My Simple Approach To Guarantee More Buy-In (+5 Examples)
I jumped on a Linkedin Live this week, talking about how to get more buy-in.
One of the 2 top tips I shared was >>> What’s In It For Me (WIIFM).
If you missed it, or if you’d like some more examples, this Newsletter is for you (P.S. you can access the Replay here too if you’d like).
Let me back-track for a moment.
I realised the importance of WIIFM when on the receiving end of two very different pitches a few years ago.
I had just started my business and was seeking advice around how to grow on social media. So I sought out people that specialised in this area.
One person I found was talking in industry jargon. Whilst another was speaking about things I really cared about.
- Person A – Talked a lot about digital marketing (i.e. industry jargon, the ‘solution’). And I remember coming across that information and thinking to myself, I don’t really understand what digital marketing even is!?
- Person B – Talked about how to show up more authentically on social media to increase your following and get more clients (i.e. Language I cared about, the ‘WIIFM’).
Now, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which one of those I was more drawn to and which of the services I eventually bought.
The first one was in language I didn’t really understand. The second one was in language that talked directly to the benefit that I was looking for.
So after I had that interaction, I remember having an a-ha moment about the way I communicated.
I thought to myself:
“Oh, I think I might do that sometimes…. I might talk about storytelling and some people might not understand storytelling innately. So I need to talk about it more in language that they understand, or care about. i.e. What storytelling can give people”
You know what I did right after that realisation!?
I re-wrote my Powerful Presenter Group Program Structure.
I relabelled it from the literal description, to cover What’s In It For Me.
E.g.
- In the past I had labelled Week 1 – ‘Defining An Objective’.
- However I relabelled it to Week 1 – ‘Epic Audience Value’.
That was just the start though. I keep this in mind all the time. In all sorts of scenarios and uses:
- Putting up a promo for a LinkedIn Live
- Writing an email I want people to read
- Crafting a title for a conference talk
- Promoting a service I offer
- When I teach people a new approach
5 REAL LIFE EXAMPLES
I come across so many great examples of where WIIFM has been implemented well and where it isn’t done well, in my everyday life.
Here’s 5 examples where I think WIIFM has been incorporated brilliantly.
1. Amy Cuddy TED Talk
If you’ve ever watched Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk, you’ll know she doesn’t start by talking about body language (which is what her talk is about).
She starts with a very bold claim about the WIIFM.
She says:
“So I want to start by offering you a free no-tech life hack… and it could significantly change the way your life unfolds.”
2. Simon Sinek’s TED Talk
Simon Sinek’s TED Talk is not titled ‘Start with why’ (even though that’s what his idea centres around). He titled it with the WIIFM front and centre:
3. Time Genius Course
I’ve taken a Marie Forleo course before on Time Management. However, there isn’t any mention of time management in the description of it, as that’s not what people care about.
This is how she describes her course Time Genius:
4. Click-Up Tool
The tag-line you’ll find on my scheduling/project management tool doesn’t focus on project management. It shares the WIIFM:
5. Buffer Tool
The tag-line on my social media scheduling tool’s website doesn’t mention social media scheduling. It’s about what that gives me:
IN SUMMARY
If you want others to buy-into what you’re presenting or proposing, don’t simply talk about what you care about.
Make sure you think about WIIFM (for that stakeholder/audience).
That tiny shift is a *game changer*.
Can you see how powerful this could be!?
Emily
Emily Edgeley is a Public Speaking Coach for the Technology industry. Since 2017 she’s run over 280 group coaching sessions, coached more than 250 people privately, and formally supported first time and experienced speakers at 10 Conferences, covering 1000+ people across the globe.
She’s on a mission to help anyone in the Tech arena learn how to speak with clarity, impact, and confidence, whether that’s at work or at a Conference. So they can share their ideas, build their brand and start to enjoy ‘public speaking’!
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