5 Tricks to Get Stakeholders on Board with Product

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Rina Alexin | 00:00:00–00:01:12
Hello everyone, and welcome. We’re excited you’re here for our session on 5 Tricks to Get Stakeholders On Board With Product. Whether you’re joining from your office, your home, or somewhere between, thank you for spending this time with us. Today we’re going to unpack some of the most common challenges product teams face: alignment, communication, influence, and getting buy-in from stakeholders who don’t always think or operate the way product managers do.

Jake Yangling | 00:01:12–00:01:54
Thanks, Rina. This topic is big because the truth is: product managers rarely have authority — only influence. And if your stakeholders aren’t aligned, your roadmap will stall, your team’s momentum slows, and the customer ultimately loses. Our goal today is to give you simple, practical, repeatable tricks you can use immediately — regardless of your org size or maturity.

Why Stakeholder Alignment Is Hard

Rina Alexin | 00:01:54–00:03:14
Let’s start with the reality: stakeholder alignment is hard because stakeholders come from different worlds — engineering, design, sales, marketing, operations, finance, customer success, and leadership. They have different incentives, different pressures, different opinions, and different definitions of “value.” As product people, we sit at the intersection of all of them. That means we must translate, interpret, negotiate, and align constantly.

Jake Yangling | 00:03:14–00:04:02
And when stakeholders feel left out or unheard, they will resist — quietly or loudly. That resistance can look like “just one more feature,” “we need this right now,” “our customers asked for this,” or “leadership wants this.” Alignment isn’t about pleasing everyone — it’s about creating shared understanding and shared priorities.

Trick #1 — Speak the Stakeholder’s Language

Rina Alexin | 00:04:02–00:05:28
The first trick is to speak their language, not yours. Product managers love talking in outcomes, customer problems, JTBD, discovery insights, and long-term thinking. But stakeholders often think in their terms: revenue, risk, timeline, customer commitments, operational stability, or executive visibility.

When you speak in your language, it feels abstract.
When you speak in their language, it feels relevant.

Jake Yangling | 00:05:28–00:06:34
Exactly. Sales cares about quota. Support cares about ticket volume. Ops cares about efficiency. Leadership cares about metrics, predictability, and impact. If you say, “This feature solves a customer pain point,” that’s not always convincing. But if you say, “This reduces ticket volume by 18% and frees up 200 support hours a month,” everyone listens.

Trick #2 — Show the Work, Don’t Hide It

Rina Alexin | 00:06:34–00:08:04
The second trick: show your work. Many PMs disappear into discovery and reappear weeks later with a polished recommendation. Stakeholders feel blindsided. Instead, narrate your work in progress. Share drafts. Share early data. Share what you’re learning. Share what you’re considering — and why.

Rina Alexin | 00:08:04–00:09:10
When stakeholders see the process, they trust the outcome. When they don’t see the process, they question everything. It’s not about over-communicating; it’s about being transparent. Transparency builds alignment long before decisions are made.

Jake Yangling | 00:09:10–00:09:56
And it reduces surprises. Surprises create resistance. Visibility creates confidence.

Trick #3 — Make Data the Neutral Ground

Rina Alexin | 00:09:56–00:11:14
Third trick: use data as the neutral ground. Data removes ego from the conversation. It removes politics. It removes “my opinion versus yours.” When you anchor decisions in clear, relevant data — customer behavior, adoption, revenue, costs, risks — you shift the conversation from preference to proof.

Jake Yangling | 00:11:14–00:12:06
And here’s the thing: stakeholders don’t need a 40-page dashboard. They need the one metric that matters. When you walk into a meeting and say, “Here’s the data point that tells the story,” discussions become productive. Data brings people together.

Trick #4 — Reduce Risk Before You Ask for Buy-In

Rina Alexin | 00:12:06–00:13:22
The fourth trick is to reduce perceived risk before you ask for buy-in. Most stakeholder pushback is not about the idea — it’s about the uncertainty around the idea. They worry: Will this fail? Will this break something? Will this cost too much? Will this create disappointment for customers or leadership?

If you reduce the risk early, you reduce resistance later.

Jake Yangling | 00:13:22–00:14:12
Exactly. Bring small tests, early prototypes, customer quotes, low-lift experiments — anything that lowers the fear around the unknown. Even a simple statement like, “We tested this with six customers and here’s what we learned,” can turn a skeptical stakeholder into a supportive one.

Rina Alexin | 00:14:12–00:15:08
Stakeholders don’t need perfect information. They need enough security to feel safe moving forward. Reducing risk is reducing fear — and reduced fear equals increased buy-in.

