Sales Business Case Template
An eleven-section sales business case template with guidance for each section, built for Salesforce sales investments that need to survive finance review.
A sales business case has one job: to help a decision-maker choose, with enough evidence to defend that choice a year later. This template gives you a section order that suits a Salesforce sales investment, with guidance on what each section should hold and what to leave out. Copy the headings into your own document and fill them with your own figures, not borrowed benchmarks.
How to use this template
- Draft from the evidence outward. Write the current state and assumptions first, and the executive summary last.
- Make every number traceable. Each figure should point to a line in the Sources section.
- Use the tools for a first pass. The automated business case generator can turn your inputs into a structured first draft, and the sales ROI calculator models the benefit figures that feed the Benefits and Scenarios sections. Treat both as drafts to check.
The template at a glance
| Section | What to include | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Executive summary | Decision requested, recommended option, cost and benefit ranges, payback | One page, stating the decision and the date it is needed by |
| 2. Current state | Processes, systems, volumes, pain points and baseline metrics | Use measured data with dates. Label estimates as estimates |
| 3. Proposed solution | Scope, Salesforce products and editions, integrations, and what is out of scope | Name every licence, edition or add-on the scope depends on |
| 4. Assumptions | Adoption rate, ramp time, volumes, rates and effort | Give each assumption an owner and a source. These drive every number |
| 5. Benefits | Revenue, productivity, cost avoidance and risk reduction | Separate cash benefits from time savings |
| 6. Costs | Licences, implementation, integration, data migration, training and run costs | Include internal time and ongoing administration, not only the project |
| 7. Scenarios | Conservative, expected and ambitious cases | Change the assumptions, never the method |
| 8. Risks | Delivery, adoption, data, dependency and commercial risks | Give each a likelihood, impact, owner and mitigation |
| 9. Timeline | Phases, milestones and when benefits begin | Show the benefit ramp after go-live |
| 10. Success measures | KPIs with baseline, target, method and review dates | Agree the measurement method before approval |
| 11. Sources | Every data point and where it came from | Include the date each figure was checked |
Section guidance
Current state
Describe today's work in numbers: win rate, average deal size, sales cycle length, forecast accuracy and seller admin hours. Note the period each figure covers so later comparisons use the same window.
Proposed solution
Be specific about scope. Sales Cloud editions were simplified on 3 September 2026 into Free Suite, Starter Suite, Pro Suite, Core, Advanced and Max, so name the edition you are assuming. Some capabilities, such as Predictive Forecasting on Core, are listed by Salesforce as available for purchase rather than included. Confirm placement with your Salesforce account team.
Costs
Salesforce states that pricing and packaging are subject to change, so date-stamp every licence figure and mark it as quoted or estimated. Include internal staff time and ongoing support, not only project fees.
Scenarios
Build three cases from the same model, varying only adoption, ramp time and the size of the efficiency gain. If the conservative case still clears your hurdle, the case is robust.
Building the case in seven steps
- 01
Agree the decision
Write down who decides, what they are choosing between, and by when.
- 02
Collect baselines
Pull current-state metrics from CRM reports and finance, with dates.
- 03
List assumptions
Record each with an owner and a source, and review them with the people who own the numbers.
- 04
Model benefits and costs
Use the ROI calculator or your own model, keeping cash and time benefits apart.
- 05
Run the scenarios
Produce all three cases from the same model.
- 06
Test the risks
Ask delivery, data and commercial owners what would break each assumption.
- 07
Write the summary
Draft it last, and have someone outside the project read it cold.
Questions we hear
How long should a sales business case be?
Should we include soft benefits such as time saved?
Can we reuse figures from vendor case studies?
Related reading
How to build a sales ROI model
A step-by-step guide to the model behind the numbers
→Salesforce ROI analysis
How to frame return on a Salesforce investment
→Salesforce ROI measurement guide
Baselines, benefit categories and post-launch tracking
→Sources
- https://salesforce.com/uk/agentforce/ai-agents-roi-calculator
- https://salesforce.com/au/sales/pricing
- https://salesforce.com/news/stories/salesforce-simplifies-editions-2026
- https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/realize-business-value-faster-with-salesforce-success-plans/
Want a second pair of eyes on your case?
We can review your assumptions, scope and cost lines before the case goes to your finance team.
