Our webinar ‘How to win buy-in for quality investments with a soft skills approach’ is addressed to QA professionals who deal with resistance from those who really have the power over the QA budget in their company.
Our speaker, Lesley Worthington, Communication and Leadership Coach with 20 years of quality and regulatory experience, talked about how to bridge this issue by building relationships at work. And most importantly, how to influence colleagues and executives, reduce resistance, and go for the ‘yes’.
This article offers a summary of Lesley's best strategies to get your QA budget secured. Let’s dive right in!
Using communication and soft skills to promote quality and QA budgets
.You've done your research, got your QA budget proposal ready, logical, backed by data. It clearly benefits the company, and there’s no way they won’t see its value.
But leadership says, “Not now, not a priority, maybe next quarter.”
Here’s where QAs realize that influence isn't just about making a strong case, the facts, the data, or the logic.
Gaining buy-in for quality investments is about using soft skills, communication, relationship-building skills, and influence to get more ‘yeses’, and fewer ‘maybes’ or ‘next quarters’.
In other words, using communication and soft skills to promote quality and QA budget investments.
Recommended learning: The executive's guide to an eQMS investment and how it helps your business drive efficiency and compliance.
Overcoming leadership resistance to quality investments
To begin the webinar, we ran a poll to understand the causes of resistance our audience encountered. In other words, what’s the most common reason stakeholders say “no” to quality initiatives? The options were:
- QA budget constraints
- Other priorities take precedence
- Lack of understanding of quality’s value
- Fear of change or extra workload
27% people answered “Lack of understanding of quality’s value”, which makes a lot of sense, because:
- How could QA budget constraints be a real issue if quality saves money?
- How could this not be seen as a priority if they're fighting fires that started because of weaknesses in the quality system?
- How could they think there could be extra work when it could avoid deviations and CAPAs, and audit findings?
It’s a sign that there's been a communication breakdown somewhere along the line. It goes back to building relationships and leveraging influence to tell them the right story, overcoming leadership resistance to quality investments.
How QA professionals can get management to say yes: Building relationships
We like people who like us.
We help people who help us. We listen to people who listen to us. We support people who support us.
Gaining buy-in is a process that starts long before you make a formal request about the QA budget, present your proposal, or have that important high-stakes influence conversation.
You have to first build relationships with the right people in your organization.
Let’s think about it this way: How often would you vouch for someone you don't know? Never, right?
So if we want management to support us and invest in quality, we have to allow them to know us. We also have to get to know them well enough to understand if they are the right people to make this decision, their interests and worries, their communication style, etc.
Here’s how QA professionals can get management to say yes by building strong relationships.
Who do we need to be building relationships with to increase QA budgets?
Have you ever heard the expression “barking up the wrong tree”?
In the context of influence, it means you’re not talking to the right stakeholder. Sometimes we become so determined to convince someone of the logic of our argument that we double down, trying harder and harder to win them over.
But the reality is that certain people may never come around to our side, no matter how strong or well-reasoned our case might be.
Instead of obsessing over changing their mind about increasing QA budgets, the smarter approach is to step back and reassess where your efforts are going and identify who you should be speaking with.
This isn’t always as obvious as it seems. You might assume that the person to win over is the one who signs the checks, or your immediate boss, but this is not always the case.
Here are three key questions to ask yourself when determining who can actually take on board your proposal:
- Who supports it already?
- Who doesn't?
- Who's neutral?
- Who has control over this particular decision?
With this information, you can start your stakeholder analysis.
Stakeholder analysis
To figure out which relationships you need to build or strengthen, you have to step back and look at your organizational chart differently. Not the formal one on paper, but the informal chart that reflects real influence, disconnected from their official role at the company.
In many cases, informal power can outweigh formal titles. For example, in a small family business, “Uncle Johnny” might appear to have little authority, but if every decision runs through him, he holds real sway. The key questions to ask are:
- Who is their sounding board? Who's always wandering into their office?
- Who do they confide in?
- Who do they trust?
- How does this person feel about the proposal?
- What if they aren't so against it?
If the CFO has the final say but dismisses your idea outright, fighting to convince him may be of little use. Instead, find who they confide in.
If that person is more open to your proposal, they may be the ally you need to build that relationship with.
Now, let’s redraw the organizational chart
A useful way to run your stakeholder analysis is to redraw the organization chart based on how much influence each person actually has on the decision at hand and how they feel about your proposal. In this view, color represents support:
- Green means enthusiastic “yes”
- Orange signals neutrality or resistance
The size of each person’s box reflects how much power they truly wield over the QA budget.
This makes it easier to focus on strengthening relationships with powerful allies who already support your idea, so their influence reaches the person making the final call.
Repairing and building genuine relationships
Once you’ve identified who you need to influence, take stock of your current relationship with them. Ask yourself whether it’s strong, weak, or nonexistent, and whether you need to build it from scratch, repair it due to past friction, or simply maintain it.
At the foundation of all strong relationships lies trust and credibility. These are built through consistency, reliability, integrity, and following through on commitments.
But trust also requires showing humanity: listening, demonstrating empathy, being open and honest, and asking for input. This kind of credibility isn’t created overnight; it’s a reputation you establish over time.
How to build influence: Soft skills every QA needs to influence executives
Influence isn’t about pressure, logic, or data. It’s about exchange. People act for their own reasons, not yours.
Once you understand that influence is simply an exchange of value, the game changes, and relationships become central. You want something from someone, whether it’s support, cooperation, or approval.
The question is: what will you give in return?
