Shopping Your Business Case

Even with a polished business case, the HBR Guide to Building Your Business Case by Raymond Sheen warns you’re not ready to present until you’ve strategically socialized your case with key stakeholders. This pre-meeting phase is crucial: as Sheen notes, "you'll want allies in the room when tough questions come up", and those allies are built before the formal review. Surprising stakeholders in the meeting is a common rookie mistake that can sink even the strongest proposal.

Shopping your case around is about building understanding, gathering last feedback, and ensuring key people are ready to support you. Previewing your content with stakeholders reduces risk and surfaces concerns or shifting priorities you might have missed. Think of it as a dress rehearsal—the last chance to make adjustments before the real show.

Your champion played a key role in shaping your case early on; now, you need their explicit support for the review. If your champion is convinced of your project's value, they can defend it against objections or help sway the decision if there’s a split. Preview your full case with them, walk through each slide, and ask for specific advocacy during the meeting.

Let’s look at how this conversation might unfold between a manager and their champion:

• Jessica: Thanks for meeting with me, Victoria. I wanted to walk you through the final version of our inventory optimization case before Thursday's review.
• Victoria: Good timing. I heard the CFO is particularly focused on payback periods this quarter. What's yours looking like?
• Jessica: Eighteen months, which beats our hurdle rate. But I'm concerned about Jake’s objection on resources.
• Victoria: Show me your resource slide... That’s aggressive.
• Jessica: That’s why I need your help. When Jake raises this, could you mention your team validated these estimates?
• Victoria: I can do that, but add a phased approach. That gives Jake an out.
• Jessica: Perfect. And can you confirm your finance team verified our ROI assumptions?
• Victoria: Absolutely. Also, move customer retention up—CEO says it’s now priority one.

This exchange demonstrates how a champion provides both strategic insights and specific commitment to support during the presentation. Notice how Jessica explicitly asks for Victoria's help at particular moments, while Victoria offers insider knowledge about stakeholder concerns and recent priority shifts.

Be clear about what support you need and when. For example: "When I present the ROI figures, it would be powerful if you could confirm your team validated these numbers." Champions can’t defend what they don’t understand, so ensure they know both the what and why.

Preview sessions may also reveal last-minute changes—new priorities, recent events, or board focus. Incorporate these insights, even if it means quick adjustments.

Beyond your champion, there are two critical groups whose support can make or break your proposal: those who will implement the work and those who benefit most from the outcome. Their visible backing during the review signals to decision-makers that your case is practical and broadly supported.

Meet with the implementation lead (for example, the IT director for a system project) to validate your assumptions and timelines. You want them nodding in agreement during the review, not surprised by your plans. They may flag resource conflicts or suggest timeline tweaks, which demonstrates to reviewers that your plan is realistic and well-coordinated.

It’s equally important to secure buy-in from the main beneficiary (such as the operations VP). Their feedback can help you address overlooked pain points and ensures they’ll advocate for your case when it matters most. Beneficiaries who feel included in the process often become strong advocates, while those left out can raise objections or even derail your proposal.

These meetings often surface resource tensions or competing priorities. Address and resolve these issues before the review so you can present a united front. Alignment between implementers and beneficiaries is a strong signal that your project has been thoroughly vetted and is ready for approval.

Your case will compete for resources. It’s important to learn about other proposals in the pipeline and adjust your emphasis to differentiate without changing your numbers or core approach. You probably won’t alter your financials or general strategy to outshine another project, but you can shift what you highlight.

Gather intelligence from your network or finance contacts. If other proposals focus on cost reduction, you might emphasize your project’s revenue growth. If quick wins are in demand, stress your first-year impact. Recent events can also shift priorities. For instance, after a data breach, security features become more important; after losing a client, customer retention moves up.

Make these adjustments authentically. Don’t claim your project is about security if it’s not, but do highlight relevant benefits that have always been part of your case. For example: “While our primary focus is efficiency, the new system also includes advanced security features.” Or, if others are targeting international growth, you might emphasize your domestic market strength.

By shopping your case around, you’ll be ready to secure support, address concerns, and stand out in a competitive review.

Now that you understand the critical importance of shopping your case around, you're ready to put these strategies into practice. In the upcoming role-play sessions, you'll experience firsthand how to re-engage champions for advocacy commitments, navigate the delicate conversations with implementing and beneficiary departments, and make strategic emphasis adjustments when competitive dynamics shift unexpectedly.