Building Internal Stakeholder Buy-In for ERP Projects

Your VP said yes, and the budget's approved. So why is nothing happening? Because executive buy-in is not organizational buy-in. Your VP approved it, but their directors don't understand the why. Their managers don't know how to talk about it.  And the teams doing the actual work think this is another initiative that'll fall through in six months. Most leaders think their job is done after the approval meeting. But that's just the beginning. Because the people who need to change their behavior weren't in that room. They didn't hear your rationale or your data.  And without that context, they'll choose to wait it out rather than make a change. What you need is a Message Cascade System. Here's how it works: 💬 Step 1: Build your core message Get clear on three things before you talk to anyone else 👇 - What's changing and why it matters to them - What's in it for each stakeholder group - What you're specifically asking them to do 🕊️ Step 2: Identify your message carriers You can't be the only voice in every room. Find the leaders at each level who have credibility with the teams that need to change.  Ask: who will they actually listen to? ⚒️ Step 3: Equip them Don't assume they'll "just get it." Give them the talking points and answers to commonly-asked questions. Give them stories, not just data. Then permit them to say it in their own words. ✅ Step 4: Get their commitment Have individual conversations before you go broad. Ask for their commitment to reinforce it in their own team meetings.  Surface their concerns now, not in front of their teams. 🏁 Step 5: Run the roadshow as a listening tour Present the core message, then spend twice as long listening. Document everything you're hearing.  Adjust your talking points based on what's landing and what's not. 🔁 Step 6: Close the loop After the roadshow, go back to your message carriers. Share what you heard and update the language accordingly.  Give them what they need to handle the new objections that came up. This is the step most leaders skip entirely. If your change initiative isn't moving, ask yourself: who besides you is talking about this? If the answer is no one, you have a message cascade problem. Change happens when leaders at every level can explain it, defend it, and reinforce it in rooms you'll never enter. What's the hardest part of getting change to stick in your organization? Let's talk it through in the comments! ♻️ Repost to help a leader trying to implement change across their organization. And follow me, Cicely Simpson, for leadership systems that help you create organizational movement, not just executive approval. P.S. In LeaderOS, I help leaders navigate the art of persuading people even when they're not in the same room. Sign up here 👉 https://bit.ly/TheLeaderOS

Why 73% of Projects Fail and How I Stopped Losing Stakeholder Support Let me tell you a quick story. Years ago, I was leading an ops overhaul that was supposed to streamline internal reporting. Everything looked good on paper, timelines, budget, resource allocation. I checked every box… Except one: I didn’t fully engage the stakeholders who would actually use the system every day. 🚨Big mistake. Within 3 weeks of launch, adoption lagged, teams worked around it, and leadership questioned the ROI. That’s when it hit me—involvement doesn’t equal alignment. Just because stakeholders are informed doesn’t mean they’re invested. So I changed my approach. Here’s what I did: • Identified key influencers across departments, not just top execs, but daily users and frontline managers. • Used long-form discovery sessions to understand their actual pain points (not just the ones listed on a dashboard). • Built a feedback loop into every sprint cycle. Small changes. Real-time validation. • Created internal linkages between project goals and departmental KPIs (this one’s huge). The result? 🎯 41% faster implementation. ✅ 3X higher adoption in the first 30 days. 💬 Consistent stakeholder engagement from kickoff to post-launch. Why does this matter for you? If you’re a project manager, ops lead, or department head, especially in finance, tech, or healthcare, here’s your reality: 📌 You’re juggling timelines, compliance, and team bandwidth. 📌 You’re expected to “drive transformation” and still “not disrupt the day-to-day.” 📌 You’re measured by results but those results start with buy-in. So ask yourself: Are you just updating stakeholders or are you empowering them to shape outcomes? That’s the difference between a delivered project and a sustained solution. If you’re tired of rework, delays, or lukewarm adoption, start by rethinking how you engage your stakeholders. Involve early. Involve meaningfully. Involve often. ✅ Start with a 30-minute alignment session before you build your next project charter. ✅ Don’t just collect feedback—co-create the solution with the people who live it. You’ll thank yourself later. Let’s stop managing projects and start leading with people who matter. #ProjectManagement #StakeholderEngagement #LeadershipInAction

