How to sell creative ideas with rationale
So you’re creative.
You’ve just unlocked your best idea yet.
And it’s a bit outlandish.
How are you going to sell it?
Talk about your experience and show then you’re an expert? Talk about past wins to show then you know what you’re doing? Over explain the concept giving them every detail of your thought process?
Well, actually all of these are okay tactics to help sell your idea to a client, or internal team. But the real reason we push for creativity is because there’s a problem to be solved. People are craving a solution to something they haven’t been able to master themselves. They’re looking for a expert and the fact they’ve already chosen you, is an advantage.
Here’s how you can lower the risk of a concept using rationale, and one simple document.
The brief.
It should be the holy grail of your concept in the first place. Using a simple method of referring back to the brief at each point of your concept, shows that you understand the needs of the client, have taken the time to understand them and created a solution to solve their problems.
Simple? Sure, but let’s try it…
“The brief said you wanted more to be more eye catching. We looked into clashing colours that reflect your brand personality and believe they will really speak to your target audience outline in the brief.”
Why does this work? It takes the emotion and opinions out of the concept. By sticking to the brief and the research, it’s showing you’r not just doing what you think will work. It’s not “I think this is really vibrant” it’s basing your decisions on deeper facts that make it harder for the client to disagree with.
In addition to this, it also helps steer the client away from giving their personal opinion. By talk about answering the brief and relating the rationale back to their audience, it stops them from saying “I don’t like it”. It’s not about them so if this does happen, steer the conversation back to the brief or their audience.
Better yet, don’t even ask the client if they like it. Ask if they think it answers the brief. Or if there’s anything not covered from the brief. Or, do they think this will speak to their audience/push the reaction they’re looking for.
As soon as it goes to personal feelings, default back to the brief and their audience.
Try it next time you’re explaining a concept to your colleagues or client and see if you notice a difference.
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