ROI Calculator & Business Case

Create a simple ROI calculator in a spreadsheet with inputs for prospect's current costs (labor hours, tool costs, inefficiency losses) and outputs showing savings, payback period, and 3-year ROI.

During discovery, gather ROI inputs: "How many hours per week does your team spend on [task]?" "What's the loaded cost per hour?" "How much are you spending on [current solution]?" "What's the cost of [problem] to your business?"

Set pass threshold: build ROI calculators for >=5 prospects showing >=5x ROI within 1 year, and >=3 prospects reference ROI in decision-making conversations.

After discovery, fill out calculator with prospect's numbers; calculate total annual savings, payback period (time to recoup investment), and 3-year ROI.

Present ROI in follow-up: "Based on our conversation, you're spending $100K/year on this problem. Our solution costs $20K and saves you $80K annually—4x ROI in year 1, payback in 10 weeks."

Send calculator spreadsheet to prospect for validation: "Here's the math based on your numbers—do these figures align with your experience? Feel free to adjust inputs if needed."

Log ROI metrics in Attio with fields for annual_savings, payback_period, three_year_roi, and roi_validated (yes/no); track which ROI thresholds move deals forward.

In PostHog, create events for roi_calculated and roi_presented with properties for ROI value, payback period, and prospect response.

After 1 week, analyze: did >=3 prospects reference ROI in decision conversations? Did strong ROI (>=5x) correlate with faster deal progression or higher close rates?

If >=5 prospects have strong ROI and >=3 reference it in decisions, ROI is a powerful sales tool; document calculator methodology and proceed to Baseline; otherwise improve discovery to capture better ROI inputs.