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Win more deals this year. How to build a business case that shows value.

Feb 09, 2023
Photo of Doug MayDoug May
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To win in today’s world, you need to give before you get.

That becomes infinitely more true when you’re selling to someone. Because the truth is, no one likes to be sold to and people only buy from people they trust. That’s why you should never stop building trust with your buyers. And one of the best ways to do that is by showing how you’re going to deliver value to their business.

Not showing value drastically drops the likelihood of you winning a deal. That’s because your buyers don’t know why your product matters or how it will help them achieve their goals. So why would they give you their money? Not to mention if your competitors are able to prove value first, it’ll be a long time before you can even have that conversation again. Better chalk that deal up to closed lost. Loss reason: didn’t show enough value.

This has been the case for years, and it’s no different in 2023. Because even in an economic downturn, people still spend money. But you want to make sure that they’re spending it with you. So it’s more important than ever to tie your product back to what matters most to your buyer’s business. And if you don’t, even your best champions won’t be able to move your deal forward.

That starts by aligning with your buyer on their business outcomes so you can build a business case. When you do this, there are two paths you can take. First path, your customer builds it. The problem with this approach is that 67% of buyers don’t know how to build a business case leaving it up for interpretation and ultimately, failure. Even more so if they work with your competitor to build it which will influence the direction of your buyer’s decision putting you at a severe disadvantage. The second path, and the one you should take, is to build a business case in partnership with your buyer.

So what are some good ways to build a rock solid business case?

The first important component of a strong business case is strategic alignment. You need to paint the picture of why your buyer needs your solution, and most importantly, why they need it right now. Attaching to the critical business initiatives in an organization helps you do just that. It also helps you accelerate both landing the deal and expanding the deal over time. Now how do you find these big initiatives? Let’s look at the Value Pyramid.

Top priorities for most organizations are usually something along the lines of growing revenue, cutting costs, improving the customer experience, increasing customer retention, and driving employee happiness. These priorities trickle down to various functions in the form of projects and initiatives. And your job is to figure out what those are. But keep in mind that value is in the eye of the beholder. The value you articulate needs to match what your buyers actually care about. And if you can figure out what matters to them most, you can start quantifying its value. Once you’re ready to start quantifying value, make sure to take these best practices into account.

First, translate your discovery into dollars. Find business metrics that help you capture the pain that your users and champions are feeling. Why are they even talking to you? What did you learn in your first few conversations with them? If metrics can’t be shared or articulated exactly, try to get a range. But don’t get just one metric. Think of value as a chair, you need at least three, if not four.

Second, be transparent about every assumption you are making. The most important thing is that your buyers believe. You can’t think of this as a checkbox exercise, because it’s way more than that. Your buyers trust people who stand behind the numbers they say they will deliver on. Build confidence in your business case, validate it with multiple people, take and incorporate their input, and make sure they’re bought in.

Now that you’re ready to start building business cases that help you win more deals this year, it’s time to get to work. You have 365 days to hit quota, but only 200 days to sell. Articulating business value is the best insurance policy that guarantees the deals you spend time on will be the reason you hit your number.

Want to see how CloseFactor can help you uncover what your buyers care most about so you can build business cases that’ll help you close more deals? Get a demo today.

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