While engaged in conversation with a board director of a large financial services organisation recently, I was asked how I thought it was progressing with the "procurement pilot". This amused me. I asked them if they felt their "finance pilot" had been successful and justified the need for a finance function...

Unfortunately, it is frequently the case that the procurement function is viewed from board level as a cost with no clearly identifiable associated benefit. Equally it is also the case that those responsible for the management of the procurement function often lack the skills, experience and sometimes the inclination to express the true potential gains achievable from a well-run operation.

The result is that the procurement function is starved of investment and resources, is under constant pressure to "justify" its existence, and can degenerate to the point where it is regarded at board level as a "necessary evil".

Recent studies by experts in the "soft-skills" fields of neuro-linguistic programming and emotional intelligence suggest that we procurement professionals have an almost myopic focus towards the achievement of our own individual goals while at the same time have under-developed and under-used listening skills.

How many CIPS dinners have you sat at and heard colleagues doing very passable impressions of a procurement Victor Meldrew, spouting "No one ever listens to me", "We need savings but my bosses just want to lose heads", "It's all doom and gloom... want to give up now", "You just don't know my board", and so on.

Therefore, when we must first market ourselves and the function, before even beginning to think about achieving anything tangible, is it any wonder that many of us throw in the towel?

But it is possible to achieve this happy state of affairs. It's just that approaching the dual problems of first achieving board awareness and support, and then maintaining it, has to be tackled in the same methodical fashion you would use if preparing a major strategic sourcing exercise or an organisational redesign.

And sometimes we may have to take some rejection before we finally succeed - but the prize of true executive sponsorship is usually worth a little humility. You can win backing by following these half-dozen tips:

1. Be nice, be focused

Get to know the members of your board, what makes them tick, what keeps them awake at night and remember they are individual human beings (usually) looking for solutions not problems. Therefore know them individually, get in their diaries (being nice to the senior PAs is not just good manners, it can help you to get into that appointment book).

Once you have finally worked your way into a meeting either with an individual board member, or indeed the entire board, do not waste it as you may never get another chance. Avoid boring detail, unfocused waffle, procurement jargon and moans, gripes, whinges and at all costs new "monkeys" for their back. It is also useful to never set one faction of the board against another. There will be only one winner and it will not be your career.

2. Offer solutions

The issues driving the agenda of any management team will change through time and naturally vary with the size and goals of the organisation, public, private, not-for-profit and so on. However, it is likely that somewhere in there will be issues such as profit maximisation and revenue growth, meeting new white-paper efficiencies and proving best value.

Others will be concerned about brand, innovation, share price, public perception and perhaps even survival.

Show some examples of savings hitting the profit line, talk about increasing shareholder value and corporate social responsibility, help them with peer-group comparisons, and offer solutions not problems. In these heady days of spin doctors, image consultants and PR gurus, your own credibility, leadership, intellect and influencing skills will ultimately win or lose you the day.

3. Time is short

You have doubtless all heard of the "elevator pitch", a chance to sell yourself and the function to your chief executive while you have his or her undivided attention. We should all have one: most don't, so get yourself one. Be able to espouse the benefits of procurement in direct relation to the issues your boss has in under three minutes. Remember: be relevant - a lengthy diatribe on the benefits of partnership sourcing when your chief executive has an expense base way out of control just is not going to do it.

4. Seven-question time

One way to get the attention of your board is to give them a short test - just seven questions - and if they get them all right they can go home early and pat themselves on the back of their Savile Row suits.

However, if they don't know or don't like the answers, you have a methodology that can not only help to provide the right answers but at the same time deliver millions of pounds straight to the organisation's bottom line.