4
How many of your SEO recommendations get shipped?
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26.2%
27.3%
19.8%
26.7%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
<25% 25-50% 50-75% >75%
How many of your SEO recommendations get shipped?
n=172
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6
no shipping, no impact.
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no shipping, no impact. no impact, no purpose.
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no shipping, no impact. no impact, no purpose. no purpose, no job.
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#1 question: how do I get
executive buy-in to ship my
recommendations?
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10
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01
Story vs. data
02
Goal vs. work
03
Shallow vs. deep
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1 Story-based pitching
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13
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We make sense of things
through stories.
Executives just need to see
the right data to say yes.
Common assumption But actually…
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95% of all cognition occurs in the
subconscious mind.
- Harvard prof. Gerald Zaltman
https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-subconscious-mind-of-the-consumer-and-how-to-reach-it
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45% of executives rely more on
instinct than on facts and figures in
running their businesses.
- survey from May 2002 by executive search firm Christian & Timbers
https://hbr.org/2003/05/dont-trust-your-gut
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So Kevin, how do I get this right?
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Tie recommendations to the company situation
1
-
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
-
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
1,800,000
2,000,000
Accelerate Turn around
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Tie recommendations to the company situation
1
STARS - Company situations
Start-up Get something new off the ground
Turnaround Save the business
Accelerate
growth
Manage a rapidly expanding business
Realignment
Re-energize a previously successful
organization
Sustain
success
Sustain the success of something that has been
performing well
Michael Watkins - The first 90 days
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Focus on stakes, not just gains
2
What leaders care about
Money Revenue, profit, cost
Michael Watkins - The first 90 days
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Focus on stakes, not just gains
2
What leaders care about
Money Revenue, profit, cost
Market Market share, time-to-market
Michael Watkins - The first 90 days
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Focus on stakes, not just gains
2
What leaders care about
Money Revenue, profit, cost
Market Market share, time-to-market
Exposure Retention, risk
Michael Watkins - The first 90 days
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Focus on stakes, not just gains
2
Point of view (recommendation)
+
Stakes (result/consequences)
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Make it personal
3
How to address leaders
Backchannel 1on1s before big presentation
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Make it personal
3
How to address leaders
Backchannel 1on1s before big presentation
Individual goals What do they optimize for?
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Make it personal
3
How to address leaders
Backchannel 1on1s before big presentation
Individual goals What do they optimize for?
Wording Use their wording
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2 Starting with the goal
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Executives mostly care
about hitting the goal.
Executives want to
scrutinize everything.
Common assumption But actually…
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85% of leaders suffer from decision distress.
- Study of 14,000 employees and leaders across 17 countries
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-study-70-of-business-leaders-would-prefer-a-robot-to-make-their-decisions-301799591.html
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72% admit the sheer volume of data and their lack of
trust in data has stopped them from making any
decision.
- Study of 14,000 employees and leaders across 17 countries
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-study-70-of-business-leaders-would-prefer-a-robot-to-make-their-decisions-301799591.html
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How do you start with the goal?
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Work backwards
1
Headline
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipiscing elit, sed
do eiusmod tempor incididunt
ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim
veniam, quis nostrud
exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo
consequat. Duis aute irure
dolor in reprehenderit in
voluptate velit esse cillum
dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Excepteur sint occaecat
cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt
mollit anim id est laborum.
Grab attention
Define audience &
problem you solve
Describe benefits
Provide FAQ
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Communicate in the “executive mind”
2
Goal Effort Time Responsibil.
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Ditch the details
3
Red Flags
Unimportant details
Big, weak claims
Uncertainty, doubt, skepticism
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Ditch the details, bring the buckets
3
Red Flags Green Flags
Unimportant details Revenue, market share, growth
Big, weak claims Significant wins
Uncertainty, doubt, skepticism
Clearly articulated problems
with solutions
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3 Deep recommendations
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Missing clarity makes it
less likely for a team to
pick up the work.
Teams will figure out what
we want.
Common assumption But actually…
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86% of executives identify ineffective
communication as a major cause of failure in
business.
- Study of 14,000 employees and leaders across 17 countries
https://www.salesforce.com/ca/blog/how-soft-skills-are-crucial-to-your-business/
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How do you make things clearer?
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Understand the root cause of the issue
1
Outcome
Symptom
Root cause
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Understand the root cause of the issue
1
Outcome
Symptom
Root cause
Rank drop
404 errors
Database crash
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Get packaging right
2
Don’t Do
Just describe the problem Provide context
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45
Get packaging right
2
Don’t Do
Just describe the problem Provide context
Assume they know what to do Split the task in sub-tasks
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Get packaging right
2
Don’t Do
Just describe the problem Provide context
Assume they know what to do Split the task in sub-tasks
Be vague Be hyper-specific
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Get packaging right
2
Don’t Do
Just describe the problem Provide context
Assume they know what to do Split the task in sub-tasks
Be vague Be hyper-specific
Send a spreadsheet without
clear instructions
Bucket works into streams
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Describe the ideal outcome
3
Reasoning through ideal outcomes
What number are you trying to
move?
Where should that number be?
Why should it be there?
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Describe the ideal outcome
3
Reasoning through ideal outcomes
What number are you trying to
move?
404 errors in GSC
Where should that number be? < 50
Why should it be there?
0 is unrealistic but we want to
minimize
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Wrapping up
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1
Build a story
You need data but it
won’t resonate
without a strong
story.
What does it take?
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1
Build a story
You need data but it
won’t resonate
without a strong
story.
2
“Exec speak”
Decision makers
think different and
have short attention.
3
What does it take?
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1
Build a story
You need data but it
won’t resonate
without a strong
story.
2
“Exec speak”
Decision makers
think different and
have short attention.
3
Make it easy
Don’t make others go
through discovery
hoops
What does it take?