Background Information

Before diving straight into a “Deal Clinic” or workshop to build a Business Case with a Prospect, check what information may be available to you about the Prospect’s company. Some information will be immediately obvious to you in terms of what the company does, who owns it etc. More detailed quantifiable information may also come from the company’s annual report or through prior discussion with the Prospect.

Useful data could include:

• The Minimum annual return or discount rate % p.a. This is the percentage return required by the company when it makes investment decisions. Market sector as well as project type and risk will impact this number with values typically ranging from 5% to 25%. If in doubt, use 10% as this is a good starting point. It can always be changed if a more appropriate figure comes to light during discussions. This figure is entered in the Business Case Details at the start of the Shark process and is one of the initial entries to the Business Case along with the Customer and Supplier Names and the period of the analysis e.g. 36 months.

• The company’s annual turnover or revenue $

• Numbers of their customers, retention rates and average customer spend

• Key markets, and market share

• Value of inventory

• Information on current systems that will be impacted or replace by the proposed solution

• Gross margin percentage

If the information is not available in the public domain, the best people who can provide it are usually within the Prospect’s organization. It is important to identify who has this information and involve them in the Business Case process. CFOs for example, can stop or slow down approval if they haven’t been involved at some point in the production of the Business Case.