Getting the Buy-In: Tips for Persuading Your Team to Say Yes

Posted: Nov. 9, 2023, 7:50 a.m.

Whether you are a new manager or a seasoned pro you have likely been faced with convincing your team to go along with something you thought they would not be thrilled with.

Getting “buy-in” is an essential skill to make change go more smoothly. This can be acceptance and engagement in a new direction on a project, an office move, or any change — big or small — conceptual or tangible. It can be challenging to persuade your team, but with a little planning and an understanding of what you have in your influence toolbox, you can find the best way to not only get the team to say yes, but maybe even get them to embrace the change.

Know your power bases and which to use when

The first step to getting team buy-in is to know the power bases that you can rely on in influencing employee behavior. Five bases of power allow you to influence effectively, but not all are created equally. It’s important to know which base(s) of power to use when.

1. Legitimate power
As a manager, you have legitimate authority over your team based on your position. However, it’s important to know what is within your power to ask and not ask. You do not want to abuse your position of power, and having authority doesn’t mean immediate buy-in.

2. Reward power
Reward power is the ability to offer incentives — from praise to time off to a bonus. If you know what your team wants, and if you’re able to offer it, then you're able to use reward influence. Teams are more likely to buy in if there is a positive incentive to work toward.

3. Referent power
This is a “likability” power. If your team feels connected with you, trusts you, and likes you, they’re likely to buy in. You need to know what your team thinks of you, and if there are any relational or trust issues, you need to make adjustments to build your relationship or trust with each member of your team.

4. Expert power
This power is based on your experience and knowledge. If you build your knowledge and expertise and your team is aware of your expertise, you will have expert power, but without other elements of trust, understanding, or reward, your team may not be ready to buy in with just your expertise alone.

5. Coercive
This is the ability of an individual or group to force another individual or group to change their behavior through threats, punishments, or sanctions. This type of power is based on fear, where the individual or group feels that they must comply to avoid negative consequences. It is generally the last place you should go, but knowing what you can bring to bear if needed is important.

Give them a voice

Employee buy-in cannot be achieved with one aspect alone. For example, think about the leadership skills you have honed — there isn’t one right skill, but rather many.

Humans are complex and layered, and to think one single element will influence your team would be incorrect. While you may have the final decision, if you want your team's team buy-in the most important thing you can do is make them feel like they have a voice in the decision. Let them share their point of view.

It can even be stronger if they feel like they came up with the idea. How do you do this? Two steps:

1. Ask your team questions.
What are their concerns about the given situation? What information do they need? Giving your employees the space to bring up concerns or stopping points is a great way to offer solutions that lead to buy-in.

2. Listen to what your team has to say.
It’s not about linguistic analyses or waiting for the magic words of agreement. Give your employees opportunities to express their ideas and take part in the decision-making process.

Do this and you will get much more commitment to the decision. It seems deceptively simple, but by asking questions and truly listening, you empower your team to contribute.

Utilize inspirational appeals

Research has shown that this is the most effective persuasive tactic, but also that it is the least used by managers. So what is the inspirational appeal? It’s a tactic that appeals to your team’s emotions, values, and/or ideals. With inspirational appeal, your goal is to encourage enthusiasm and shine a light on your employee’s confidence. Here are a few ways to use inspirational appeal:

1. Find out what excites your team members.
What inspires them? What makes them feel useful, confident, and in control or capable? What are the emotional appeals for the team? What is the emotional language they will connect with?

2. Paint a picture of how their lives will be better.
How will this new program, policy, or plan positively impact your team? Will this improve company performance? Will this improve the work environment? Share how this will have a significant impact.

3. Note how important they are to you and the new project.
This is a great time to remind your employees of the value they have as members of your team and the impact they have on the success of the project, plan, or proposed change.

One caveat, though fear and other negative emotions are very powerful motivators in the short term, do not use them. The use of fear or negative emotions to influence is a coercive influence and it is not recommended. Though it can get people to act, in the long term the negatives outweigh the positives.

Know what persuades people and use those tools

Now that you have an idea of the basis of power and the ways to influence, it’s important to make sure you understand what is behind the power of persuasion. That is to say, you need to know how your team works, what they are persuaded by, and how to best use the tools outlined. With this understanding, you will have an easier time persuading your team.

There are a couple of sources I'd recommend reading for better persuasion, but I want to focus on these two:

1. Jay Conger's The Necessary Art of Persuasion.
Conger says that there are four things you need to do when working to influence people:

Establish credibility.
Find common ground.
Provide vivid evidence.
Connect emotionally.

These terms are fairly self-explanatory, but overall, this is all about the process of learning from others and establishing and negotiating a shared solution. The result of these four steps is ultimately a persuaded team.

2. Robert Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
Cialdini identifies the six principles of persuasion as:

Reciprocity: “Give a little to get a little.”
Consistency: Beliefs that match values, and vice-versa.
Social Proof: Doing what others are doing, because there is “safety in numbers.”
Liking: The more you like someone or something, the more you are under it. Believe it or not, this aspect can have tremendous influence.
Authority: People are often swayed by authority figures who have power and expertise in a subject matter.
Scarcity: This is all about supply and demand — when something is in short supply, people want to act upon it.

These six elements provide people with the context, evidence, understanding, and emotional appeal of the why behind the request.

Build your case

Finally, it’s time to build your case. Do you have a specific goal clearly defined? Do you have an understanding of what your team can offer, why it’s important, and how it will benefit them? Have you outlined questions and ample opportunity for your team to express their opinions? Getting team buy-in is about a well-rounded discussion and conversation, not an argument or one-sided presentation. If you are working with a newer team, it may take some significant work to understand which effective tactics will appeal most to your employees.

A few things to note here as you make your case: make sure the sources you are using are sources that your team will find helpful, clear, and relevant. Do you have concrete data? Second, make sure you are using solid sources yourself.

Once you’ve done all of this, you'll have the tools to succeed in persuading your team. Make your business case clear and compelling, and you’ll have a better chance of winning your team's buy-in the first time around, which will yield the best results.