What’s up 30MPC crew.
I’ve got a wildly practical framework for you, that’s all about this reality:
Buying decisions get made during the internal conversations happening about you, without you.
They get made when you’re not in the room, and your champions have to deliver your message, in their words.
So I’ll break down how to script out a clear, exec-ready message to keep your deals on track. It’s called The 1-Page Business Case, and it’s won me and my team millions. Here it is:
- The Why And When of The 1-Page Business Case
- The Structure of The 1-Page Business Case
- Common Mistakes To Avoid
- How To Use It
1. The Why and When of The 1-Page Business Case
Do I really need to write a business case?
Once you hit mid-market (even upper end of commercial) in B2B, nothing happens without a clear message. Which is the point of ditching the long decks nobody reads, and creating a simple, 1-page message.
Your goal is to link each deal to the internal priority each buying team’s executive is already sold on, and actively investing in. Without this, your deal will stall out.
Plus, writing with the buying team lets you:
- Guide the internal buying conversations you’re not in the room for
- Find and fill your discovery gaps (e.g. missing numbers, dates, and specifics)
- Test your buyers for commitment: are they sharing input with you?
When should I start writing my business case?
Early, not late. Right after your first discovery meeting.
Most sellers think business cases are big, complex things you write after months of meetings, to close late-stage deals.
But that thinking is completely backwards: only a fraction of your deals will even make it to late stages without a business case.
Instead, writing a business case is about the process of guiding how deals progress from Stage 1 onwards. Starting with a few short sentences on the problem, with gaps you’ll plan to fill in with the buying team over time.
2. The Structure of The 1-Page Business Case
Building business cases like LEGOs
Business cases are like LEGOs. Little “blocks” that build on each other over time, with each block supporting the next. Here’s how to stack up a clear, concise, exec-ready message. Using an example of us selling an AR/VR platform to IKEA.
1. Priority-Driven Headline
Reference an internal phrase or project “codename” that’s familiar to the buying team exec. Which signals you’re aligned with a company-wide priority.
Closing the "Imagination Gap" to Drive 35% More Digital Bundles
2. The Problem Statement
Find and frame a high-cost, high-priority problem. Include who’s impacted, the cost (with the buying team’s own data) how it impacts the company-wide priority you just referenced. Plus, why it’s getting worse and needs a response now.
Despite hitting 25% of total sales from digital (up from 5% in 2019), IKEA’s online orders in complex product categories — e.g. kitchens, bedrooms, etc. — are seeing a 17% return rate:
- Every month, 480K customers abandon their carts in kitchen/bedrooms
- Even though Home Depot’s online orders in the same category are up 19%
- Leading to an estimated $38M monthly in lost revenue in the US market alone — which is only growing worse with more smaller footprint, Plan & Order Point stores opening in 2025.
3. Recommended Approach
There are lots of ways execs can solve problems. So this block is never, "Buy XYZ software." Instead, get aligned on the core shift, practice, or project you'll enable. All framed around what your offering can uniquely deliver.
We’re planning out a 2-phase approach to help customers visualize their order—integrated with IKEA’s existing channels and customer experience:
Phase 1 (0-6 months):
- Real-time co-design using photorealistic 3D models, dynamic pricing, & inventory
- Instant virtual photography: Generating 4K lifestyle shots of customer configurations
Phase 2 (6-12 months):
- Integrate with TaskRabbit partnership to auto-generated assembly instructions
- Integrate with IKEA’s existing Shopify Commerce Tools backbone
4. Target Outcomes
Outline a vivid “before and after” with the time-to-impact against a shortlist of exec-level metrics. Include specific numbers for current vs. target outcomes, backed by the buying team’s data.
Customers get that, “OMG, I love it,” feeling even before taking their order home, leading to:
5. Required Investment
Who needs to invest what, by when? This isn’t just your pricing. It’s all the time and people resources needed to resource a successful project, with relevant investment scenarios.
IKEA’s commitments:
- Dedicate 3 FTEs for 6 months to map product rules/data pipelines, setting up
- Pilot in 10 California stores (e.g. Thousand Oaks, Ontario, Colma)
- Total 2025 investment of $1.2M
Our partners:
- Dedicated Threekit deployment team with 3 engineers, 1 CX lead
- Rollout dates aligned to IKEA’s FY25 40th anniversary campaigns
- Leveraging FedEx pickup point API & TaskRabbit partnerships
3. Common Mistakes To Avoid
To make sure your business case really hits home, there are a couple of things you want to make sure you’re avoiding:
1. Making it yours, not theirs.
How many edits and changes came directly from the buying team? Win rates jump 3X after three edits from the buying team. Because they’re taking ownership in the message, and we all take a stake in what we help create.
2. All numbers, no narrative.
An ROI model on its own isn’t a business case. It’s a future maybe, without context. Narratives bring meaning to your numbers, while numbers help validate the decision your buyers have already made based on the story.
3. Your branding, not theirs.
Buyers don’t share branded decks with their executives. Wrapping your message in pretty, polished marketing designs signals “bias.” So you’re better off sticking with a white page and black font, or the buying team’s brand.
4. Lengthy and Vague.
The whole point of this is to move away from a long deck nobody will read. Make it concise and easy for an executive to scan and quickly understand why it’s a priority. It’s got to be written with numbers, dates, and phrases unique to an individual account.
I’ve got my first draft. Now what?
Share it. Even if it’s rough, with lots of gaps.
You can build commitment to create together by asking, “If I share a recap of what I’ve captured so far, would you be open to weighing in with a comment or two?”
Then, in your next meeting, ask, “What here resonates, that you think we should highlight? And what do you think we’ve missed?”
Fold their feedback into a Version 2, and continue to strengthen your message together over time.
That's A Wrap!
Not sure where to start?
Grab a copy here, it’s designed to bridge the gap between your sales meetings, and your buyer's internal meetings.
Now The 1-Page Business Case is yours.
