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Bram Lagrou: You spend three weeks on the board paper. Late nights, endless versions, every number checked twice. You walk into the boardroom. You've been given 10 minutes. You open your first slide, and on slide two, the Chair leans forward and asks a question you weren't expecting.
20 minutes later, you're still answering questions about slide two. You never reach slide three, and the board decides to come back to it next meeting. If that's happened to you, you're in good company. It happens to every capable commercial leader all the time. And here's the thing, it usually isn't because the idea was weak, it's because the presentation was built for the wrong audience.
Today, we're talking about how to get a yes from a board. Now, whether that's your own board or the [00:01:00] board of a client that you're trying to win over.
I'm Bram Lagrou, and this is the Commercial Leader Podcast.
Let's start with the core problem. Most commercial leaders are trained to present like operators, and that makes sense. That's what you are. You run a team, you hit a number, you know the detail. So when you present, you walk through the plan, the activity, the pipeline, the tactics. You show how much work has gone into it.
But a board does not think like an operator. A board governs.
Directors aren't asking, "Is this a good plan?" They're asking different questions. Questions like "Does this fit our strategy? What's the risk? Who's accountable if it goes wrong? What happens to our reputation if it fails? And can we trust the person presenting this?" A presentation built to impress your [00:02:00] executive team often answers none of those questions. It answers the questions the board didn't ask, and it leaves the one they did ask hanging in the air
And the result is rarely a no. It's something worse. It's called a deferral. Things like, "Let's come back to this. Can you take that away and do some more work on it?" A deferral feels polite, but it can cost you a quarter, sometimes even a year
Here's how I'd like you to think about it. A board is a buying committee. It just happens to have legal duties. And like every buying committee, it's made up of different people with different priorities, different ways of processing information, and different ways of saying yes. So the question isn't, what's my message?
The question is, who is in the room and what does each of them need to hear before they can say [00:03:00] yes?
That shift sounds small, yet in my experience, it changes everything.
And I want to tell you about a team that made exactly that shift. A while ago, I coached a team from an accounting firm. They were preparing to present to the board of a multinational company. It was a major tender.
They were up against two other shortlisted firms.
Now think about that situation from the board side for a moment. Three accounting firms, all highly qualified, all technical competent, all with impressive credentials and a strong value proposition. So on paper, it's very hard to tell them apart. The natural instinct for the team was to do what every firm does: polish their value proposition, sharpen the credentials, make the case for why they were the best firm for the job. And that work mattered. But it wasn't going to be what set them [00:04:00] apart because the other two firms were doing exactly the same thing.
So we did something different. We used communication mastery to prepare for the people, not just the pitch. We looked at each of the key stakeholders who would be in that room. What did each of them care about most? How did each of them like to receive information? What would make each of them feel confident, and what would make each of them feel nervous?
Then the team shaped their presentation and their answers around those people, not just around their own value proposition.
They won.
The managing partner called me afterwards. He told me it was the largest tender they won in the history of the firm, and he was very clear about why they'd won. He said it came down to preparing for the different stakeholders with Communication Mastery, not just focusing on their [00:05:00] value proposition alone.
I want you to sit with that for a second. Three strong firms, three strong value propositions. The difference wasn't what they offered. It was how well they connected with the people deciding on the offers.
So how do you prepare for people in the room? In Communication Mastery, that's exactly how we help our clients to use DISC to read how other people make their decision, how they receive information, and go from there, and without people needing to do an assessment upfront. As it is the case in most boardrooms, you'll find all four styles present.
Let's walk through them. First, there's usually a D, often the chair. Direct, fast, and results-focused. A D wants the bottom line, as in "What are you asking for? What will it cost? What will it [00:06:00] deliver?" A D gets impatient with background. If you spend five minutes on context, you've lost them. So give them the decision first.
Give them options as well so they feel in control
Then there's the I. Warm, engaging, often the director who asks the big picture question. And an I wants to understand the story. "Why does this matter? What does success look like? How will people feel about it?" An I is persuaded by vision and by energy. If your presentation is all numbers and no story, the I will mentally switch off.