We just closed a $480K deal at Aligned - our biggest ever. But twice in the final weeks, it almost died. It was brutal. Two execs came out of nowhere with objections. We had no access. No time to fix it. But 22 (!!) stakeholders had already been engaged… And they saved it. That’s when it hit me: Multithreading isn’t a tactic. It’s deal insurance. Here’s the exact playbook we now run in every complex deal: 1. Early Exec-to-Exec Sponsorship Don’t wait until sh*t hits the fan. Initiate VP-VP or CXO-CXO alignment early. We send short, supportive emails without direct asks. Time after time, that builds genuine trust and establishes a safety net long before we need it. 2. Identify ‘Hidden Stakeholders’ Buyers often silently forward materials internally. By using Deal Rooms, we uncover up to 68% more stakeholders, often the real decision-makers influencing budget approvals or strategic buy-in. 3. Isolate Stakeholders 11 people on a call? You’re NOT multithreaded - it’s about quality, not volume. Our team opens separate 1:1 convos. They follow up with each buyer with next steps, suggestions or value that ties to something they said. 4. Proactive Signal-Based Engagement When stakeholders interact with key assets in the deal room, we use those signals to trigger follow ups - e.g. RevOps spends 20min on CRM integration; they might need more info, or could benefit from a dedicated session. 5. Multiple Champions Strategy Nothing beats having an army of internal champions instead of one. Whenever we see an opportunity to build champions, we do it. It derisks the deal in case someone leaves. Plus, budgets are shared, or are just easier to pass. 6. Real-time Alerts on New Stakeholders Our deal room sends instant alerts whenever there’s a new stakeholder (see #2). We then leverage this event as an opportunity for exec introductions or quick alignment note—”Hey, saw you joined the project”. 7. Support the Above-the-Line (ATL) Met an exec early? Keep them looped into POC updates, key milestones, or call takeaways. When we give regular status updates, it builds credibility and keeps momentum - as execs don't join every call, and appreciate the visibility. 8. Never Underestimate Below-the-Line (BTL) Decision-making today is flatter; end-users/junior stakeholders are increasingly influential. I’ve lost count on how many times AEs (our BTL buyers) were make or break in our deals. Give them genuine attention. Don’t underestimate any buyer. 9. Late-Stage Exec Reinforcement If a deal stalls, a concise, confident, personal email from me as CEO resets urgency. The message isn't pushy; it reinforces our shared vision, driving commitment. —— Multithreading isn’t a tactic. It’s insurance. A deal defense system. Built thread by thread, stakeholder by stakeholder. So when things break, and they will - You’re not the only one left to save it. P.S. The Deal Room we used to multithread is Aligned. It's free to try: https://lnkd.in/dYksGnfb

Want buy-in from business leaders? Stop using technical language. This is probably the lesson that took me longest to learn and it's the one that's made the biggest difference in my career. Early on, I would walk into meetings with CMOs, CFOs, and COOs and start talking about semantic layers, data orchestration, observability, and pipeline architecture. Their eyes would glaze over. And then they'd deprioritize my projects. It wasn't because the work wasn't valuable. It was because I was speaking a language they didn't understand and honestly, didn't care to learn. Now I do it completely differently. When I talk to a CMO, I use their language. I talk about customer acquisition cost, consumer lifetime value, and CRM performance. I reference the metrics from their last board presentation. I say things like: "That report that takes you 14 weeks to get? Here's how we fix it so you get it in 4." That lands. That gets attention. That builds trust. I spend the first four to five months of any new role just building relationships. One-on-ones with as many stakeholders as possible. Learning their pain points. Understanding what success looks like for them. I'm not coming in to fix things right away. I'm coming in to listen. Because here's what I've learned: People don't do business with you because you have the greatest tool or the smartest team or the most impressive architecture. They do business with you because they like you. They trust you. And they believe you actually care about solving their problems. Relationships > Tools. Every single time. Once you have the relationship, the technical stuff becomes so much easier to execute. Doors open. Resources get allocated. Priorities shift in your favor. But without that trust? You're just another cost center asking for budget. How do you build relationships with non-technical stakeholders? 👇 #Leadership #Communication #ExecutivePresence #DataLeadership #Influence #Stakeholders

