How Do I Build a Business Case for Demand Generation Investment?
Speak the language of finance: quantify the revenue gap, model CAC and payback, show scenarios and risks, and commit to a 90-day proof plan.
Build a CFO-ready case in six parts: 1) Baseline current pipeline and unit economics, 2) Gap to revenue target, 3) Options for closing it (create vs. capture vs. conversion), 4) Financial Model (CAC, payback, LTV, scenarios & sensitivity), 5) Plan with milestones, SLAs, and governance, and 6) Risk with mitigation and leading indicators. Fund the highest pipeline per dollar sources, then prove it in 90 days.
What Your Business Case Must Include
Revenue-Back Modeling (Example)
Goal: $5M new ARR. Win rate: 25% ⇒ pipeline need = $20M. Marketing-sourced: 50% ⇒ $10M. ASP: $50k ⇒ 200 opportunities. SQL→Oppty: 40% ⇒ 500 SQLs. MQL→SQL: 25% ⇒ 2,000 MQLs. Model expected volume & cost per source to hit 2,000 MQLs at the target CAC.
Guardrails: Payback < 12–18 months; LTV/CAC > 3×; cost/opportunity trending down by quarter. Allocate roughly 60% to create (narrative, content, events) and 40% to capture/convert (search, CRO, retargeting, chat) — then reweight quarterly to the best pipeline yield.
Scenario Planning: Base assumes historical conversion; Upside improves CVR +20% via offers/CRO; Downside reduces by −15% and stretches cycle time. Add sensitivity for ASP (±10%) and win rate (±5 pts). Tie budget release to hitting leading indicators (reach, engaged sessions, MQL quality, SLA adherence) and lagging metrics (opportunities, pipeline).
90-Day Proof Plan (Budget Release by Milestone)
- Days 1–30: Lock baseline and target math; finalize attribution & dashboards; launch two offers (one create, one capture). Gate: engaged sessions +20%, MQL QA ≥80%.
- Days 31–60: CRO on top pages, add chat to high intent, expand retargeting; SDR enablement & SLA audit. Gate: cost/opportunity −10%, SQL rate +15%.
- Days 61–90: Scale top channels 20–30%, add partner webinar; publish interim ROI. Gate: pipeline created ≥ plan, payback on track < 15 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Turn Your Case Into Approved Budget
We’ll quantify the gap, build the model, and stand up a 90-day proof plan with dashboards and gates that finance will trust.
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