Stop Waiting for Buy-In: Real CX Leaders Earn Their Seat at the Table

Stop Waiting for Buy-In: Real CX Leaders Earn Their Seat at the Table

Let’s stop with the excuses. Too many CX leaders are sitting on the sidelines, waiting around for an invitation to the executive table, whining about how the C-suite just doesn’t "get it." They complain about not having a seat at the boardroom, not getting the recognition they deserve, and not having enough budget to make an impact. It’s always someone else’s fault.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Real CX pros don’t wait for permission.

The top 1% of CX leaders aren’t sitting around hoping the exec team will finally “buy-in” or sponsor their initiatives. They’re creating the buy-in by proving their value with results. They’re solving real business problems, making themselves indispensable, and forcing the boardroom to take notice.

If you’re still waiting for someone to give you a seat at the table, you’re already behind.

Why Waiting for Buy-In Is the Wrong Strategy

Let’s break this down. If you’re sitting in meetings, pushing for “buy-in,” you’ve already lost. Why? Because when you’re asking for buy-in, you’re basically asking permission. You’re telling the exec team, “Please believe in this. Please understand the importance of CX.”

And that’s where things go sideways. The best CX leaders aren’t playing that game. They don’t ask for buy-in—they create it by tying CX directly to business impact. They’re showing how CX drives revenue, retains customers, and reduces costs in ways that the C-suite can’t ignore.

Stop waiting for someone to validate your importance.

If you’re still chasing after “buy-in,” you’re stuck in a reactive mode, waiting for someone else to see the value you should have proven already.

Player Tip 1: Tie CX Directly to Business Outcomes

If you want a seat at the table, stop talking about CX in terms of “feel-good” metrics like NPS and CSAT. The exec team doesn’t care about those. What they care about is how CX drives revenue, lowers churn, and increases customer lifetime value (CLTV). The best CX leaders know this and focus their efforts on proving real business impact.

How to leverage it:

• Start with financial outcomes. Don’t start with customer feedback; start with how CX will impact the business financially. For example, how will improving post-purchase communication reduce churn and improve retention rates? How will reducing support response time increase customer loyalty and drive upsell opportunities? Tie every initiative directly to revenue or cost reduction.
• Stop selling CX—sell the business outcome. The C-suite doesn’t need you to sell them on why CX is important—they need you to show them how it will make or save them money. Make the case with hard numbers. If you can’t tie your initiatives directly to financial outcomes, you’re just adding noise.

Example Output: A CX initiative that clearly maps back to business results:

• Goal: Reduce customer churn by 15% in the next quarter by improving post-purchase communication and engagement.
• Impact: Reducing churn by 15% will retain X customers, resulting in Y additional revenue.
• Metrics: Track the reduction in churn alongside the customer lifetime value (CLTV) increase to prove the initiative's financial impact.

Player Tip 2: Own the Metrics That Matter

CX leaders who wait for buy-in are playing defense. The top 1% are playing offense by owning the metrics that matter. They don’t rely on traditional CX metrics alone—they embrace the metrics the CFO cares about. They don’t just track customer happiness; they track how CX initiatives drive tangible results.

How to leverage it:

• Get deep into financial metrics. Learn to speak the language of finance and operations. You need to be just as comfortable talking about margins, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and customer lifetime value (CLTV) as you are about NPS. If you’re only talking about CX-specific metrics, you’re missing the bigger picture.
• Own KPIs across the organization. Work with sales, marketing, and product to co-own metrics that demonstrate CX’s business impact. For example, CX can work with marketing to increase conversion rates by improving the post-purchase experience or with product to reduce customer complaints through better onboarding.

Example Output: CX metrics that align with C-suite priorities:

• Revenue impact: Show how improving support response times reduced churn and led to increased revenue by X%.
• Cost reduction: Track how simplifying the customer onboarding process reduced customer inquiries, cutting support costs by Y%.

Player Tip 3: Deliver Results, Not Excuses

The top CX leaders don’t ask for permission—they deliver results. They don’t go to the C-suite with vague ideas or concepts. They go in with hard data and results that speak for themselves. If you’re not delivering clear, measurable wins for the business, no one is going to hand you a seat at the table.

How to leverage it:

• Start with small wins. You don’t need a massive CX overhaul to get noticed. Start by identifying quick wins—improvements that can be implemented within a few months and have a measurable impact. Once you deliver results, use that success to build momentum for larger initiatives.
• Eliminate excuses. If something isn’t working, fix it. Don’t blame lack of budget, lack of executive buy-in, or lack of resources. The best CX leaders make things happen despite the obstacles. They find creative solutions, and they execute relentlessly.

Example Output: A quick-win CX initiative that delivers immediate results:

• Initiative: Implement a self-service support option to reduce customer inquiries.
• Result: Within 3 months, self-service reduced support tickets by 30%, saving the company Y dollars in support costs and improving customer satisfaction by X%.

Player Tip 4: Make the C-Suite Need You

If you want a permanent seat at the table, make yourself indispensable. The best CX leaders understand that their goal isn’t just to be heard—it’s to make sure the C-suite can’t function without them. They don’t just present data; they tie every CX initiative to a larger business goal and show how it impacts the company’s bottom line.

