Business case and ROI selling

Use this when a deal needs the money case. Start from the deal sheet with qualification state, the buyer's stated metrics and pains with quotes, what the user sells and at what price band, and the proof they are allowed to cite.

Build the case from buyer words only

The problem and its cost in their quotes, the measurable outcome they stated, and the consequence if nothing changes. A metric the buyer never said stays out — our description of their problem does not count.

Plan the demo from the case

Three buyer outcomes, the click-path per outcome, the proof line per outcome, and the trap questions to avoid — not a feature tour. Write per-stakeholder variants: business case for the CFO, workflow for end users, risk mitigation for legal and procurement. Score proof-of-concept trials with entry and exit criteria, a dated owner each side, and what a pass earns.

Model the ROI with cited numbers only

Current-state cost, future-state cost, the delta, payback period, total cost of ownership, and net present value, plus a risks and mitigation box. Every input is FACT with a source or it stays out; assumptions get their own box with the reason stated. Never invent a number.

Draft the proposal from the case

Scope, price band, terms, and the one ask with a date. Price and terms stay inside the approved ladder bands — anything beyond is flagged, never promised. Every concession names its paired buyer give (term, timing, scope), sequenced easy to hard with diminishing size, and the walk-away is stated before any external draft; one-time discounts are confirmed in writing to protect the renewal anchor, and price realization (actual over list) is tracked. Counter procurement with the champion-armed ROI case and legal redlines with a deadline that holds implementation resources. Before any send: pricing verified, delivery timeline confirmed, similar-use-case proof attached, proofread — then owner yes. After every verbal yes, send a written recap memo (final terms, deliverables, milestones, contacts) and log each concession in the CRM with give, get, approver, and rationale.

What you hand back

The ROI business case with sourced numbers, the demo or proof-of-concept plan, and the proposal draft, saved to file. Show them in chat, take one round of edits, then save.

Fallbacks

No buyer-stated metric means you name the gap and write the one question the next call must answer before the case goes anywhere. No approved price band means scope-only drafts until they give it.

Approval gate

The proposal, statement of work, and any priced page ship only with your explicit yes.