How to Answer Questions about Persuading Cross-functional Team Members

One of the most important skills the interviewer is looking for is your ability to work with and persuade employees in other functions besides your own.

Sample questions:

• Tell me about a time when you had to overcome resistance to your plan.
• How would you convince other teams to support your idea?
• How would you convince people to agree with your strategy when they don’t?
• How do you manage disagreements with product managers or account managers?
• Tell me about a time where you had to convince someone of something.
• How do you influence others?

Use the 6 Principles of Persuasion

You’ll likely be asked questions about influencing people who do not report directly to you. The easiest way to answer is by using one or more of the following principles of persuasion. These are the primary methods you can use to get someone to say “yes” to your requests. To learn more about the principles of persuasion, read about Dr. Cialdini's work on the topic.

Reciprocity

When you give something to other managers, they feel obliged to give back to you in return. This is especially true if you give them something unexpected and personalized. You might, for example, offer to work late to help them with a deadline or give them a birthday gift related to their favorite band. The key here is to always have an attitude of generosity and to be the first person to give.

Interview response example: “In order to persuade people, I build a foundation of trust first and foremost. One way I do this is by actively looking for ways I can help people instead of waiting for them to ask.”

Scarcity

People are more likely to act on something that is in short supply or that appears to be disappearing. You might persuade managers to agree to your plan by highlighting that the offer is only available for another two days or that there are only a limited number of options still available. This phrasing creates a sense of urgency that pushes your item to the top of the agenda. In this way, other departments won’t procrastinate.

Interview response example: “I needed buy-in for a media purchase, so I emphasized that the deadline for making a decision was Tuesday. In this way, I was able to get all the feedback by the end-of-day Friday and faced little resistance when Tuesday came around.”

Authority

People tend to follow those perceived to have more power or expertise. Referencing the opinions of experts can steer people in the direction you want.

Interview response example: “I was convinced my new layout for the demo page would work, but others were skeptical. When I showed them that this was the approach Intuit used, they started to warm up to the idea. This was because Intuit was seen as the leader in our space.”

Consistency

People are more likely to agree with things that are consistent with things they previously said or did. You can persuade people by getting them to make small commitments early on that build up to the ultimate commitment you’re seeking. Getting people to agree to things publicly or in writing will bolster your efforts to get them to agree to something in the future.

Interview response example: ”I used to keep my proposals secretive until the presentation at the end of a project. This was a poor strategy because I ended up facing a lot of resistance and criticism. Now I ask people’s opinions early on in the project so that they feel involved in the decision-making process and are more likely to agree to the finished proposal.”

Liking

People are more likely to agree with you if they like you. When you pay people compliments, some similarity with them, or cooperate with them, they will like you more.

Interview response example: ”I used to be too task-oriented. I’d jump into meetings with a series of tasks, intending to get them done as soon as possible. Now I really like to spend time getting to know people. I find people open up much more when you don’t keep meetings so robotic. I also learned to show appreciation for everyone’s contributions.”

Consensus

People generally conform to the opinions of others. You are more likely to gain support for your idea if you present it as something others agree with.

Interview response example: ”I got buy-in from the head of each department before pitching the idea to the CEO.”

Other suggestions

While not the "6 principles for persuasion, here are some other suggestions around persuasion.

Always give a reason when you ask for something

People are much more likely to comply with what you say if you give a reason for your request. This is true even if the reason is not very compelling or is arbitrary. For example, “Could you reply by Tuesday?” is less persuasive than “Could you reply by Tuesday so that I can finish the report?”

Interview response example: “When I want someone to help me, I always give a lot of clarification as to why I need their help. People tend to agree with me more when I provide a lot of context.”

You don’t have to answer questions literally

Interview questions can be phrased in very narrow ways that can feel quite restricting. This is especially stressful if you’re asked about prior experience that you don’t have. You can address these questions indirectly. For example, you might be asked to give an example of when you had to convince a product manager to do something he or she didn’t like. Here, you could answer with “I would convince a product manager using the following techniques.” You can respond to literal questions with hypothetical answers. What’s important is that you address the intention of the question rather than the question itself. In this case, the interviewer wants to know that you can work well with others and influence them without being too forceful.

Use quantitative data

People are much more likely to support your ideas if they seem objectively better. Quantitative data gives the illusion of objectivity. You can persuade people using data you have about customers, 3rd-party research, or ad hoc survey results.

Interview response example:”I was convinced that we should only target small business owners with our mobile app. The Product Manager and Product Designer, however, still felt that we should’ve targeted regular consumers as well. I showed them that 75% of current users were small business owners and that while consumers did install the app, they were very inactive relative to business owners.”

Appeal to people’s emotions

Even in the hyper analytical world of tech, people are spurred to action more by emotion than by reason. That is why storytelling is one of the single most powerful tools at your disposal. Moreover, in working with others, they often remember how you made them feel more than what you actually said.

Interview response example: “I converted by 30-page analysis into a simplified story, outlining the current situation, what would happen if we didn’t act now, and how great things would unfold with my plan. I used lots of visuals and avoided marketing jargon. To build excitement, I created an imaginary customer named ‘Sally’ whose business was completely transformed.”

Align your goals with theirs

One of the easiest ways to gain support for your ideas is to show that they will help others achieve their goals. Pay attention to the OKRs (objectives and key results) for the other departments.

Interview response example: ”I like to help others achieve their OKRs. When I ask people to support my ideas, I show how their objectives will be met.”