Change Management Value Proposition: Selling the Intangible

Many organizations have dozens of projects on the go. Out of those dozens, a few projects are executed without change management (CM) resources. Typically, only a smaller percentage of ongoing projects, usually strategic, enterprise-wide projects, have CM resources as a part of a core project team.

Because projects reach the finish line, what is the value of having change management resources for those few projects?

It does not help that many CM practitioners need help clearly explaining why they are required in the project.

Why should you care?

This is why: If your stakeholders perceive no value in benefits that you uniquely provide (that are significant to them)- there is no request for CM support in projects.

Some argue that the statement is not valid. We, change people, produce many valuable artifacts: change stories, stakeholder analysis, and training materials, to name just a few. Some of us believe that we are doing our job as long as we produce those deliverables.

I am turning this statement on its head. The intangible benefits our stakeholders seek are far more important than the artifacts we produce. We have to become better at explaining “what” we do for the organizations, specifically for people who directly benefit from our participation in a project.

Here is the template I use when thinking of explaining my value proposition, that I’ve seen in Russell Bronson’s books:

I help (insert who) to (insert results they want to achieve) through (insert what you do to help them achieve what they want).

Here are some of the ideas that could inspire you when you think about your value proposition for the next time you need to explain how you, as a change agent, help others:

I help the project sponsor understand how to achieve efficiently the organization’s readiness state through my project-specific readiness strategy.

I help impacted stakeholders understand the project’s big picture and what will be in place to help them get ready by creating with them a comprehensive change story.

I help the project team execute readiness activities at the right time in the project by sharing my readiness activities that are connected to the project milestones.

You should make at least ten statements like these. Once you start expressing what you do in terms of the benefits that you provide to others, you will enter a different conversation with your stakeholders that is more aligned with their needs. Do not be surprised if the request for your services goes up.

Let me know if you have any trouble coming up with your value proposition statements! It may not be easy at first, but it is a valuable exercise.