Ever presented rock-solid research only to hear "Thanks, but we're going with our gut on this one"? Securing stakeholder buy-in is rarely about the quality of your work. It's about something deeper. When you’re dealing with a research trust gap, ask yourself 5 questions. 👽 Are you speaking alien to earthlings? When you say jargon like "double diamond" or "information architecture," your stakeholders hear gibberish. Business leaders didn't learn UX in business school—and most never will. Translate everything into business outcomes they understand. Revenue growth. Customer retention. Cost savings. Competitive advantage.  Speak their native language, not yours. ⏰ What keeps them awake at 3am? Behind every skeptical question is a personal fear. That product manager who keeps shooting down your findings? They're terrified of missing their KPIs and losing their bonus. Have honest conversations about what they're personally on the hook for delivering. Then show how your research helps them achieve exactly that. ❓Are you treating assumptions as facts? You might think you know what questions matter to your stakeholders. You're probably wrong. Before starting research, explicitly ask: "What questions do you need answered to make this decision?" Then design your research to answer exactly those questions. ⚒️ Are you dying on the hill of methodological purity? Sometimes you have 8 hours for research instead of 8 weeks. Being dogmatic about "proper" research methods doesn’t always pay off. Focus on outcomes over process. If quick-and-dirty gets reliable insights that drive decisions, embrace it. 🍽️ Are you force-feeding them a seven-course meal when they wanted a snack? Executives need 30-second summaries. Product managers need actionable findings. Junior team members need hands-on learning. Tailor your approach to each one. You can also use my stakeholder persona mapping template here: https://bit.ly/43R7wom What’s the best advice you’ve heard about dealing with skeptical stakeholders?

Client: “We need an internal advertising campaign so everyone understands how critical our project is.” Me: “No, you need to engage your stakeholders in meaningful conversation and talk about how this project impacts them, specifically.” Why did I push back on an ‘advertising campaign’? Because it’s like throwing a whole lot of spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks (don’t try this at home). If you want people to understand how important your change project is, they need to understand what it means for them. And a one-size-fits-all approach, like a campaign, is not going to cut it. That’s just broadcasting a message to an already-inundated audience, with no specific relevance. Instead, book in meetings, plan ahead, and think about what is most important to those stakeholders. Give them time to ask questions and raise potential roadblocks. Then not only will they feel heard, you will have built their understanding and their buy-in. [Image description: A blue tile with white and pink text that says: Tailor your comms to the change impact. Below is a screenshot from the animated film Alice In Wonderland featuring Alice facepalming, with a heading that reads: When someone says we need an 'advertising campaign' for a change project.]

A designer once told me, “This is amazing…but I already committed to a solution.” That’s when it clicked: Research doesn’t drive change. Alignment does. The best researchers I’ve worked with? They’re not just insightful. They’re influential. Here are 6 habits of researchers who consistently get buy-in and how to start using them today: 1. They never say “users were confused” They say: “This issue is costing us 12% of conversions.” ↳ Take one insight you’ve already shared and rewrite it using this format: Problem + Impact + Recommendation Then send it to one stakeholder as a Slack message, not a deck. 2. They don’t deliver research. They facilitate decisions They ask: “What’s the decision this team is stuck on right now?” ↳ Before every project kickoff, ask your PM: “What’s the riskiest assumption behind this decision?” Then shape your study around that. 3. They translate like hell Not “delight,” but “adoption.” Not “friction,” but “drop-off.” ↳ Pick 3 insights from your last study and rewrite them using business terms. Drop them into a meeting and watch who starts paying more attention. 4. They time it perfectly Not a 30-slide deck on a Friday. A one-sentence quote right before a roadmap review. ↳ Look ahead to next week’s big decision-making moment. Pick one insight and share it 24 hours before the meeting. Not during. Not after. 5. They repeat themselves intentionally They plant insights until someone else says it back to them. ↳ Pick one finding you want to stick. Mention it once in Slack, once in a retro, and once in a 1:1 this week. Different formats. Same message. Let it echo. 6. They stop trying to “educate stakeholders” They listen. They co-create. They shift the power dynamic. ↳ Instead of sending research after it’s done, invite a stakeholder to help design one question before it starts. You’ll double your buy-in before you even begin. You don’t need stakeholders to love research. You just need them to feel what it protects them from. If your insights are strong but your impact is quiet, making these into habits is your next step. Which of these habits are you building right now? Or what’s one you’d add to the list?

