If there’s one thing that marcomms pros do well, it’s coming up with effective ways to connect and engage with our audiences. Prospects. Students. Donors. Community.

We ask what they care about and what their pain points are. Then we develop messaging that motivates them to take action.

Boom. On to the next project.

So why do we completely forget this when we’re trying to influence our internal audiences – like our boss?

Think about that big initiative leadership is considering.

You can see the gaps from where you sit. The market research hasn’t been done. The positioning is fuzzy. And when the decision lands, it’s going to land in your lap.

If only you knew a communications professional who could get in front of it.

(That was me being facetious)

You may not realize it, but the deck is stacked in your favor:

• You have a front row seat to your target audience every day
• You know how to craft and iterate messages that lead people down a path
• Other stakeholders in your organization likely don’t have these skills

You sit in a unique position to influence upstream decisions by simply using the same skills you were hired to employ on external audiences every day.

I’m not saying you go full Machiavelli. I’m saying be pragmatic and wield your influence using the tools available to you.

So the next time you need to communicate your perspective with your boss, just do your day job.

Create a common dialogue for shared understanding. Structure it in a way that exposes their blind spots and improves their thinking. Doing so deepens your understanding about how and why they think the way they do. Basically, you’re gathering market intelligence.

Use these constructive conversations to deliver your insight and perspective as your boss mulls over decisions. That boosts your chances of ensuring a marcomms perspective is in the decision room even if you’re not.

Hey, it works.

I spent years treating every conversation with my boss like a bite-size marketing class. I asked the same questions every time: who are we talking to, why should they care, what do we want them to do?

Not gonna lie. It got repetitive. But my broken record approach worked. One day he started asking other people my questions near verbatim in leadership meetings.

Wow. I did it.

That’s the upstream influence play most marcomms leaders never make.

Ask three questions

If you want to improve your strategic influence, ask your boss:

1. What outcome matters most to you right now?

Not the project. The outcome.

Leaders organize around outcomes. Make a compelling case using the pros and cons.

2. What signals tell you we are moving in the right (or wrong) direction?

What gets measured gets done. This reveals how they gauge success.

It also tells you what evidence they trust.

3. What concerns or risks are you watching most closely?

Understanding what keeps them up at night is crucial to understanding what’s shaping their decisions. Make sure your work helps them address their biggest concerns.

If you want real influence, apply strategic communications inside your organization, not just outside. Understand the audience that shapes the decisions.

Then do what you do.

Want to build even more influence and take back control of your job function?

Set yourself up for marcomms success. Share your frustrations with like-minded colleagues and lean how you can build skills to add to your toolbox and be ready to kick ass by fall.

Join us for a convo on May 1.