Getting a Business Case Approved: 5 Simple Steps to Success

Michel Theriault
Mon, 11 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Are you looking to expand your department, develop a product, launch a campaign, hire a new resource, or get new equipment or systems?

If approval for the costs or resources is the only thing standing in your way, and you are competing with other departments and other managers for the same resources, your business case had better be strong or you will come up short.

Here are five steps to getting a business case approved before you even write it:

1. Understand the Decision Drivers

Whenever you're pitching a business case that somebody else will need to approve, you should learn who exactly does the approving and what they base their approval decisions on.

If the decision is made by an individual, it’s easier to establish their specific requirements for approval. If it’s a committee or a team making the decision, you will have to find a common ground and also balance the differences between each individual decision driver.

In the case of the CFO, their decision drivers will be largely financial with some risk analysis thrown in. But how exactly do they make their financial decisions? What calculations do they use and what analysis do they do in order to determine the financial viability of an initiative?

For a VP of operations, their decision drivers may be financial but they will also likely consider resources, risks, and impact on other responsibilities and activities they’re responsible for.

Your head of human resources will have different kinds of decision drivers, such as the impact on existing staff and the availability of resources, including timing and pay for staff who might be impacted.

Others, such as your IT, security, or risk management departments, will have their own specific issues and decision drivers that you should understand and address in your business case.

2. Build Credibility

It’s not just enough to have a great business case; you have to be credible. The need for credibility includes not only your track record of performance and deliverables, but also the credibility of the information and analysis you do to justify your business case.

So your business case needs to include not only the rationale for why the initiative should be approved, but also how it will be successfully implemented. You should provide a concise and believable approach to implementation that will help ensure success. Nominate or request a senior management representative to be the sponsor and driver of the initiative.

For business case credibility, do a thorough job of any analysis, comparisons, and market research, and be sure to show both the source and the approach you’ve taken. Don't whitewash assumptions or issues that you know exist; instead, bring them forward and identify clearly how you will mitigate them. It’s better to address them up front than to leave unanswered questions in the minds of senior management reading your business case.

3. Break Down the Objections

Before you even submit your business case, you should be testing it with the decision-makers. Sit down with them individually and go over the key rationale, findings, and proposed initiative.

Ask them to share their criticism and concerns so that you can address them. Depending on your relationship with these individuals, you could even ask them to provide some insight into their colleagues’ likely reactions.

Take their input into consideration, incorporate it where possible into your business case, and follow up with these individuals before your business case is submitted. This will both ensure the changes you made address their concerns as well as show them you’ve listened to their advice.

Finally, ask them directly if they will support the business case when it is presented. If yes, you have clearly broken down their objections and gained a supporter. If no, you can either address changes that will gain their support, or recognize that their objection is something to overcome through the support of other decision-makers.

4. Influence the Influencers

Sometimes, you are not able to get the attention of the actual decision-makers. In such a case, you must identify who influences those decision-makers. Sometimes it’s an employee who reports to them. Of course, even if you are able to deal with the actual decision-makers, it never hurts to also gain support from those who advise them.

For instance, if your CFO relies on a specific individual to do cost-benefit analysis, meet with that person to get their take on your business case. Ask for their insights and make changes in your analysis, or perhaps even the way it is presented, based on their input.

5. Orchestrate the Pitch

Don’t leave your business case submission to chance. You should try to orchestrate how it’s represented and how it’s presented to the decision-makers. If possible, make a presentation to those decision-makers before they have a chance to read the proposal, so that you can prepare them with key facts. Explain that you have conferred with many people in the organization already, addressed their issues, and have their support.

If you had discussions with influencers as mentioned above, speak with them individually to remind them of their participation in helping to develop the final document, and ask if they can voice their support to the decision-makers.

After the presentation and the submission of the business case to the decision-makers, follow up with each of them to gauge their reaction and support in this last and final step of approving the business case. If you sense a change in their support or any additional concerns, take immediate actions to address them.

Make the Business Case a Non-Event

Getting your business case approved is about much more than simply developing a solid business case and submitting it. If you followed the steps above, by the time your business case gets to the point where an approval signature is required, you will have already paved the way for that signature.