AS a manager of a business it is not just your product you need to sell!
Selling yourself, using your persuasive powers, is vital in getting your point across because not all good ideas sell themselves.
Influencing people can be mostly to do with seeing a proposition from the other person’s point of view, then presenting your case in a way that highlights the benefits to them, while reducing their objections. If you have done your research you will have already anticipated any obstacles, and have the answers already formed in your mind.
Remember, people make up their own minds based on their own perceptions, not yours, so present a case in a straightforward way, accentuating the positives, emphasising the pros, allowing them to contribute. Defeating the other person in an argument is not the aim. Find some common ground and start with an agreement, then clinch the proposal at the right moment.