A Comms Planner’s Guide to Influencing Others

In 1936 Dale Carnegie penned what would be the start of the ‘self-help’ category, How to Win Friends and Influence People. While we may be well beyond the idea of winning friends, influencing people is as relevant today as it was 80 years ago, and of particular importance in the role of comms planning.

The comms planner sits at the intersection of agency disciplines (planning & creative), agency partners (creative, media, PR) and client groups (brand, media, corporate.) While the comms planner is responsible for the ecosystem of the creative work, they also play a pivotal role in an ecosystem of relationships whose proper functioning is critical to the creation of that creative work.

As we know, successful integration isn’t automatic. If it was easy everyone would be doing it and we wouldn’t have an entire discipline devoted to it. While our actual work product — communication frameworks, blueprints, and ecosystems — are essential in creating integrated campaigns — real success lies in our ability to lead through influence.

And influence must be earned.

“Tell me more”

Everything starts with listening. For one thing, people like it when you listen to them. It shows you care. It also provides an opportunity to ask “why” and it’s in the “why” that the true problem we are trying to solve for is uncovered.

Listen to your clients, not only their business objectives, but also their personal metrics. Everyone has a boss to please. What is happening within your client’s world often has a direct impact on yours, and understanding those nuances will give you greater flexibility in your planning. Listen to your partner agencies. Different agencies often report to different clients within the organization and may be receiving different direction. Understanding their needs, as well as the needs of the clients they report to, will help you work together to build an integrated plan that can delivers against multiple objectives. Listen to your creative teams. Seek them out and ask how have you been most valuable to them? What more could they use? What are their biggest frustrations overall and how can you as a comms planner help make them more successful?

By demonstrating that not only have you listened but also heard, and have a true understanding of varied needs, the more influence you will have when you want to introduce new or challenging thinking.

“What do you think?”

Ask for feedback, and really want it.

We can get so lost in selling in our own position that we sacrifice the benefit that other strategic and creative minds may bring to the table. For the most part we all work with a lot of smart people, and as the saying goes, two heads are better than one. Personally, I love when my thinking is challenged because the dialogue it produces inevitably makes the idea or approach better. And there is no law that says you have to incorporate the feedback. In initiating the request you lead by example and encourage others to do the same thus normalizing a process of constructive critique and discussion.

“That sounds great”

Be a lover not a hater.

Be a champion of other agencies ideas, thinking and the ultimate value of their expertise. Don’t diminish your credibility by claiming bad work is good, but look for the nuggets to champion — it may just be a single line in a deck or a font choice in a banner but by championing others thinking you prove your commitment to true integrated planning and partnership. In championing the ideas of others, and demonstrating your lack of bias, you also earn the right to constructively critique and have influence over the work.

You may be thinking, “Isn’t this all just basic manners?” Yes, probably, but it works — in business, and in life. You may even win some friends.