How to Sell Research to Executives Who Only Care About Revenue

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader

If you’ve ever presented research to executives and felt the energy drain the moment you mentioned usability scores or journey maps, you’re not alone. Many executives care first and foremost about revenue, growth, and risk mitigation. The good news? UX research directly impacts all three—you just need to frame it the right way.

1. Speak the Language of Business, Not Research

Executives don’t buy into research because it’s “interesting” or “user‑friendly.” They buy into it because it drives financial outcomes.

Shift your framing:

• Instead of: “Users struggled with navigation in testing.”Say: “Fixing navigation will reduce drop‑offs in the checkout flow, unlocking ~$2M in incremental revenue per quarter.”

• Instead of: “Our NPS is dropping.”Say: “Declining NPS signals increased churn risk, which could cost us 5% of annual recurring revenue if unaddressed.”

2. Tie Insights to Revenue Levers

Executives think in terms of revenue levers: acquisition, conversion, retention, and expansion.

• Acquisition: Research reveals barriers to adoption or onboarding that slow growth.

• Conversion: Usability insights streamline purchase flows, directly boosting transaction rates.

• Retention: Understanding unmet needs prevents churn and increases customer lifetime value.

• Expansion: Identifying upsell opportunities drives add‑on revenue.

Every research finding should map back to at least one lever.

3. Quantify the Opportunity (Even Roughly)

Executives respond to numbers—even directional ones. Pair qualitative insights with impact sizing:

• “30% of test users failed at step 3” → “If this holds across our 1M monthly visitors, we could be losing ~300K transactions per month.”

• “Participants loved the premium plan features” → “Promoting these could increase attach rates, potentially adding $5M ARR.”

Precision matters less than showing you understand scale and business stakes.

4. Package Research as Risk Mitigation

Executives also care deeply about avoiding costly mistakes.

Frame research as insurance against wasted investment:

• “This $30K study prevented us from launching a feature that could have cost $3M in build and support costs with low adoption.”

• “Research surfaced compliance risks early, saving legal fees and brand damage.”

5. Deliver Insights Like a CFO, Not a Researcher

• Use 1‑page executive briefs with three headlines: the risk, the opportunity, the revenue impact.

• Lead with the business outcome, not the methodology. (Executives assume you ran it rigorously.)

• Tell a crisp story: “Here’s the problem → here’s what it costs → here’s the recommended action → here’s the projected upside.”

6. Build Allies in Product and Finance

Your best champions are often not executives themselves but product managers and finance partners who already think in dollars. Collaborate with them to model impact and co‑present findings.

Bottom Line

Selling research to executives who only care about revenue isn’t about changing them—it’s about changing how you communicate. Translate insights into revenue, risk, and ROI, and suddenly research shifts from “nice to have” to “critical to growth.”

Call to action: How have you successfully tied research to revenue in your org? What’s worked (or flopped) when presenting to execs?