How to get intranet buy-in from your CEO

Convincing a CEO to invest in a new intranet is a tough ask. They’re busy, skeptical of new software, and allergic to long-winded pitches. 

Ultimately, they don’t care about features. They care about business outcomes: fewer wasted hours, fewer complaints, and more impact for every dollar spent. So stop selling “an intranet”. Start selling the solution to their problems.

In this article, we look at how to frame your case so your CEO says “yes”.

Here’s what CEOs told us about pitching to them…

“Lead with pain, not platitudes”

🧠 Takeaway: Don’t start with “engagement is important.” Start with where the business is bleeding time and money.

Generic statements like “employee engagement drives productivity” won’t cut it. CEOs know engagement matters, but they won’t approve budget for a hunch.

What gets attention is evidence of pain/hard numbers tied to wasted resources. For example:

• “Employees spend an average of 3 hours a week searching for information. That’s 10,000 wasted hours a year – the equivalent of five full-time salaries.”
• “We have three systems for sharing updates, and nobody knows which one to check. That’s how misinformation spreads.”

Numbers sharpen the argument. Vague statements make it sound optional.

💡 Pro tip: Always quantify the pain. The cost of doing nothing should feel bigger than the cost of your solution.

“Tell me what I can kill”

🧠 Takeaway: Adding new tools is a hard sell. Replacing redundant ones is an easy win.

Your CEO doesn’t want more software in their stack. But they’ll happily approve something that reduces clutter and cuts cost.

Frame your intranet as a consolidation project:

• Retire overlapping tools
• Eliminate duplicate licenses
• Replace rogue workarounds (like WhatsApp groups) with one secure platform

Instead of “let’s add an intranet,” try “this intranet lets us replace three tools and saves $50K a year.”

Budget-neutral projects are good. Savings-driven projects are irresistible.

💡 Read: The cost of digital fragmentation – and how digital consolidation can save you

“Don’t sell me the intranet. Sell me what I never have to hear about again”

🧠 Takeaway: You’re not selling software. You’re selling the removal of recurring headaches.

Your CEO doesn’t wake up excited about intranet features. They wake up dreading the same complaints landing in their inbox.

Position the intranet as the answer to those problems:

• No more “I can’t find the policy” emails
• No more complaints about outdated tools
• No more confusion about where to get information

What you’re really selling is silence. One less thing for them to think about. That’s far more valuable than another tool on the shelf.

“Make me look good in one slide”

🧠 Takeaway: If your case can’t fit on a single slide, it’s not CEO-ready.

CEOs don’t have time for a 25-slide deck full of screenshots and jargon. They want one slide that tells the story clearly enough to repeat in a board meeting.

Structure it like this:

1. Problem: Employees waste X hours = $Y lost
2. Cost of doing nothing: Waste compounds, frustration grows
3. Solution: A single intranet = streamlined comms, fewer tools
4. Result: Time saved, costs cut, culture strengthened

If they can’t screenshot it and explain it to someone else in 30 seconds, it’s not simple enough.

“If it takes more than 20 minutes, I’m out”

🧠 Takeaway: Respect their time. Nail the pitch in 20 minutes or less.

Time is your CEO’s scarcest resource. If your pitch drags, you’ve lost.

Keep it sharp:

• The need: Here’s the pain and what it’s costing us.
• The risk: Here’s what happens if we don’t fix it.
• The return: Here’s the gain if we do.

If you can do it in 15 minutes? Even better. Brevity builds credibility.

“Show me the regret curve”

🧠 Takeaway: Show both sides of the decision: the pain of ignoring it and the upside of acting now.

CEOs don’t just want to see the business case. They want to understand the consequences of saying no. That’s where the regret curve comes in.

Without an intranet:

• Productivity leaks continue
• Employees remain frustrated and disengaged
• Culture takes a hit

With an intranet:

• Workflows are streamlined
• Productivity gains compound over time
• People feel more connected and informed

Fear of missing out, plus a clear vision of success, is a powerful motivator.

“Don’t pitch me tech. Pitch me a culture fix”

🧠 Takeaway: Forget features. Show how the intranet changes behavior and strengthens culture.

The fastest way to lose your CEO is to start talking about integrations, dashboards, or filters. They don’t care.

Instead, connect the intranet to strategic outcomes:

• Faster onboarding
• Better communication between leadership and employees
• A stronger culture in hybrid or global teams

Your CEO isn’t buying tech. They’re buying the business impact of healthier, more productive ways of working.

CEOs want fewer problems, not more tools

At its core, an intranet pitch isn’t about software. It’s about solving problems the business already has: wasted time, rising costs, confused employees, and cultural drift.

Frame your intranet project as:

• A consolidation move (fewer tools, less cost)
• A productivity play (time savings with measurable ROI)
• A cultural fix (a connected, informed workforce)
• A headache reducer (fewer complaints, fewer escalations)

If you make the conversation about outcomes, not features, you won’t just get approval. You’ll get a CEO who champions the project.

Do this, and your CEO won’t just sign off, they’ll wonder why you didn’t bring it to them sooner.