Achieving Conceptual Agreement: How to get a clear mandate for a project or a job
A few years ago, I came across the concept of conceptual agreement in this book. This small idea has led to big results when I pitched for projects or job opportunities.
It is easy to implement and you will win more business with it. The key action is to stop telling and start asking.
- Objectives of project or the role.
- Measurement of progress towards the objectives.
- Value of your efforts to the organisation.
To get a favourable result when you’re pitching a project or interviewing for a job, you want to develop a series of yeses- positive responses to understandings and agreements. By consistently feeding back to the buyer your understanding in the form of questions, you get a clearer picture of their perception of the objectives, measurement and value. And hopefully, a series of positives responses.
Something that I have found really powerful during this process is drawing pictures- visuals to clarify concepts and relationships. It helps me simplify concepts, tests the validity of my understanding and creates buy-in with the client.
- Creates more trust with the buyer.
- Develops clear boundaries for the project or role.
- Relegates price or cost to a secondary concern.
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Why Balancing Management and Innovation Matters | Clearpath Consultancy, July 4th, 2011 on 12:06 pm
[...] founder, if necessary) and then balance the requirements. The best time to do this is during the Conceptual Agreement [...]
One year on at Insider Publishing | Clearpath Consultancy, January 19th, 2012 on 3:48 pm
[...] Peter and I scoped the role, we agreed that there were three areas to [...]
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