How to leverage it:

• Be the translator. Translate CX initiatives into business terms. Don’t just talk about customer loyalty; talk about how improving loyalty will increase revenue by X% over Y years. Don’t just talk about improving the customer journey; show how reducing friction will improve conversion rates and reduce acquisition costs.
• Show how CX is the competitive advantage. In today’s market, customers have endless options. Show the C-suite that CX is the one thing that can set your brand apart from the competition and keep customers coming back.

Example Output: A case study showing how CX directly contributed to a competitive advantage:

• CX Initiative: Streamlining the returns process for e-commerce customers.
• Result: A 20% reduction in return handling time, leading to a 15% increase in repeat purchases and positioning the brand as a customer-first leader in its market.

Framework #1: Frame the Customer’s Problems So Your Executives Give a Damn

Here’s the problem: Too many CX leaders can’t articulate customer pain in a way that gets the exec team to care. They’re too caught up in customer satisfaction scores or feedback anecdotes that sound soft, fluffy, and disconnected from what actually drives the business. If you want executives to pay attention, you need to frame the customer’s problems in business terms that they can’t ignore—specifically, how those problems are bleeding money.

The Simple Framework:

Every [frequency], at least [reach] are [pain], costing us [loss].

That means [implications #1]. If it’s not addressed by [timeline], then [implication #2].

This isn’t about vague complaints or NPS scores. This is about showing, in hard numbers, how the customer problem is a business problem.

Example #1: - Post-purchase communication issues

Every month, at least 200k (15%) of customers call the contact center to inquire about their order (WISMO), costing us $914k ($4.57 per call).

That means we will need to increase our support team for peak season by 30 additional headcount. If it's not addressed by Q1 2025, then we run the risk of increased customer churn by 8%.

Example #2: - SaaS Onboarding Experience Issues

Every week, at least 20% of new users struggle to get through the onboarding process, costing us $500k in revenue due to lost conversions.

That means we are at pace to miss our yearly revenue target by $3.1M. If not addressed by Q2 2025, our churn rate will hit 30% and we will miss our revenue target by 12%.

This simple framework from Nate Nasralla gets execs to give a damn because it forces you to translate customer pain into real business pain. You are combining the data with a narrative your execs can understand. If you can quantify what’s being lost—and the potential implications if it’s not fixed—you’ll have their attention.

(More about the framework, grab Nate's book "Selling With.")

Framework #2: Articulate the Payoff That Matters

Once you’ve framed the problem, the next step is selling the payoff in terms that matter to the C-suite. Here’s where most CX pros get it wrong—they talk about customer benefits instead of business outcomes. Your executives don’t care about happier customers—they care about revenue, retention, and efficiency.

To do this right, you need to present the impact in a 3x3 grid that directly ties CX efforts to key business metrics. Focus on improvements that directly hit the bottom line and use numbers to back up your claims.

Example Grid:

Example #1 – Reducing Churn

• Key Metric: Churn Rate
• Current Measure: 12%
• Target by Q3: 9% (-3%)
• Context: By improving post-purchase communication and proactive engagement, we’ll reduce churn by 3%, which translates into $300K in retained revenue by the end of Q3.
• Actions: You will also need to outline the specific actions your team will take based on customer feedback to redesign the experience, process or behavior that will lead to achieving the targets.

Example #2 – Increasing Upsell Revenue

• Key Metric: Revenue from Upsells
• Current Measure: $2M
• Target by Q2: $2.5M (+25%)
• Context: By optimizing the onboarding and cross-sell process, we’ll increase upsell revenue by 25%, adding $500K by the end of Q2.
• Actions: You will also need to outline the specific actions your team will take based on customer feedback to redesign the experience, process or behavior that will lead to achieving the targets.

Example #3 – Reducing Customer Support Costs

• Key Metric: Customer Support Costs
• Current Measure: $500K/month
• Target by Q4: $400K (-20%)
• Context: By implementing a self-service support system, we’ll reduce customer support inquiries, cutting monthly costs by 20% and saving $100K per month by Q4.

How to Use These Frameworks to Get Buy-In:

Don’t just ask for executive sponsorship—demand it by presenting customer problems as urgent business problems and framing CX efforts as the solution to business growth. When you translate CX initiatives into financial outcomes that matter to your exec team, you’re not just a CX leader—you’re a business leader.

Stop waiting for the C-suite to get it. Make them get it.

This is how the top 1% of CX pros operate—they frame problems in business terms and show the payoff in metrics the execs care about. If you’re not doing this, you’re just asking for permission instead of making yourself indispensable.

How These Actions Drive Results:

By tying specific customer feedback to business-critical actions, you’re showing exactly how CX initiatives impact the bottom line. Each of these examples directly ties actionable customer insights into measurable business outcomes that matter to executives. This isn’t about fluff—it’s about making CX a driver of revenue, retention, and efficiency.

Stop waiting for your execs to care about CX—show them how it drives the business, and they’ll make room at the table for you.

Thought-Provoking Question:

Are you waiting for permission to lead, or are you delivering results that demand a seat at the table?

This question challenges CX leaders to shift their mindset from waiting for buy-in to actively earning their seat by proving their value through impact.

If you want to stop being ignored and start being taken seriously, it’s time to step up. Deliver outcomes that matter, and the boardroom will make space for you.

Stop asking for a seat at the table—start earning it.