A few years ago I rolled out a CRM to 800 users across the Middle East. Eighteen weeks of stakeholder workshops. Steering committees in three countries. Sign-offs from seventeen department heads. Every single one nodded the plan through. Go-live week. Adoption collapsed. "Nobody told me my team would have to enter pipeline data manually." "That's not what we do." "This isn't what I signed off on." Half the people who'd sat through the workshops were now in the corridor pretending they'd never seen the deck. This is the quiet truth of stakeholder management. Most "buy-in" is performative. People nod because nodding is cheaper than disagreeing. They sign off because pushing back means more meetings. They go quiet because going quiet costs nothing, until it does. Real buy-in doesn't happen in the meeting. It happens in the awkward 1:1 the week before. In the corridor conversation where someone says "I'm not sure about this bit" & you actually stop & listen. In the moment you let a stakeholder change the plan because their objection is real, even though it costs you a sprint. The meeting is the photo at the end. Buy-in is the work you did before anyone walked into the room. If the same people who signed off in March are the loudest critics in June, you weren't badly briefed. You were politely lied to. And the answer isn't to brief harder. It's to do the work before the room. The most useful sentence I've ever learned in a stakeholder meeting is "tell me what you're worried about". It surfaces more truth than any RACI ever has.

The mistake I made that tanked my programs early in my career: I built customer advocacy & marketing programs for stakeholders, not with them. I’d roll out something I thought was brilliant… only to watch teams ignore it and keep doing things their own way. It wasn’t that they didn’t care. It was that I hadn’t taken the time to understand their goals, their pain points, or the way they actually liked to work. Eventually, it clicked: buy-in comes from co-creation. If people help shape the process, they’re invested in making it work. Now, my “design with, not for” approach looks like this: → Start with conversations: polls, surveys, or 1:1 chats to uncover goals and friction points. → Gather feedback early: share the plan, get reactions, adjust. → Co-create the process: refine together so rollout feels collaborative, not imposed. → Pilot and champion: involve a small group early—when they believe in it, others follow. That shift changed everything. Instead of pushing uphill, my programs now launch with buy-in already baked in.

If your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is the brain of your business, then your organization’s culture is the nervous system. One cannot operate at full capacity without the other. A client we worked with, a $2B Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), set out to modernize its core systems after years of high growth. The technology side of the work was complex, yet the real barrier was behavioral. Leaders and teams regularly relied on manual workarounds, accountability was inconsistent, and decision quality suffered because data and processes were out of sync. Here’s what changed when Senscient guided a culture and behavior alignment alongside the ERP work: 1) Clarity of purpose and new behaviors emerged. Leaders aligned on a future-state transformation narrative, the values that would guide decisions, and the specific habits expected in day-to-day work. Employees at all levels quickly understood the “why” and the “how,” not just the “what.” 2) Engagement was built into the plan. We activated impacted stakeholder groups early, equipped a change network, and paired communications with targeted learning opportunities. Adoption was treated as a leadership accountability, not a task to address once change occurred. 3) End-to-end process ownership was clearly defined. Cross-functional teams practiced their new ways of working before go-live. That effort revealed gaps, informed training, and created real ownership of outcomes. The impacts Faster and more accurate buying and pricing decisions were realized. A cleaner, more responsive supply chain emerged. Quicker, simpler customer quotes became possible. Most importantly, the organization was ready to scale and expand internationally because people were aligned and knew how to collaborate within the new model.. Technology modernization unlocked business potential. Culture and behavior made it real. Ask yourself: Is your culture fit for the future you are building? #ChangeLeadership #ERP #Culture