"I don't believe your data...convince me"

This was another challenge question posed to me on Brainmates. Thanks Steve.

I love it because it cuts right to the heart of one of the most important weapons any Product Manager can wield - influence.

First though, I'd like to touch on how to avoid this question in the first place. A good place to start is by building effective relationships. Trust is vital in building influence, and without it, you might as well not bother.

Also, never forget to pre-wire every presentation. This probably deserves a post on it's own, but where possible, you should know the outcome of any meeting before it begins. Meetings can be a horrible way to make decisions, so I prefer not to rely on them to work out the way I expect. Talk to the important stakeholders beforehand. Understand not only their position, but their emotional perspective (see below). Remember habit 5 - seek first to understand, then to be understood. Knowing what to expect will mean you have covered as many of your bases as possible before your presentation begins. Then the meeting can be about allowing powerful people to feel like they are exercising their power.

When it comes to actually answering this challenge, I believe the answer lies in feelings not facts. As any salesperson will tell you, people buy with their emotions, then use the facts to justify the way they feel. What the asker is really saying is "I don't feel good about your idea, and I want to".

Through your pre-wiring, you should have an understanding of the emotional perspective of your stakeholders, but the best place to start will be your own passion (I know, reality TV has ruined that word, hasn't it?).

It's so easy to start a project full of enthusiasm and energy, and then create a presentation that strips away all that feeling, trying to win the day with hard numbers. If the data is good, but it's not convincing, then what's probably missing is the story. Tell the story of the product, it's users, it's market, and the big piles of money everyone in the room will be sitting on if they would just agree with you. You build your influence but sharing not just your ideas, but your emotions as well.

Let me know your thoughts. And feelings.