Then there's the S. Steady, thoughtful, often quieter in the room. An S wants to know the impact on people, on staff, on customers, on how things work today. An S worries about disruption, so they're asking themselves, "Is this safe?
Is this going to be rushed?" [00:07:00] Reassurance and a clear, steady plan win them over.
And then there's the C, analytical and precise. Often the chair of the audit or risk committee. A C wants evidence, the assumptions, the risks, the detail behind the numbers. A C will have read every page of your board paper, and if there's an error on page 14, they will find it.
Now, here's a challenge.
You've got 10 minutes and four very different people to win. You can't give each of them 10 minutes, but you can give each of them an entry point. A headline for the D, a story for the I, a plan for the S, and evidence for the C.
Now, you might be thinking, "That's fine for a board of strangers, but I know my decision-makers well." Let me tell you about a general manager I personally worked with. [00:08:00] He ran a national business, and to get any major investment approved, he needed to run it by the CEO and get his backing. These two men knew each other well. Very well actually, because they were both members of the company's 20-year club, which recognized people for their long service to the business.
They'd worked alongside each other for decades. And yet, the GM found it very difficult to get sign-off from the CEO for any major investment. Think about that. 20 years of shared history, real mutual respect, and still when it came down to the big decisions that required a lot of dollars, he couldn't get a yes. When we looked at it through the Communication Mastery angle, the reason became clear.
The general manager was an SC, steady as well as conscientious. Caring, loyal, and thorough. And [00:09:00] like many high S leaders, he was deeply invested in his people. So when he presented a business case, he talked a lot about the team, how hard they were working, what they needed, how the investment would support them. And all of that was true, and all of it mattered to him personally. But something was missing.
He rarely talked about return on investment. He rarely talked about results. He didn't speak the language his CEO was listening out for. So his CEO was a DC, dominant first with a strong conscientious streak. A DC wants the bottom line, as in "What are you asking for? What will it deliver? What's the return?"
And because of that C, which was moderate, they also wanted to know the numbers are solid. So every time the GM walked in, he was making a people case to a [00:10:00] results-driven CEO. He was answering a question the CEO wasn't asking, and the one question the CEO was asking, "What's the return?" Never got a clear answer.
Here's the point. Knowing someone for 20 years is not the same as knowing how they decide. After going through Communication Mastery with me, the GM changed how he presented his case. He led with ROI. He led with results. What the business would get back. The team was still part of the story, but it supported the business case, it didn't replace it.
The result, you may ask?
Well, I'm pleased to say that the GM got sign-off for a major capital investment. Not once, but twice, all within a matter of four months. Same GM, same CEO, same 20-year relationship. The only thing that changed was the language he used to [00:11:00] present his case to the CEO.
And that's the lesson for every board and every senior decision-maker you'll ever present to. A great case isn't enough. It has to be built for the person deciding.
That brings me to the first practical rule: the paper does the work.
Here's something many commercial leaders don't realize. A lot of board decisions are shaped before you walk into the room. Directors read the board paper in advance. They form a view. By the time you stand up, many of them already have made up their minds, or at least they've decided what they're worried about. So write your paper as if you wouldn't be in the room at all. Could the board make a decision based on the paper alone? If not, it's not finished. And put the right things up front in this order. There's a decision you're asking for, the investment required, the main [00:12:00] risk, and how you'll manage it, then the detail.
That opening is exactly what changed things around for our GM. Results and return first, it gives your D what they need straight away, and it tells your C you're not hiding anything. The supporting detail, the story, and the people impact can follow, but the decision comes first.
The second rule, directors think in risk.
This is where many commercial leaders struggle because we're natural optimists. We're paid to see the upside. We talk about growth, opportunity, and potential. A board has a different job. Part of their duty is to protect the organization, so when a director hears only upside, they don't feel reassured, they feel nervous.
Silence on risk doesn't read as confidence. It reads as naivety.
So name the risks yourself before they [00:13:00] ask. Show them three things. What could go wrong, how you'll know early if it starts going wrong, and what you'll do about it. When you do that, something interesting happens. The directors relax because you've done the job for them. You've shown them that you're thinking like a governor, not just a seller.
The third rule then, no surprises.
