“You have no idea,” Alan told his partner, Tracy, as they walked out of the meeting.

Alan had gone to his presentation to his vice president, Amir thought he was in the bag. What in his mind should have been a slam dunk turned out to be 30 minutes of probing questions, discussion of assumptions, and skepticism of his solution, all followed by “We’re not doing this.”

“I just can’t believe how out of touch he is,” Alan continued. “The solution is as simple as the nose on his face, and he can’t see past his own incompetence!”

Tracy was silent as the two walked and Alan continued to mutter. After a few minutes, Alan couldn’t help but notice Tracy’s silence.

“What do you think?” Allan asked.

“How about we go into the conference room and have a chat?” Tracy said.

“Safe.” Alan had always respected Tracy’s judgment and how she earned the respect of not only her peers and supporters, but also her management. The two entered the conference room, Alan closed the door, and they sat down.

“Alan, you are incredibly bright and very passionate about your work.”

“But…” Alan said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“You haven’t mastered how to sell yet.”

“Close up shop?”

“That’s how it is.”

~~~~~

Let’s leave Alan and Tracy’s conference room chat for a minute. In my professional career I have had many opportunities to sell an idea to an executive. Sometimes I was successful in selling my idea, while other times I failed miserably. As I progressed in my career and sat on the other side of the table more, I would sometimes buy what was on sale and sometimes put the kibosh on it. Gaining experience in both roles helped me better understand what both the executive and the person selling an idea go through and the barriers that can get things stuck. I’ve looked at what I call “five tolls” an executive goes through when they’re sold on an idea. In full transparency, I did not do extensive research on tolls, other than talking to several other executives about their views and corroborating them with my own experiences. What I have seen, however, is a higher success rate in selling an idea when I create content that helps me overcome every barrier in my pitch.

To explain the first toll gate, let’s go back to Alan and Tracy.

~~~~~

“What is being sold?” Allan asked.

“In my experience, there are five tolls an executive must overcome before accepting an idea and taking action. Let me ask you a question: is this the first interaction you’ve had with Amir?”

“Is.”

Tracey smiled. That explains things.

Alan gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“You never passed the first toll gate.”

“What is the first toll gate?”

“You never established credibility,” Tracy said.

“Je n’ai pas?”

“No. In my experience, executives have to see you as credible before they’ll be willing to listen further. If you don’t have credibility with the executive and haven’t taken steps to establish it, you probably won’t.” through the toll.

~~~~~

Sell ​​the toll 1: I think you are credible

An executive wants to know that you are speaking from an informed position about your idea. If you already have a reputation for being credible, you likely have a low or nonexistent barrier to passing this toll. If you are an unknown entity with no prior reputation, having good facts and data to show that you know what you are talking about will help. The difficulty comes if you have a previous perception of not being credible. While many executives will give people a chance to recover from a negative perception, they likely still have a higher barrier to cross if they expect to pass the toll.

If you already have a reputation for being credible, don’t worry about wasting a lot of time convincing someone that they should be heard. If you are an unknown like Alan or have a reputation for negative credibility, then you need to spend time with facts and data to convince the executive that they should be heard. A good piece of advice that you haven’t hit the toll is to repeatedly get challenging questions about your idea or get no reaction at all. This second one is more difficult because the executive might kindly allow you to finish your spiel in the shortest amount of time. The best sign that you have passed the toll is to receive a couple of questions that you answer directly and honestly, with the executive acknowledging your answers and showing commitment to what you have to say.

The bottom line for passing the toll is a good understanding of where you stand with the executive. If you’re a well-known and respected entity, then do a little show-and-tell that shows you’ve done your homework. If you’re an unknown or recovering from a losing position, you may need to focus more on establishing your credibility before the executive listens to you. If you’re not sure where you stand, talk to someone who knows you and has some exposure to the executive and ask them to coach you. It may seem like a bit of upfront work, but if done right, it can make a difference in how your idea is received.

Watch The five tolls of the sale– Part 2.