This article comes from Simon Le-Fevre’s insightful talk at our Customer Marketing Summit in San Francisco in 2024, check out his full presentation.
No business case succeeds without a compelling story. It’s the bridge between an idea and executive buy-in, transforming abstract concepts into clear, data-backed justifications for investment.
From securing budgets and influencing key stakeholders to proving measurable impact, crafting a business case is both an art and a science.
For such a critical skill, it begs the question: what actually makes a winning business case?
In this article, we’re going to cover:
- The mindset needed to build a persuasive business case
- How to leverage data, storytelling, and strategic networking
- Proven frameworks for structuring your case effectively
- Common challenges and how to navigate them
- Real-world examples of business cases that delivered results
The art, science, and mindset of building a successful business case
Building a compelling business case is a blend of art, science, selling, and success. Each plays a crucial role in not only crafting a persuasive argument but also ensuring that what you propose delivers results.
The art of visualization
Ansel Adams, the legendary landscape photographer, once said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”
This concept of visualization is critical in business, too. If you know where you are today and have a clear vision of where you want to be, all that’s left is mapping out the steps to get there. Some steps may be small, others significant, but the key is to work backward from your desired outcome.
That’s exactly how we approached the reference program at Sage. When I first started working on it, I asked my colleague, “Where do you want to be in three or five years?” Once we had that vision in place, we could start breaking it down into actionable steps.
The science of data
While vision is essential, a strong business case also requires data. Numbers tell a story, and that’s where the science comes in.
Take Florence Nightingale. Most people know her as a pioneering nurse, but she was also a statistician. In 1854–1855, she created a visual diagram to illustrate the causes of death during the Crimean War. Her goal was simple: make the data clear and compelling enough that people couldn’t ignore it.
That’s exactly how data should be used in a business case. It’s not just about presenting numbers; it’s about telling a story that makes the decision obvious. When you can show the impact of a problem and the potential benefits of solving it in a way that’s easy to grasp, you increase your chances of getting buy-in.