Understanding what matters and using your own currency
What you can offer depends on what matters to the other person. You need to know their priorities, whether that’s budgets, reputation, or something else. You need to understand how they think, what they care about, the language they use, and how they make decisions.
Without that insight, you won’t know what currency will work in the exchange.
You might think that you have nothing to offer the CEO or the CFO in exchange. But you do.
For instance, you control whether you make the person feel understood, whether you can help in some way, and whether you can let the person be right or feel important, or win. You also control access to your knowledge, your expertise, and your network.
For instance, as a QA professional, your offered currency for their investment in the QA budget could be:
- Risk reduction
- Business gains linked to integrated quality
- Efficiency gains
- Better decision-making
- Stress relief
Giving people what they need isn’t manipulation if it’s genuine.
If it helps them, benefits the company, and supports shared goals, it’s a strategy. Your role is to show that you’re invested in their success as well as the organization’s.
Overcoming leadership resistance to quality investments
So, you've built a relationship, and you're gearing up to have that important meeting… And you're already anticipating resistance.
Don’t worry: Resistance is normal and part of human behavior. It isn't about you, but the perceived impact on them. So, now that you know the person well, how they think, and their priorities, you can shift your framing to address their unspoken concerns.
So now, how to overcome leadership resistance to quality investments?
Here’s where your listening skills will come in handy—How do we learn about this person, their needs, their goals, their point of view, and their concerns? Listen, observe, ask questions to that person and to others who interact with them. Read stuff they've written, listen to interviews, etc.
Ultimately, the goal is to show how your idea solves the problem they care about. If you can connect your proposal to their priorities, with concrete examples or even numbers, resistance fades.
People buy in not because they understand you, but because they feel understood.
Save time with our business case PPT template that convinces your leadership that an eQMS is a strategic and worthwhile investment.
Soft skills every QA needs to influence executives: Communicating effectively
If your stakeholder doesn’t understand you and thinks you don’t know what you’re talking about, they’ll say no. That’s why clarity is non-negotiable.
Clear communication begins with clear thinking to avoid confusing messages, vague expectations, and misunderstandings. If you can clarify your own thought process, your communication will naturally become clearer and more persuasive.
"If your thinking is clear, then your message will be clear."
Some areas you want to have full clarity on before making your case are:
#1 What are you trying to achieve? Have you got your best case request? Have you anticipated all of the possible objections about increasing the QA budget and how you’re going to challenge them?
#2 How does this person think? Do they react better to data or a vivid picture of the possibilities your proposal offers? What’s their preferred communication method?
#3 What matters to them? What can they gain from this exchange and your proposed solution? How does it make their life easier?
#4 What do you actually need? Sometimes the “no” comes because they are unsure about how what you’re asking for will help you and your team.
#5 What language do they use? What buzzwords do they know and like to use? What language resonates with them? Do you know their sense of humor, the metaphors they use?
#6 How do they make decisions? Do they need time and all of the data? Do they decide quickly and on the spot? Do they need to talk it over with other people?
#7 Are you clear on your organization’s vision, values, and business objectives? How does quality tie into it? Stakeholders are more likely to see your side of the story if they see the company’s identity reflected in it.
How to communicate quality’s value to non-technical stakeholders: A good rule of thumb is that the higher up someone is in an organization, the more plainly you must speak. It feels counterintuitive, but the higher up they are, the further away they are from our area of expertise. So using overly technical words might get in the way of effective communication.
Mirror their communication style: As you build relationships, take note of the words and metaphors others use. Mirror these back to them as it reinforces connection and understanding. And clarity builds trust and makes communication smoother.
Don’t try to impress, but to understand: We often look for magical solutions to getting buy-in. But the truth is simple: Communication isn’t about showing off; it’s about ensuring your message is heard the way you intend. Effective communication comes from paying attention, observing, listening, and preparing a plan of attack.
Preparing for the yes: How to prepare for high-stakes QA conversations
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
Your proposal to acquire an eQMS over a paper-based system or investing in the QA budget is well researched and documented.
You’ve spent time on this, and you know how much it will benefit your team and the whole organization. You’ve also taken care of building up a relationship with the person you’re going to present it to.
So now, how will you prepare for this high-stakes QA conversation? If you don’t plan, you set yourself up for failure. This means thinking over every single detail so that you’ll go in as confidently as possible.
What’s your plan to get them to increase QA budgets?
Here are a few key considerations before your meeting. Ask yourself:
- How can I make the other person comfortable?
- Where and when should the meeting take place?
- Should it be in my office, theirs, or neutral ground?
- Who else will be there, and why?
- Will we sit side by side, across, or walk together?
- How will I start the conversation?
- How will I approach the topic? Logic, vision, collaboration?
- How do I assure this person that I hear them?
- What questions will I ask to make sure everything is being understood?
- What objections could come up?
- What could go wrong?
- What’s my backup plan if the first approach doesn’t work?
- What should I not say? What could possibly upset this person?
- What’s my exit plan if I or they get upset? (Sometimes it’s best to leave it for another time when things don’t go according to plan and feelings spark)
- What’s my plan for practicing all of this?
Conclusion: A simple formula to influence them all
Clarity about all of these items informs your plan of attack, which, layout-wise, is actually fairly straightforward. Let’s quickly recap what you’ll need to do before having your conversation about QA budgets:
- Figure out who you need to influence
- Build, repair, or nurture a relationship with that person
- Get clarity about what matters to that person
- Plan, practice, and adjust for what could go wrong
And remember, even top decision-makers are human. They want to feel connected, heard, and understood. When you reflect their language and values, they can’t help but feel seen. This emotional connection is what opens the door to influence.
