Welcome to part four of Sell the Why: Reasons to Believe.

​Last week we built your outcomes library: a stash of proof pulled straight from your own work.​

But sometimes your own data isn’t enough.

• Maybe you’re early-stage and light on numbers
• Maybe you’re working for a client who needs industry-wide validation
• Or maybe your stakeholders just won’t budge without receipts from outside your bubble

You need external proof.

Here’s how to get it.

too much data, not enough proof

That big client of ours that ran citywide initiatives (remember them? and their 14 stakeholder groups? go back and read all about 'em here) had a problem:

Every deck, press release, and funding pitch needed proof… which they had in spades.
Everywhere.
Completely disorganized.
And almost impenetrably dense for the layperson.

Which meant every time they had to write anything, it was like starting from zero again.

They were drowning in data.
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​And data on its own isn’t proof.

Data is the raw material. Stats, charts, reports.
​Proof is the magic that happens when you take the right data, connect it to the right belief, and frame it so a stakeholder actually feels convinced.

So our job became sifting, selecting, and translating data into proof that would actually move their 14 different audiences.

Another really tough aspect for this client:
Many of their projects are completely new for the city. Which means that this organization couldn’t just reach back into previous successes to show a proven track record.

They had to organize their dense homegrown data into proof and they had to look outside themselves for proof points in the wider world.

So we pulled from their own studies and reports, but also:

• local government data
• national transportation and sustainability studies
• case studies from peer cities

We started by gathering swaths of ripe data, stretching out as far as the eye could see. 🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

But! Not all data belongs in the RTB library.

what makes external proof land

External proof only works if it’s:

• credible: no “studies show” handwaving - cite your sources
• relevant: connected directly to the belief your stakeholder needs to shift
• digestible: ain't nobody gonna read an 80-page white paper before saying yes to your proposal
• current: 2016 stats make you look like you’re hiding something

Golden rule: if you wouldn’t feel comfortable defending where it comes from in a client meeting, it doesn’t go in your RTB library.

Digging up such impeccable data online can be intimidating, to say the least.

Here’s where I tell you quite honestly: this task is going to appeal to a certain subset of people (hi! it’s me!) who love panning for gold in an internet full of sh… silt.

For those who also grew up with Ash Ketchum: Think of it like pacing back and forth in the tall grass hunting a Chansy, only you’re grinding for peer-reviewed publications, not rare candies.

Here’s how you might go about catching ‘em all.

where to find good proof without losing an entire weekend in the process

We live in an age of near-limitless access to info. When you’re looking for something specific, this can feel like trying to drink gingerly from a firehose at full blast.

Here’s what I recommend as your first ports-of-call for solid sources of reliable data.

• Search: Google Scholar for academic abstracts, or trying adding filetype:pdf to your search to surface all kinds of reports, white papers, and studies
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• Official sources: government portals (e.g. data.gov, Eurostat, World Bank, UNdata), industry associations, and nonprofits (e.g. Pew or Brookings)
  ​
• Credible journalism & trade publications: national papers, niche industry outlets, and even conference decks often carry headline stats with citations you can trace
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• Twitter/LinkedIn sleuthing: researchers and analysts love to post “did you know” data nuggets with links to full studies

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​Bonus: set up Google Alerts for your stakeholder keywords (e.g. remote work productivity report). New data will drop in like your weekly fruit & veg box.
​

🧠 One more note, this one about brainz:

This kind of data mining is a particular kind of thinking. I highly recommend carving out an unbroken block of time for it, putting on some slick beats, and allowing yourself to rabbit hole.

If you’ve got a bottom-up brain like mine, you’ll have a blast with this.

If you’re top-down, fear not: stay tuned for next week when we’ll switch into synthesis, putting all this raw treasure into polished, faceted context.
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where we’re going next

With both internal and external proof in hand, you’re sitting on a treasure chest of data, stories, and receipts.

But raw numbers don’t persuade on their own.

Next time, in vol. 5, we’ll talk about how to make numbers make sense, translating stats into stories, metaphors, and comparisons that land with the humans who read them.

what’s coming up in this series

1. ​Sell the WHY: Outcomes are the proof that makes your positioning land​
2. ​Stakeholder mapping: Who needs to believe what, and how to talk to them​
3. ​Your own proof: How to show outcomes for your biz (even if you “don’t have numbers”)​
4. External proof (today): How to dig up credible stats/research outside of your own desk
5. Make numbers make sense: How to translate raw data into human-friendly proof
6. ✨Free resource drop✨: Put it all together and grab our Reasons to Believe guide

Looking for homework? Here ya go:

Pick one belief from your stakeholder map where your own/the client’s outcomes aren’t enough to cover the gap. Then:

1. Go hunting: spend 30 minutes digging for external stats (try Scholar, a trade pub, or a government portal).
   ​
2. Vet 'em: are they credible, current, relevant?
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3. Connect 'em: jot down which stakeholder belief this stat supports, and why it would persuade them.

Next week we’ll work on turning that raw material into proof that dresses in drag and does the hula.

Petons!

Janel

🏳️‍⚧️✊🏳️‍🌈✊🇵🇸

Flying the Coop What would it look like to build a business that celebrated the complexity of the people inside it? ​ At Strange Birds, our lives and our business inform each other. We build structures that can flex and stretch with us as we grow. ​ Alfred's co-op, Jamgo cooperativa tecnológica, has been doing this for nearly 15 years, creating systems that hold complexity instead of running from it. ​ ​“When you start feeling stressed in Jamgo, you just raise your hand, and someone steps in to help.”​ ​ Listen to the episode

What I'm reading

​Careless People - Sarah Wynn-Williams​

Finally bit the bullet and ordered this one (thanks Rachel!!). Shan't record any of my reactions here; you'll have to take me out for (ample) vermut to find out.