To get more buy-in for your ideas, create a small winPhoto by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-person-holding-a-trophy-6250940/“Once you can build something and show it to executives and say, this is my impact, everything becomes much easier.” A design manager told me, and he wasn’t alone.I’ve been talking with design leaders for a paper on how they help design teams understand and hit business metrics, and this is one of the themes multiple people have said.The fact is, for many designers, the challenge lies in “Building it once.” A lot of the heaviest resistance you’ll encounter is when you propose something for the first time.Once you establish a process, system, or something similar, it becomes much easier to get buy-in.Here’s the advice design leaders have given me about making that happen in various environments.Start small: completion matters more than scaleA small project with immediate impact is almost always better than a large-scale project that takes years.Many designers think of “Project titles,” which means they think they can’t show their work for years.After all, if you’re doing a complete website re-design, you must wait five years before you have any results, right?Not entirely. Instead, you can break down projects into smaller features to “start small”.For example, if you are re-designing the search page as part of this larger re-design effort, isolate that and make that your “small win”. This matters for a few reasons.First, you want to practice showing the impact of design on business. To do that, you need to practice those skills: we’re not necessarily going to be natural at creating these small wins at first.So forming a ‘complete case study’, tying design and business together, matters more than the scale and scope. Sure, the project might be borderline too small to put into your design portfolio, but it will start building a process that your stakeholders can align with.Here’s how to do that.The power of connecting the dots through behavior changeDesigners can often be one of those rare jobs that can connect the dots with time.After all, many of us are willing to talk to anybody, from CEOs and executives to field office workers. However, we often fail to connect the dots.We’ll showcase ‘increased search success rate’ but not explain what that means or how it relates to the other parts of the business.“If you come in and just say ‘the design team decreased the time to complete this task’ and then you stop, you’re losing an opportunity to connect with someone and educate them about why that matters and why design matters.” -Jonathan Coen, Director of UXThe main way to bridge this gap is through changing user behavior. This is especially helpful if you’re unsure about metrics or how to start the process.In that case, what you might define design’s impact as should be pretty simple to start with:“I changed user behavior where users were searching to navigate to different pages.”That’s how you might talk in UX terms (and metrics). But here are some additional questions that help put that behavior change into context:How many users used the search bar instead of navigation to navigate the site? You might not know, but asking that question reveals the scope of your change.Why does it matter if users navigate with the menu instead of the search bar? The answer is about controlled and measured content engagement and retention, as users engage with your site in a way that makes sense.How many users need to start using navigation instead of search to consider it a success? If only one person changes behavior, it’s probably a failure. They probably aren’t aiming for everyone to change their behavior, either. So what is the magic number?What is the overall impact that made this a priority? Why did you work on Search vs Navigation as part of this project?These questions can help you consider design’s larger impact in terms of user behavior change and how this might relate to the business's desired outcomes.Where many designers go wrong: Knowing your audienceOne of the most critical skills for actually making a difference is understanding who your audience is.Many designers may not understand decision-makers responsibilities, much less their priorities, making this step tricky.If you’re starting out on a new project, one of the best things to do is to play the “I’m new card.” Talk with anybody who seems relevant to understand what they do and what they need from you.However, if that’s not an option, there’s one thing you can always rely on: the balance sheet.“UX shouldn’t necessarily focus on money metrics: research has shown that improving user perception or experience of effort leads to strong loyalty and retention signals. But this ultimately ladders up to revenue and cost savings if you’re talking with executives.” — Gerren Lamson, Senior Director of Product DesignUX shouldn’t focus on “making or saving money” as their driving metrics.However, they need the ability to translate what they did into metrics decision-makers care about. This often involves considering their large impact in terms of revenue or cost savings.In a previous article, I’ve written about laddering up to break down how to do this.But one last thing to consider: don’t sabotage your efforts.Consistency, in approach, matters more than you thinkDesigners like to say, “It depends,” and make slight changes to the process based on the problem.That’s a great approach to doing design work, but the wrong approach to show your stakeholders.Why? Businesses like to know what works and stick with it. We know that users satisfice: i.e., when they find something that works, they stick with it.Businesses are the same way. It becomes easier when you have a small win because you have proof of your design impact following your methods.“I followed the design process on this project, which led to a 20% increase in user signups.”However, once they have it, designers often make the mistake of talking too much about changing the process.From a design perspective, it makes sense: no two projects are the same, and there are additional contexts to consider.But from a business perspective, this isn't very clear.“There’s this process you followed over here and it was a huge success. Why are you throwing that out and doing something new for this one?”There’s an implicit understanding that some things must change because they are different.But don’t confuse your audience by making it seem like you’re trying something new for no reason.One design project may need card sorting, while the other requires ethnographic field research.It’s cool that you have different tools in your toolbox, but make it seem like you’re following the same process as your team.The best way to think about it is to imagine you’re an architect. You might have different tools (like AutoCAD and sketching) to address specific housing needs, but don’t make it seem like you’re an electrician: talk about a similar process to avoid self-sabotage.Your first steps can be your hardest but can set you up for successOne of the hardest things designers have to do is break new ground for the first time.It can be intimidating to talk with executives for the first time or to try to discuss the business impact. However, many designers don’t realize that life becomes much easier after that first time.This doesn’t just mean the first time at your company. This often means tackling this once or twice in your career.Once you have a trusted design process and can articulate your impact, buy-in becomes much easier, even if you switch companies.But your first attempt doesn’t need to be a grand gesture. All you need to do is find a small win to make a real impact.So, if you’re struggling to make an impact, start small and think about your audience. That can often be the key to making a real difference.Want to learn how to translate your design impact into things your business cares about? I teach that in my course.Kai Wong is a Senior Product Designer and Data and Design newsletter writer. He teaches a course, The Influential designer: How to Use Data to Get Buy-In and Advance Your Career, that helps designers communicate their value and get buy-in for ideas.Building it once: how to succeed in tying design decisions to business outcomes was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.