Trick #5 — Give Them Ownership (Not Just Information)

Rina Alexin | 00:15:08–00:16:40
And now for trick number five: give stakeholders ownership, not just updates. Most PMs share information after the fact — “Here’s what we’re doing,” “Here’s what we’ve decided.” But stakeholders don’t just want visibility; they want influence.

Give them controlled ownership.
Invite them into decision points.
Let them shape constraints, priorities, or success metrics.

Jake Yangling | 00:16:40–00:17:54
Ownership creates commitment. When a stakeholder feels like they were part of making the decision, they defend it. They champion it. They resource it. They unblock it. They support it in rooms you aren’t in. That’s the magic of influence — people support what they help create.

Rina Alexin | 00:17:54–00:18:38
The goal is not to give away product responsibility. The goal is to let stakeholders see themselves reflected in the work. When they can say, “I influenced this,” they will stand behind it.

How to Handle Pushback & Resistance

Jake Yangling | 00:18:38–00:19:40
Let’s talk about resistance — because even with the best alignment strategies, it will happen. When stakeholders push back, the worst thing you can do is defend immediately. Step one is to ask questions. Get curious. Understand why they disagree.

Often the objection isn’t the real objection.

Rina Alexin | 00:19:40–00:21:14
Right. Sometimes resistance comes from fear of missed targets, fear of customer impact, fear of delays, fear of over-exposure to leadership, or sometimes fear of losing influence. When you uncover the underlying concern, you can solve that instead of arguing about features.

And most importantly: do not take pushback personally. Resistance is feedback about the system, not about you.

Jake Yangling | 00:21:14–00:22:30
A powerful phrase you can use is:
“What would make this feel like a safer decision for you?”
This question reframes the tension from “yes vs. no” to “how do we make this workable?” And suddenly you’re collaborating instead of conflicting.

Creating a Stakeholder Feedback Loop

Rina Alexin | 00:22:30–00:23:32
One trick that dramatically reduces future resistance is creating a stakeholder feedback loop.
Think of it like user research, but your users are your stakeholders.
Meet with them regularly. Ask what’s working, what’s unclear, what feels risky, where they need more visibility, and how aligned they feel.

Rina Alexin | 00:23:32–00:24:20
When stakeholders feel heard between decisions, they feel secure during decisions.

Jake Yangling | 00:24:20–00:25:44
And it makes your life easier. Because alignment isn’t something you do once a quarter — it’s continuous. The relationship is the work. The trust is the work. And when you build that relationship, alignment becomes the natural by-product.

Putting the 5 Tricks Into a Repeatable Process

Rina Alexin | 00:25:44–00:27:18
Let’s put these all together into a repeatable alignment process you can use with any stakeholder:

1. Speak their language — Translate your message into their priorities.
2. Show the work — Don’t disappear; narrate your thinking.
3. Make data the neutral ground — Let data guide direction.
4. Reduce risk — Bring tests, prototypes, customer signals.
5. Give ownership — Let them influence the path.

If you follow this flow, alignment becomes predictable rather than stressful.

Jake Yangling | 00:27:18–00:28:22
And honestly, this process also improves your product work. Because the clearer your reasoning, the more disciplined your framing, and the more transparent your communication — the better your decisions become.

Real-World Examples of Getting Buy-In

Rina Alexin | 00:28:22–00:29:56
Let’s walk through a real-world example. I was working with a stakeholder who wanted a particular feature pushed up urgently. Instead of saying “no,” I walked them through the impact model, showed them our customer data, and asked how urgent their request was relative to the outcomes we were targeting. Once they saw the trade-offs in dollars and customer impact, they agreed it wasn’t the top priority.

The alignment didn’t come from persuading — it came from transparency.

Jake Yangling | 00:29:56–00:31:22
I had a similar situation where a stakeholder kept insisting that “our customers want this.” I asked for specific data: which customers? how many? what behaviors validate this? Turns out it was based on two anecdotal conversations. Once we grounded it in actual customer behavior, the stakeholder shifted. Data changed the narrative.

Turning Stakeholders Into Champions

Rina Alexin | 00:31:22–00:32:44
The real win is when stakeholders become champions of your product direction. And that happens when:

✔ They understand your process
✔ They trust your reasoning
✔ They influence key decision points
✔ They feel included
✔ They see customer evidence
✔ They see business impact

Champions advocate for you in rooms you aren’t in — that’s where influence multiplies.

Jake Yangling | 00:32:44–00:34:08
Strong product organizations are built not just on strong PMs but strong stakeholder relationships. When your stakeholders advocate for you to leadership, engineering, design, or sales — suddenly your roadmap becomes smoother, faster, and more respected.

