Seven Elements You Need to Sell Ideas

President Barack Obama is a gifted orator who quickly rose to the pinnacle of American politics. But he still struggles to sell some of his economic stimulus initiatives to fellow elected officials and the public.

Regardless of the lengths he's gone to pitch his ideas, there's a big chunk of Americans who aren't buying his business strategy.

No one knows if Obama is right. Measuring the success of massive policy efforts like his takes years. Still, there's a lot we can learn from watching the president try to build support for his plans. Here are seven elements to selling big ideas. ...