S T R AT E G Y S E C R E T S

How I “sell”
a strategy so it
gets bought
every single time.
ALEX M H SMITH
Look, it would be nice to think that
good ideas speak for themselves - but
we know that's not true.

Everything is sales.

And everything needs selling -

including strategy.
So how do we do it?

- How do we get everyone to

understand the strategy?

- How do we get everyone bought in

on the strategy?

- And how do we get everyone

excited by the strategy?

I'll tell you how I do it.

 Warning: all of this assumes you
actually have a solid strategy in the
rst place.

That's what my other content is about,

so worry about that rst, then worry
about this.
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 Step1.
Plant the
seed.
 Nobody likes to have things
dumped on them.

Rightly so.

And this is especially true of

strategy, because it is, by
de nition, something that's
gonna tell them what to do.

So you've gotta ease in there.

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The best way to do this?

Chats.

Intimate.
One-on-one.
With ca eine (or alcohol).
The more casual the better.
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 You should be chatting to every
stakeholder individually before
dumping a strategy on them.

This is to:

- Test your hypotheses

- Get their view on things
- Re ne your own thinking
- And give them ownership
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This way, when you come to
present the strategy, it's not
gonna be a "ta-daa!" moment.

Instead it will feel like a

resolution to the thoughts they
were already having.
 Step 2.
A presentation
that doesn’t
suck.
Once you've got the strategy nailed,
you're going to have to present it.

The main purpose here?

To persuade.
This is what most people get so
horribly wrong.

A presentation isn't simply an act of

transferring information.

It's a performance.

They are the jury.

You're the defence attorney.

And you're leading them on a journey

to conclude that you are right.
How?
First, map out an "argument journey",
something like this.

1. Here's how things are now.

2. Here's why this sucks.
3. Here's the new thing we've realised.
4. Here's why it matters.
5. Here's what it means we should do.
Next, write it out in minimalist slides.
The more raw your slides, the
more unforgiving, so the better
your thinking.

(And the less boring your

presentation, believe it or not).
Finally, wrap it up with a list of
actions (which are of course the
point of the strategy ).

“Because of this we need to do

A, B, C, D”

Trust me, without this last step,

people are gonna hate it.
 Step 3.
Tie it up
in a sharable
strategy doc.
Warning:

Your presentation is NOT your

strategy document.

Let me repeat:

YOUR PRESENTATION IS
NOT YOUR STRATEGY
DOCUMENT.
The presentation slides are a visual aid
to help you reveal the strategy.

The strategy document is the strategy

written down in its nal sharable form.

The presentation slides are PowerPoint.

The strategy document is Word.
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(Fun fact:

The purpose of PowerPoint is to assist a

person while they present. The purpose of
Word is to create a document which
people read.

Everyone mixes these up

- don't be one of them)
I've already done a post about how
to write a strategy document, so I
won’t repeat that here.

I'll just remind you of the basic

structure...
- The strategy argument, where you
explain your reading of the market, your
plan, and why you think it will work

- The strategy statement, a short practical

statement of the strategy in a nutshell

- The implications, a list of the key things

we need to do to execute the strategy

- The execution ow, a suggested order

and prioritisation of these actions
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You should be able to send this to
anyone, and have them "get it"
without any further explanation.

Try it out with some randomers.

And don't rest until it stands on its

own.
That’s it!
Like I said, good thinking is not
enough.

It's not your audience's job to

respect your strategy.

It's your strategy's job to respect

your audience.

And this is how you do it.

Like this?
Repost it!
And if you want more insights that will
help you escape the competition then visit
my pro le and hit follow.

And while you’re at it be sure to check out

my free ebook in the featured section:

5 Strategy Laws
Great Brands Understand
(and everyone else is clueless about)
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