the details to implement the project successfully.

Both big picture (50,000ft) and details (1,000ft) are important.

So, having said all this, how can you combine these four elements to create a tight presentation that maximises the chances that you’ll get buy-in for your idea?

This illustration gives a basic outline of how to do it.

Begin your presentation with a clear understanding of the issue at the 50,000ft level. What are the observed trends in your market, with your competitors etc and what demonstrable effect is this having?

Next, move to the details of the problem. How do you see the problem playing out specifically in your company?

As you can see, we’re advocating here a deep and clear understanding of the issue at hand at both the 50,000 and 1,000 ft level.

Then it’s time to move to exploring solutions.

What’s already happening at the big picture level to move towards a solution? Are your competitors already taking initiatives for example?

And then we finally move down to the solution at 1,000 feet, the idea that you’re pitching in the presentation.

The final stage of the presentation is a simple ask for the executives’ feedback and support to proceed.

Of course, it goes without saying that your presentation needs to be well-researched with good data points of view and delivered with conviction and confidence. But if your presentation isn’t well structured with clear, convincing messages that connect with what’s important to the executives, those data points can get ‘lost in translation’.

Using this framework of combining problem and solution at the big picture and detail level coupled with an agile, robust discussion as the basis for your pitch presentation, can really help you get the visibility and support you need for your project.

This post was inspired by the brilliant course here on LinkedIn called ‘Communicating with Executives’ by Daniel Shapero

Check it out for more details – you won’t regret it!