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Build the case before you spend anything.
You know what needs to change. The hard part is getting the person with the budget to agree. This page helps you work out what the project is worth, what waiting is costing you, and how to put it in front of your MD so the answer is yes.
What your MD is actually asking
Every budget decision comes down to three questions.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re asking for a strategy workshop, a rebrand, a website or a marketing programme. The person signing it off wants to know three things.
01
Revenue
Will this bring money in, or protect what we have?
Show the commercial effect. More enquiries, better enquiries, or more of them turning into clients.
02
Risk
What does it cost us to do nothing?
Standing still isn’t free. Every month you wait has a cost, in lost work and in your team’s time.
03
Reputation
How does this change how buyers see us?
Whether you look and sound like a business worth trusting, to buyers and to the AI tools they ask about you.
How it sounds for your project
“Sales, marketing and leadership are telling three different stories. Agreeing one should improve how many proposals we win.”
“Every campaign starts with the same argument about what to say. It’s costing us [X] hours a month and delaying launches.”
“When AI tools describe us, they get it wrong, because our own story isn’t consistent.”
“We’ve grown into bigger clients, but we still look like a small firm. We’re being shortlisted less for the work we want.”
“If we rebrand without agreeing the strategy first, we’ll pay for a new look and have the same problem.”
“Clients and prospects describe us differently from how we describe ourselves.”
“[X] people visit our site each month and only [X] get in touch. Improving that rate is the cheapest way to more enquiries.”
“Buyers check our site before they call. If it doesn’t reflect who we are now, we lose them before we know they existed.”
“Our site looks dated next to [competitor], and prospects notice.”
“Our content is written for keywords, not for the buyers we want. Better content should bring in better-fit enquiries.”
“Our website launched and nobody’s sending traffic to it. We’ve spent the money and we’re not getting the return.”
“We’re not showing up in the places our buyers are looking, including AI answers.”
The calculators
Put numbers on it.
Your MD will ask what it’s worth. These two calculators give you an answer based on your own figures. Nothing’s made up, so it stands up when someone questions it.
What it could be worth
Most projects improve one of two things. More of the right people get in touch, or more of the people who get in touch become clients. Use one or both.
These are estimates based on your numbers. Use the conservative end when you present them. It’s easier to beat a modest forecast than defend an ambitious one.
What waiting costs
Doing nothing feels safe, but it isn’t free. This shows what each month of delay costs, in money and in your team’s time.
A ready-made case for a strategy workshop
Need to send something to your MD?
Copy this, fill in the brackets, and send it.
Subject: A one-day strategy workshop
We keep having the same conversation about what we do and who it’s for. Sales, marketing and leadership are each telling a slightly different version, and it’s showing up in [our proposals / our website / how AI tools describe us].
I’d like to book a one-day strategy workshop with Squibble. [Names or roles] would spend the day agreeing our audiences, what we offer them and how we say it. We’d leave with it written down, ready to use in proposals, on the website and in campaigns.
It costs £2,800 + VAT. Right now, [X people] spend around [X hours] a month re-agreeing the message, which costs us roughly £[X] a year. More importantly, it’s what everything else we’re planning depends on, including [the website / the rebrand / next year’s campaigns].
Could we find a date in [month]?
Structure the pitch
Turn it into a pitch.
If your MD would rather see slides, use this structure. Eight slides, in this order.
→Download the business case toolkit (PDF)- 01
What we’re proposing. The project in one line, and how it links to this year’s goals.
- 02
The problem. What’s not working, with one number that proves it.
- 03
Why it matters. Revenue, risk and reputation, using the examples above.
- 04
The cost of standing still. Where you are now against where you could be. Use calculator 2.
- 05
What we’d do. The project, in three points.
- 06
Investment and return. The cost, the expected return, and the payback. Use calculator 1.
- 07
What could get in the way. The likely objections, and how you’d handle them.
- 08
The next step. What you need approved, and by when.
Before they say no
Answer the objections before they’re raised.
“It’s not the priority right now.” It’s usually blocking the things that are. Show what’s waiting on it.
“Can’t we do it ourselves?” Sometimes. The hard part isn’t the work, it’s getting everyone with a stake in it to agree. That usually needs someone from outside.
“What if it doesn’t work?” Agree now what you’ll measure, and record where you are today. Then you’ll know.
“The breakdown gave us so much clarity moving forward, and the format was incredibly usable.”
Nikki Ayton, Business Development Manager, West Midlands Health Tech Cluster
Want a second pair of eyes on it?
Book a strategy call. Bring your numbers and we’ll help you shape the case, or tell you honestly if it doesn’t stack up yet.
