A management position comes with a level of complexity, between looking out for your team’s best interests and being subject to the approval of your superiors for changes. Managers too often find themselves digging through piles of paperwork and fixing problems that could have been avoided with improved operations. At this point, many managers search and find a software solution to address their issues. Here’s a few tips for getting your boss on board:
1. Be Knowledgable
Software specialist Mary Bray identifies three major points nearly all superiors will bring up during negotiation of a software implementation: price, effect on business, and ease of training. It is essential for a manager to have a solid grasp of each of these points before speaking to their superior. Rather than simply quoting product price and listing features of the software, managers should explore demos with the software company’s sales team. This allows managers to clearly explain their pain points and examine what features the software offers to address them, as well as solidify pricing structures. To justify the cost of implementation and training, superiors want to be presented with hard numbers projecting their Return on Investment (ROI). Managers planning to pitch new software should choose a tool with a helpful customer service team that can educate them on each of these points before the pitch and support them throughout implementation.
2. Find Support
Another strategy managers should use when pitching new software is sharing the idea with employees. As a leader, you already know some of the challenges your employees face. That’s part of the reason to seek out a software solution, but passing the idea by them has three distinct benefits. First, the more support you get from the team, the more likely it is that your boss will approve the implementation. Second, getting the staff’s feet wet with the new tool will make implementation simpler. Third, they may have ideas that will be valuable to your pitch to the boss. Additionally, having the support of the team means you will have less resistance when the time comes for them to use the tool in daily operations, and the team will appreciate their involvement in major changes.
3. Be Prepared
It is also critical to remember that convincing your boss won’t just mean demonstrating the benefits of the software implementation, but also its potential pitfalls. Your boss will inevitably bring up the “cons”of the plan if you do not, and being unprepared to address them will weaken your argument. Your calculated analysis of both the positive and negative aspects of the implementation will tell your boss that you have intelligently considered the option. This lessens anxiety regarding the change and instills a sense of dependability. To give your software implementation pitch a winning chance be sure to collaborate with the provider, run it by your team, and be ready to answer the difficult questions.
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