Common Alignment Mistakes to Avoid

Rina Alexin | 00:34:08–00:35:26
A few mistakes PMs commonly make:
• Sharing decisions without sharing the process
• Using PM-speak instead of stakeholder-speak
• Hiding uncertainty instead of naming it
• Bringing solutions before bringing problems
• Treating alignment as an event, not a relationship

Avoid these, and half your alignment issues will disappear.

Jake Yangling | 00:35:26–00:36:48
And the biggest mistake: thinking you can convince someone with logic alone. Humans don’t align because they hear the right answer — they align because they feel included, respected, and informed.

Preparing for Stakeholder Meetings

Rina Alexin | 00:36:48–00:38:04
When you go into stakeholder meetings, prepare two things:

1. The data
2. The narrative

Data tells the what.
Narrative tells the why.

Both are required. A beautiful roadmap with no story gets ignored. A beautiful story with no data gets dismissed.

Jake Yangling | 00:38:04–00:40:52
And always bring options. Never bring a single recommendation. Bring three paths:

• A feasible path
• A stretch path
• A conservative path

When stakeholders see multiple options, they feel empowered. And when they choose the path, they’re bought in.

Q&A Session

Jake Yangling | 00:40:52–00:41:20
All right, thank you everyone — we’ve covered a lot of ground, and now we want to shift into your questions. We’ve seen some fantastic ones come through, so let’s jump right in.

Audience Question | 00:41:20–00:41:36
“How do you deal with a stakeholder who always comes with last-minute feature requests?”

Rina Alexin | 00:41:36–00:43:04
Last-minute requests usually come from one of two things: fear or lack of visibility. Instead of reacting defensively, go back to the five tricks. Show them the roadmap. Show them what you’re evaluating. Show them the impact. Bring the conversation back to data and outcomes.

Ask them, “Where does this sit relative to our agreed-upon priorities?”
When you anchor it in shared goals, they often see that their request isn’t actually number one — it just felt urgent.

Audience Question | 00:43:04–00:43:24
“What if a stakeholder refuses to align, no matter what you do?”

Jake Yangling | 00:43:24–00:44:50
Some stakeholders aren’t misaligned — they’re mis-incentivized. Their goals don’t match the product goals. In those cases, alignment comes from going up, not sideways.

Escalate with clarity, not complaint.
Frame the conversation around business outcomes, not disagreements.
Leadership must resolve misaligned incentives, not the product manager.

If someone’s goals conflict with product direction, it’s an organizational issue — not a you issue.

Audience Question | 00:44:50–00:45:14
“How do you avoid overwhelming stakeholders with too much detail?”

Rina Alexin | 00:45:14–00:46:38
Use the rule of “one insight, one metric, one narrative.”
Stakeholders do not want the 40-page version. They want the distilled essence.

Ask yourself:
“What is the one thing they must understand to make a good decision?”

Say that — and only that.
If they want more depth, they will ask for it. Tailor the level of detail to the person, not the process.

Audience Question | 00:46:38–00:47:02
“How do you handle stakeholders who rely only on anecdotal customer stories?”

Jake Yangling | 00:47:02–00:48:28
Anecdotes are helpful — but incomplete. Treat them as hypotheses, not truths. When a stakeholder says, “Customers want this,” respond with:
“Great — let’s validate that. How many? What segment? What behavior proves it?”

You’re not dismissing them — you’re grounding them. Stakeholders appreciate that because it shows respect for their insight while keeping decisions objective.

Final Takeaways

Rina Alexin | 00:48:28–00:50:04
If you remember nothing else from today, remember this:
Alignment is a relationship, not a meeting.
You build trust over time. You build credibility by showing your work. You build influence by speaking in metrics and outcomes. And you build long-term partnership by giving stakeholders ownership in the journey.

When you do those things consistently, alignment stops being a battle and becomes the natural result.

Closing Remarks

Jake Yangling | 00:50:04–00:51:14
Thank you all for spending this time with us. These five tricks work across industries, across products, across team sizes. Use them, adapt them, refine them — and most importantly, practice them. Influence is a muscle. The more you use it, the more powerful it becomes.

Rina Alexin | 00:51:14–00:52:40
Thanks everyone. And please remember — product management is not just building things. It’s building alignment. It’s building clarity. It’s building shared understanding so your organization can make good decisions together.

If you strengthen your stakeholder relationships, your product outcomes will always improve.

Jake Yangling | 00:52:40–00:55:12
We appreciate you, thank you again, and we hope you walk into your next stakeholder conversation feeling supported, equipped, and confident. Have a fantastic rest of your day!