Question

how to sell business continuity issues

Answer 1

If your organization has not already invested in business continuity, selling the” business continuity” business case to executive management can be difficult. Many believe that since they ‘re already paying for insurance, investing in business is paying for the same end result twice. However getting management committed to the concept and requisite investment can often depend on how you sell the benefits, focus on your audience’s key priorities , and keep the pitch realistic and relevant.

Like with any sales pitch, it’s important to understand potential drivers that either compel or help justify the effort and resources to be invested in the program. The easiest “sell” is when regulatory agencies or law require certain capabilities to be in place such as in the banking industry ,Healthcare or utilities. However several other factors can help influence management. Customer inquires or contacts requiring evidence of continuity capabilities can affect selection/win success rates, and in markets where it’s extremely for easy for customers to switch to a competitor, business continuity can act as a market differentiator , enabling your organization to show a commitment to meeting customer needs in any circumstances. Industries highly dependent on just in time material require that operations flow smoothly, and business continuity can provide insight into strategies necessary to continue delivery. When identifying potential drivers make sure to analyze any past interruptions, even minor to communicate unanticipated negative consequences are areas where insurance alone did not address all realized impacts.

It can also helpful to stay aware of industry news as disruptive incidents often make local , national and industry news coverage, depending on the severity of interruptions . Depending on the depth of public information available and the organizations performance following the event, competitor event can also highlight positive effects of readiness or negative consequences of being unprepared to respond, recover and communicate with stakeholders.

When communicating the value of continuity to execute management , it’s extremely important to present a case that focuses on what matters to this audience. Rather than focusing on what ifs or chicken little scenarios that will likely come across as unrealistic or leave management focus on selling the benefits mentioned earlier.as well as communicating quantitative or qualitative outcomes they can expect from the effort. The best strategy to communicate the benefit of a business continuity planning investment is comparing downtime expectations without preplanning to down time estimates with some planning.

It’s important to keep your presentation and message realistic , simple and focused on the organizations current strategy and future priorities. So management can understand what value they’ll gain from the investment. It’s also important to realize that executives hate be sold , so when developing material to present , be sure to focus on unbiased facts, figures and solutions .Executives what to be able to make their own options based on the data presented , so be straightforward , concise and focused on direct tangible benefits.

A Business case for investing in business continuity exists in most cases, you just have to determine what factors will influence your executive most. Whether the most important influences are financial, reputational, operational or regulatory, make sure you tailor your sales message in a way that will make Management aware of the value they will gain from investing in the program.