How to sell an idea 

by Geoffrey James

 Got an idea that could kick your career into overdrive? You'll need support to make it happen-from your own boss, a financial backer, or even a decision-maker at another company. Here's how to sell your idea to the people who can turn it into reality.

 Step 1: Confirm That You and Your Idea Are a Credible Match

GOAL: Make sure an appropriate messenger will deliver your message.

Selling ideas is not like selling products. With a product, customers can see what they're buying. With an idea, there's nothing to see except you, so unless you're a plausible source, nobody's going to buy. A CEO won't take corporate strategy tips from mailroom clerks, no matter how brilliant their ideas might be. On the other hand, a top-performing district manager will likely get a fair hearing, even if he's not part of the upper-management team.

Here is Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, at his commencement speech for Carnegie Mellon.

There are few key quotes from the video.

“We got our news from newspapers, your generation gets it from blogs and tweets, and for those of you who don’t know, that’s not what you hear in zoos.”

“We thought ‘friend’ is a noun, you think it’s a verb.”

“You cannot plan innovation. You cannot plan invention. All you can do is try very hard to be at the right place and be ready.”

“How should you behave? Well, do things in a group. Don’t do things by yourself. Groups are stronger, Groups are faster. None of us is as smart as all of us.”

“You’ll find today is the best chance you have to start being unreasonable, to demand excellence, to drive change, to make everything happen.”

Enjoy,

 Lotus Yuen