In a boardroom, being surprised is uncomfortable. A director who hears something important for the first time in front of their peers can feel exposed. And when people feel exposed, the brain elevator drops.
Floor one is the crocodile brain. It's all about safety. Floor two is about trust and connection. And floor three is where logical decisions get made.
A surprise in the boardroom sends the director straight to floor one, and no director on floor one is going to approve a significant [00:14:00] investment. So brief the key people before the meeting, especially the chair, and especially any director you know has concerns. Give them a chance to raise their concerns privately, not in front of the whole board.
This is good practice anywhere, but it matters even more in some cultures.
In Japan, for example, decisions are often shaped through quiet, informal consensus building before the formal meeting. If your first real conversation with the decision-makers is the board meeting itself, you're already too late.
And if you're presenting into Germany, you'll often find a two-tier board. A management board that runs the business and a supervisory board that oversees it. Know which board you're presenting to and what the board actually decides on.
The fourth rule, answer, don't defend.
Let's go back to the chair leaning [00:15:00] forward on slide two. When a director asks a tough question, most presenters feel it as an attack. Their heart rate goes up. Their voice changes. They start explaining, then explain some more, and sometimes they start defending their plan.
Here's the problem. When you defend, the question becomes a challenge, and everyone in the room can feel the temperature change.
So try this instead. Acknowledge the question. Answer it briefly, and if it needs more detail, offer to follow up in writing. Things like, "That's a fair question. The short answer is this. I'm happy to send the full analysis to the committee after today." That's it. Calm, brief, and respectful.
The D gets a quick answer. The C gets the promise of detail. The S sees a calm presenter, and the I sees [00:16:00] someone confident enough not to get rattled.
If you don't know the answer, say so. "I don't have that figure with me. I'll have it to you by Friday," for example. Directors respect that far more than a guess, especially your C's, because a C will remember a wrong number for a very long time. So don't guess. Say it upfront.
The last rule then, ask for the decision.
It sounds obvious, but many presentations simply stop. The presenter finishes the last slide and then says, "Any questions?" And the moment passes.
Instead, come back to where you started. Restate the decision you're asking for clearly, and if the board isn't ready to decide, ask what they need from you to get there. "Is there anything else the board would need to see to make a decision on this today?" The question turns a deferral [00:17:00] into a clear next step. It tells you exactly what's missing, and it shows the board you respect their time.
Let's go back to our two stories for a moment, because together they'll show all of this working.
The accounting firm was competing against two other firms with strong value propositions. It had one too. Now, that alone wasn't going to separate them. What separated them was preparation for people.
They knew who was in the room. They knew what each person needed to hear before they could say yes, and they adapted their message so that each stakeholder had an entry point.
That's the difference between presenting your case and creating buy-in.
And that's why the managing partner didn't credit the value proposition. He credited the stakeholder preparation.
The GM story is the same lesson [00:18:00] in a smaller room. One decision maker instead of nine. A relationship of 20 years instead of a first meeting. And still, the case only landed once it was built for the person deciding.
Now, whether it's a board of strangers or a CEO you've known for years, the principle doesn't change.
So here's what I'd love you to do before your next board presentation, whether that's your own board or a client's board.
First, rewrite the opening of your board paper. State the decision, the investment, and the main risk in under 60 words.
Second, list every director or key stakeholder who'll be in the room. Next to each one's name, write two things: what does this person care about most, and how do they like to receive information? if you cannot answer those two questions, that's your homework.
[00:19:00] Third, have at least one conversation before the meeting with the chair or with the director you think is most likely to have concerns. Now, if you're like me, that might be a conversation that you would prefer not to have in the first place, but do it anyway because it matters.
10 minutes isn't long, but with the right preparation, it's enough. This is exactly the work we do with commercial teams and leadership teams through Communication Mastery, helping your people prepare for every stakeholder in the room without dis-profiling them upfront with an assessment, 'cause obviously you're not gonna ask your board to do that, let alone a client's board.
If you got a major tender, a board presentation, or a big pitch coming up, let's talk. Book a free discovery call. The link's in the show notes. See you next time. Thanks for tuning in. My name is Bram.
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