For those of you that follow a July 1-June 30 Financial Year, it’s already time to start putting together those project funding requests or a strong case for spending forward.
In almost every instance, preparing a business case is necessary, but the format is relatively flexible. Whether it is presented in an email, spreadsheet, or in a meeting, these tips will help you win project funding approval.
Tip 1: Anticipate Business Needs:
Whether it’s your boss, or your bosses’ boss that is approving budgets, you must illustrate how your proposed Project aligns with strategic goals. Make sure they understand how the proposed initiative helps you, or them, or their boss and the organisation to hit priority objectives.
To do this: sell the dream – get clear on ‘the why’ to build a strong case on spending and be prepared to demonstrate why your project should get time and resources over others. Cover some of the predictable ‘why’s’ – as much as possible, and ensure these reasons tie to bottom-line benefits:
Tip 2: Make your case:
The best format for your business case is to lay out a reasonable argument. For that, you may need to present some objectivity – for example, by presenting a few alternatives for investment.
The best format for your funding request/argument is:
Tip 3: Timing is important.
Budget planning usually takes three months; draft budgets are typically submitted 2.5 months in advance of a final cut, so you should have your Business Case presented by April to have the best chance for funding to be approved in the upcoming July 1 budget cycle.
Tip 4: Winning Relevance with your Decision-Makers
It can be difficult to win budget approval if your management team doesn’t fully understand asset management. So it’s important to bring your justification back to what matters to the management team and the organisation (money) and how your recommendation can deliver massive returns on investment (ROI) either in cost savings or profits.
For instance, using our recommended format, if there’s consistent issues related to equipment reliability on site, you would:
If you need assistance with a business case, APS can provide you with real-world examples of cost savings through healthy asset management systems. We also have an Asset Management Audit that may help you quickly identify the root-cause of symptoms in the business so you can start to accurately address the issue.
For a no-pressure/sales chat about your asset management problems or assistance with a business case, get in touch.
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