How to Sell a Budget

September 2008

Yes, budgeting is a game. If you don’t know what I mean, check out my previous article on the subject.

And you should play to win. Your charges, the folks who you manage, are counting on you.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever noticed that some folks get their way in the budgeting process and some don’t. It isn’t fair, really. But your mama told you about fairness, “Ain’t no such thing, baby.”

What those who get their way know how to appeal to those who hold the purse strings. And I want to share some of my ideas being appealing with you.

Some of these ideas as I am writing them have struck me as self-serving and verging on the edge of unethical, but I’ll let you make the call about what you are willing to do to get your budget approved. Getting your way might not be the best thing for everyone else involved.

• Maintain Credibility—We have talked about this one before, but it bears repeating—no one wants to give money to someone who won’t care for it—who will let it fall out of a huge hole at the bottom of their pocket. Anyone who says, “I don’t ‘do’ accounting and finance; I don’t even know how to balance my checkbook” should not—and will not—be trusted with significant resources. Credibility in the budgeting game means that you have a clear purpose and you know the resources you need to pull it off.
• Know Your Numbers—On a related note, don’t say, “I’m not sure where that number came from…” during a budget meeting. That makes accountants and decision makers very nervous, very nervous indeed. Again, why should they give you money if you are just going to squander it on who knows what? Have evidence to back up every one of your projections and bring it with you.
• Be Willing to Sacrifice—My husband used to work for a home builder and he was very meticulous. The inspector of his first home was miffed that my husband had nothing that he could “write him up” for in his inspection report. He said it was the cleanest inspection he’d done in years and then he proceeded to spend two additional hours trying to find something wrong. He finally found two minor things and left irritated. My husband learned that in order to get the inspectors off his back, he needed to leave a few obvious things undone—like a loose door hinge, a missing utility cover, or a crooked piece of molding. All things that he could easily fix but that gave the inspector something to do. He called them his “sacrificial lambs”. You might want to build in a few sacrificial lambs of your own. Things that you really don’t need—although they’d be nice to have—that you can give up during a budget cut. Those in budget power want to feel like they did their job by cutting your budget back by 4%—so give them the 4% in travel to a conference you really didn’t think they’d allow anyway—or retract your request for an upgraded software that you really don’t need because what you have is fine. The lamb has to be credible and expendable. That way you look like a team player—“That good old gal was willing to sacrifice for the team!” but you didn’t sacrifice anything critical.
• Benchmark—Find someone like you in the world that has what you want and then use them to compare yourself to. In essence, you are using shame to prod management into seeing things your way. For instance, in Texas we have a few college rivalries going on. I can imagine a manager at Texas A&M saying something to the effect of, “Well, the University of Texas has an new track and we haven’t upgraded our track in ten years!” Or if you are a city, can you find a city of a similar size that has things or programs that you think you should have. If you are a corporation, check out your nearest competitor.
• Demonstrate Necessity for Compliance—This works like a charm. Saying something like “We must keep this program going in order to comply with federal regulations, or SOX, or ISO 9000, or the contract…” will sell a budget quicker than you can say “Regulation!”
• Quantify Short-Term and Long-Term Results—Link performance data to your budget line items and tell them what they are going to get when they give you the money. How many additional sales are you going to make with this new customer information system? How many children are going to receive math instruction? How many man hours will be saved? And don’t just give performance data for this year—show them how your request is a gift that keeps on giving for years to come.
• Depict in Pictures—Graphics take ugly, complex spreadsheets that make people’s eyes roll back in their head and turns them into easy-to-digest pictures that they can understand intuitively. If you use graphics on a regular basis, I recommend one of my favorite business books, Say It with Charts by Gene Zelanzy.
• Present Compellingly—Can you add any emotion to your plea? Will you be righting some wrong, curing some injustice, or simply making the food in the cafeteria more palatable? Consider weaving emotional words into your proposal and presentation to sensationalize or bring emotion to the table. We all like to think that we make decisions based on facts alone—but the truth is that emotions are what sway us in most decisions.
• Take Burden Off Decision Maker—Allow Them to Say “Yes”—Walked in to a dealership lately to buy a car? They don’t ask you whether you want to spend $30K or $20K or $80K, they ask you what you want your monthly payment to be. I once ran into a gentleman on a plane who sold finance products to car dealers, and he was rolling out a new product that would allow buyers to finance their car for nine years! So, if you are attracted to that $50K BMW you can have it for only $299 a month FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! What are the car dealers doing? They are making saying YES to that BMW easy. Is there anything you can do to take the pain out of the decision for the budget powers? I don’t know your exact situation, but I bet you can think of something. First think of what would pain them about the decision to say yes to you and then figure out a creative way to allow them to avoid that pain and still say yes.
• Keep in Close Communication with the Boss Throughout the Whole Process—If you don’t talk to your boss except when budget time rolls around, her surprised reaction to your request during a tough budget negotiation could be “No way! I can’t do that!” As soon as the idea or need arises, plant a seed in your boss’s mind and let her think on it for a while before the idea or need becomes critical. Who knows, she may even take credit for the idea herself. And what do you care? Let her have the credit; you’ll take the money so you can get your job done.
• Take Notice of the Political Situation—Who is really in power in your organization? It may not be the one with the title. I can always find the true leader in any meeting by watching who everyone else is watching. Have you ever attending a meeting where everyone checks with the guy on the right to see what his reaction is every time something is said. That guy is the true leader—and he may not have the title to go with it. He is the one you need to have on your side. Also, if something is afoot in your organization that could impact your budget, you should do your best to step lightly around it. Keep your ear to the ground and be savvy about how you spin your requests.
• Clearly Link Your Budget to the Goals and Objectives of Your Superiors—Do the budget powers have a pet project or a pet concern that they are trying to get everyone on board with? Can you sell your budget by saying that it will help them meet their goals? I live in Austin, and green living has been a mantra here for decades. But there are always outliers—folks who won’t recycle, who won’t give up their Cowboy Cadillac (also known as a huge SUV), who won’t conserve water. And in the past few months, I’ve noticed that the City of Austin’s transportation department has changed up its radio ads a little bit. Now riding the bus is not about reducing carbon emissions—the green folks are already on board with that. Riding the bus now, we are told with an authoritative voice, actually contributes to our national security. Hmm. Even a conservative Republican cowboy can go along with that argument. Is your argument hitting deaf ears? What do those ears like to hear? Do they care about the environment or national security? To sell your budget, figure out what sells best and emphasize that.

I have a feeling I am going to hear plenty about this list from you, the readers. Yes, go ahead complain that I am no better than Karl Rove—and then give me some more manipulative ideas. Send them to me at leita@happycashflow.com.

Michael Granof, a UT Professor, wrote a fascinating op-ed for the New York Times regarding budget tricks that governments commonly use. Please visit www.mccombs.utexas.edu/news/pressreleases/granof_times_08.asp.