1-Page Business Case

Use this framework to:

Bridge the gap between your sales meetings, and your buyer's internal meetings.

What ‘good’ looks like:

• It’s internal: the doc reads like it was written internally, using the buying team’s own words.
• It’s concise: easy for an executive to scan and quickly understand why it’s a priority.
• It’s specific: written with numbers, dates, and phrases unique to an individual account.

Do I really need to write a business case?

Nothing happens in complex deals without a clear narrative backing it. Which is the point of ditching the long decks, and creating a simple, 1-page message:

Linking your deal to the internal priorities a buying team’s executive is already sold on, and actively investing in. Without this, your deal will stall out.

Plus, writing with the buying team lets you:

• Guide the internal buying conversations you’re not in the room for
• Identify gaps in discovery (e.g. missing numbers, dates, and specifics)
• Test your buyers for commitment: are they sharing input with you?

When should I start writing my business case?

Early, not late. Right after your first discovery meeting.

Most sellers think business cases are big, complex things you write after months of meetings, to close late-stage deals.

But that thinking is completely backwards: only a fraction of your deals will even make it to late stages without a business case.

Instead, writing a business case is about the process of guiding how deals progress from Stage 1 forward. Starting with a few short sentences on the problem. With gaps you’ll plan to fill in with the buying team over time.

Building business cases like LEGOs

Business cases are like LEGOs. Little “blocks” that build on each other over time, with each block supporting the next. Here’s how to stack up a clear, concise, exec-ready message:

Priority-driven headline
Reference an internal phrase or project “codename” that’s familiar to the buying team exec. Which signals you’re aligned with a company-wide priority.

Sharp problem statement
Find and frame a high-cost, high-priority problem. Include who’s impacted, the cost (with the buying team’s own data) how it impacts the company-wide priority you just referenced. Plus, why it’s getting worse and needs a response now.

Recommended approach
There are lots of ways execs can solve problems. So this block is never, "Buy XYZ software." Instead, get aligned on the core shift, practice, or project you'll enable. All framed around what your offering can uniquely deliver.

Payoff that matters
Outline a vivid “before and after” with the time-to-impact against a shortlist of exec-level metrics. Include specific numbers for current vs. target outcomes, backed by the buying team’s data.

Required investment
Who needs to invest what, by when? This isn’t just your pricing. It’s all the time and people resources needed to resource a successful project, with relevant investment scenarios.

Top 3 mistakes to avoid

Making it yours, not theirs.
How many edits and changes came directly from the buying team? Win rates jump 3X after three edits from the buying team. Because they’re taking ownership in the message, and we all take a stake in what we help create.

All numbers, no narrative.
An ROI model on its own isn’t a business case. It’s a future maybe, without context. Narratives bring meaning to your numbers, while numbers help validate the decision your buyers have already made based on the story.

Your branding, not theirs.
Buyers don’t share branded decks with their executives. Wrapping your message in pretty, polished marketing designs signals “bias.” So you’re better off sticking with a white page and black font, or the buying team’s brand.

I’ve got my first draft. Now what?

Share it. Even if it’s rough, with lots of gaps.

You can build commitment to create together by asking, “If I share a recap of what I’ve captured so far, would you be open to weighing in with a comment or two?”

Then, in your next meeting, ask, “What here resonates, that you think we should highlight? And what do you think we’ve missed?”

Fold their feedback into a Version 2, and continue to strengthen your message together over time.

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