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4 Simple Steps for a Successful Pitch: Software vs People

Brianna Reedy

Advocating for your team is one of the most important parts about being a leader, however, it is easier said than done. Between macro environments and internal priorities, adding more agents can often be the go to solution that makes sense to leadership. How do you go about explaining that a piece of software is what’s needed to ease the pain your team is feeling? Here are our top tips:

  1. Find the right tool - In order to make a case for a new tool, it’s important to make sure you’re advocating for the right one. Oftentimes leadership can come back with questions such as “Don’t we already pay for a tool that does this?” or “Why are we choosing this tool versus a cheaper competitor?”. By conducting an audit of your current tech stack and finding the best tool to compliment it, your case will be stronger. 
  2. Gather data - Using data to tell a story is the best way to support your ask. Start with the metrics and occurrences that encouraged you to start looking for a new tool. In addition, you can work with the software company representative to put together additional data points that not only showcase their general impact, but are also specific to your business. Some good ones to focus on are typically impact on cost per agent and cost per ticket - be sure to ask your leadership team if there are non negotiable metrics that need to be impacted!
  3. Build a business case - While your software investment will have a very clear cost, articulating a storyline using the data you collected in Step 2 that describes all the benefits this software will offer is critical to getting approval for your investment. For each benefit you identify, come up with hard savings in time or money, revenue generating impact or risk avoidance that introducing this tool will create for your company. While hard metrics tied to benefits are best - don’t be afraid to articulate soft benefits as well that help quantify the value. Can you quantify the impact in terms of minutes saved from an agent’s work day, time saved when reducing average handle time, and attribute dollars in a potential upsell that you can drive from a terrific support experience? Your ability to do this will help you position your investment with your leadership and increase the odds of approval. 
  4. Know your audience - When speaking with leadership members who may not be close to your team, it can be tricky to put your ask in context. While numbers can represent certain metrics, they don’t always articulate the day to day life of an agent. Is there an opportunity for agent/tool shadowing that can offer them a glance at the potential impact? Are there visuals that you use across the company that you can mimic to increase the chance of your message resonating? Knowing how your leadership team will best digest the information is crucial to the success of your pitch.  

At the end of the day, remember that this process is a conversation and it’s important to make it as transparent as possible. Due diligence and communication will set you up for success and provide you with the best odds for adding new software that will elevate your team.

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