A documented justification for a project that includes financial analysis, risks, and expected outcomes.
A business case is more than a spreadsheet with ROI calculations—it's a strategic document that tells the story of why an investment makes sense. In enterprise sales, the business case often becomes the internal selling document that champions use to secure budget approval.
A one-page overview that busy executives can scan in under two minutes. Should answer: What's the investment? What's the return? Why now?
Document the baseline against which improvements will be measured:
Clear description of what's being proposed without excessive technical detail. Focus on capabilities that directly address identified pain points.
The quantitative heart of the business case:
Honest evaluation of what could go wrong and mitigation strategies. Counterintuitively, including risks builds credibility.
High-level milestones showing the path from decision to value realization.
CFOs evaluate business cases differently than other stakeholders. They look for:
A systematic method to improve the value of products or services by examining function and cost. In B2B sales, it refers to the practice of quantifying and communicating business value to support purchasing decisions.
A structured financial framework that calculates expected returns by mapping solution capabilities to business outcomes and quantifying their impact.
The decision-maker with budget authority who ultimately approves or rejects a purchase based on business value.
The process of achieving and measuring the actual benefits and outcomes promised during the sales process after implementation.
See how ValueNova helps you apply these concepts to build compelling business cases.