#5: The Buy-in Blueprint 🎯

Hey there, ladies and gentlemen!

Yeah, I know. What was meant to be a weekly note became a break I didn’t intend to take.

But if I’m being honest, I haven’t been feeling like myself lately. There’s a quiet kind of fog that has crept in and is making even the simplest things feel heavier than they should. Not with work exactly, but everything around it.

I haven’t been proud of the discipline I’ve shown lately.

But I’m here now, writing this.

The Discovery Loop (Recap)

In the last edition, I walked you through how I use a structured discovery process to generate product ideas based on data, user research, and competitor benchmarking.

But once you have the idea, how do you get buy-in?

And here’s the truth, a PM’s job isn’t just about finding good ideas. It’s about convincing other people they’re worth building.

So, welcome back! This week’s Product in Progress is for everyone who's ever had to convince more than three different teams that their idea is worth building.

Enter: The Buy-in Blueprint

Buy-in doesn’t come from just having a good idea. It comes from telling a good story.

And storytelling isn’t just a pitch deck or a PRD. It’s whatever medium helps your audience see the problem clearly and feel the urgency to solve it. It could be a one-pager, a funnel chart, a prototype, or just a quick chat.

But here’s where it gets tricky, not all stakeholders want the same story.
Some want metrics. Some want user empathy. Some want clarity on effort and tradeoffs. And sometimes, what works for one person completely misses the mark for another.

So today, let’s break it down.

How to craft the right kind of pitch for each type of stakeholder:

👩‍💼 1. Your Manager – Your First Ally

They know what the leadership cares about, what the team is already stretched on, and how your idea fits into the bigger picture. If they’re on board, it’s easier to get everyone else on board too. They also help you refine the idea before it faces broader scrutiny.

What they care about:

• Strategic alignment with team/org-level goals

• Resource bandwidth

• Priorities across teams

What to show:

• A high-level pitch: problem statement, who it affects, how it impacts business goals

• A rough sketch of possible solutions (if you have one)

• Effort vs impact estimate

How to show:

• A casual chat with a Notion doc or slide to walk through

• Figma Make (for a rough prototype)

🎨 2. Design Counterparts

What they care about:

• User experience

• How intuitive the flow is

• Edge cases and consistency with the system

What to show:

• The core user problem and motivation

• Competitor references (screenshots/flows)

• User feedback or pain points (from research or support tickets)

Why it works:
Designers are storytellers too. Showing the user tension upfront helps them connect emotionally and creatively.

How to show:

• A 1-pager with Why this problem is worth solving

• Screenshots of broken flows or complaints

🧑‍💻 3. Engineering Counterparts

What they care about:

• Feasibility

• How complex it is to build

• How it fits into ongoing/planned tech work

What to show:

• A user journey or flow

• Estimated backend/frontend scope

Why it works:
Your engineers are partners, not just executors. Involving them early means you’ll spot blockers or smarter implementation paths before committing too much.

How to show:

• A clickable prototype (PRDs come later)

• Flow diagram (Miro, FigJam)

💼 4. Business / Marketing Teams

What they care about:

• Revenue potential

• User acquisition, retention, or upsell

• Impact on campaigns or GTM

What to show:

• The urgency and opportunity

• How it impacts key metrics

• Any competitor moves in this area

Why it works:
They speak in ROI. Connect your idea to real numbers they own. They will help you quantify the success of your idea in revenue terms.

How to show:

• Excel/Google Sheet with rough projections

• Funnel snapshots

👥 5. Leadership

What they care about:

• Strategic priorities

• P&L impact

• Risks and dependencies

What to show:

• Business case (problem → value → solution)

• Milestones and risks

• Team support you've already gathered

Why it works:
By the time it reaches leadership, they’re not looking for exploration, they want conviction. Show them that you’ve done the work, have the buy-in, and know how this moves the needle.

How to show:

• Short pitch deck with a working prototype (4–5 slides max)

Till next week...hopefully

Before you go… Remember, you won’t always have all the answers. You won’t always win everyone over.
But if you can show them the problem, invite them into the thinking, and paint a picture of what’s possible, you’re already doing the real work of a product manager.

See you on the other side.

— Nihit

If you think this newsletter could add value to someone’s life, spread the word: Product in Progress