Examining the Business Case – The Building Blocks
The term business case can mean different things to different people. For this reason it is helpful to explain the key elements of a business case in terms of other more universally understood business planning and analysis tools. The business case combines four elements as shown in the diagram. The Building Blocks of the Business […]
Buyers Face 3 Business Case Challenges
Predicting the future is not easy, but that is exactly what the business case must attempt to do. This is particularly true in a time of market turbulence. Today’s perfect plan could be completely invalidated by a change in the competitive situation, an upset in the market or any one of a host of other […]
What Are Buyers Thinking?
Why do buyers do what they do? Why do they choose one supplier over another and choose some projects to be scrapped, while others are advanced? These are questions that understandably intrigue salespeople. Buyers tend to reveal little, leaving many salespeople complaining that they don’t know what buyers are thinking. They may even complain buyers […]
What Is The Business Case?
One of the most powerful realizations for sellers is that when it comes to the complex sale there are no buying decisions, only business decisions. The implication is that buying decisions which in the past focused on the what, where, when and how, are now purely concerned with the ‘why?’ Peel back the layers of […]
Buying Logic Examined
Clearly one of the key trends in respect of organizational buying is the movement towards the application of business logic to buying decisions. It is clear that features and benefits will not swing the big sale, forcing the seller to address the key economic, strategic and political issues if the purchase is to be […]
Salespeople Grapple With The Business Case
Would you be surprised to know that many large organizations require a business case for purchases of as little as €20,000? As one UK veteran salesperson told us recently, ‘I have seen more business cases in the past year than I have in the previous 19 years.’ There is more strategic business logic being applied to […]
Examining the Business Case – The Cost-Benefits Equation
The business case can take many forms, but at its core is one key question — why should we buy? or more to the point: How will this purchase help the organization (department/unit) succeed? The business case clearly outlines the value equation of the proposed purchase that reflects not only costs, benefits and risk, but also how […]
Examining the Business Case – Considerations Of Risk
The business case requires much more than a cost-benefit analysis — that is too simplistic for complex business decisions. For example, a more in-depth analysis would highlight that while the payback from project A might be twice that of project B, this benefit may be negated when higher levels of risk are considered. Managers are […]
Examining the Business Case – The Political Dimension
A business case is an economic argument for investing in a project or purchase. However, it is not purely economic, but also political. In this context the successful business case will involve a process of extensive involvement with stakeholders and will be written, or at least reviewed, by cross-functional committees. This is essential to creating […]
The Role Of The Business Case
Why is the business case so important? Well, the key reasons the business case is now at the center of major buying decisions are listed below. 1. Drives business success: It ensures any projects, purchases or investments enable the organization to achieve its objectives. 2. Allocates scarce resources to maximum effect to get the best […]
Examining the Business Case – Strategic Fit
When the numbers of the cost-benefit equation stack up and an attractive payback is evident, even making allowance for risk and compliance, is the result a compelling business case? Perhaps not, because managers must demonstrate that the project fits with the pre-existing jig-saw of organizational priorities, goals and strategies. They must demonstrate the purchase will […]
Business Case Mania
There Is No Getting Away From ‘The Business Case’ ‘When all you have got is a hammer everything looks like a nail’. Well this principle clearly seems to apply to the buying decision. There is simply no getting away from the business case when it comes to dealing with today’s buyers. Here are just 3 […]
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