Making the case: how to get board sign-off for a new growth channel

Start with strategy, not the platform

Even if you're already convinced about a new platform, the people who approve the spend and make the final decision will likely need more information.  

This information isn't just a list of platform features; it's how the new platform fits within your firm’s growth strategy.

Begin with the target at the top of your business plan, whether that's doubling AUM in three years, growing net-new organic AUM, adding advisers, or lifting the firm's value before a sale.

A new channel is a way to reach your goals, so lead with the target.

Build an ROI model your board will trust

Boards judge a new growth platform like any other investment: on the numbers.

A return on investment (ROI) model will help convince them of the need and benefit of a new platform.

Build the model on your own figures rather than a generic calculator. You can do this by reviewing your client acquisition cost (your blended cost per lead divided by a realistic conversion rate), the fees a client generates in year one, and their value over their expected tenure. Then show the return in year one and over the longer term.

To keep your model as realistic as possible, use conservative figures and show your assumptions: your real fee structure, a cautious conversion rate and your typical client's wealth.

A board will trust a modest model it can question over an ambitious one it can't. With Unbiased, we will build this with you, working with four figures you already have:  your initial fee, ongoing fee, average client wealth and target client wealth.

Be honest about the timeline

This is where most cases get stuck.

A new channel costs money before it makes any.

Sales cycles in financial advice take time; widely cited lead-generation research suggests around 63% of people who enquire won't make a decision for at least three months.

Based on these timelines, your first batch of leads will arrive toward the end of their sales cycle, when it's time to decide whether to keep the new platform.

By promising results in three months, you have set the programme up to look like a failure just as it starts to work.

Set the expectation at 12 to 24 months, with break-even in the first year and the return building after that. Naming the timeline before anyone asks makes your case look considered, not uncertain.

Prove it with benchmarks and a real example

Boards trust evidence over assertion, so when building your internal business case, bring two things.

First, benchmark data on typical contact, meeting, and conversion rates. This lets leadership weigh your assumptions against a real range.

Second, show a firm like yours that has done it. The Private Office, for example, treated Unbiased as a core channel rather than a test: its leadership backed it as an upfront investment, it started small around its existing offices, measured each stage of the funnel, and expanded office by office over several years.

A firm that began where you are now is worth more than any projection.

Plan for the whole room, not one champion

Sign-off is rarely one person's call, so a case built around a single supporter is fragile.

According to Gartner, a typical complex B2B purchase now involves six to 10 decision-makers. Forrester, on the other hand, puts the average buying group at around 13 people across several functions.

With so many decision-makers, it’s important to bring people in early.

Find an executive sponsor who owns a relevant target. Involve finance, compliance, and operations while the proposal can still absorb their input, not after it's written.

Most importantly, frame everything around the shared goal rather than any one person's priorities; this helps to pull a committee together, rather than tear it apart.

Pre-empt the objections

Some of the objections senior leaders will have are predictable, so answer them before they’re asked.

One common objection that nearly always comes up when introducing a new growth channel is: can't we just work our referrals harder?

While referrals matter and play an important role, you can't turn them up on demand or forecast them, which is exactly what a growth target needs.

Additionally, finance and procurement will want the commercial terms, security, and data handling, and any accreditation or risk documentation — have the pack ready.

Show it's a managed process, not a switch

Leadership backs plans, not experiments.

When making your case, set out how the new platform rollout will actually run. Include a named owner accountable for it, a controlled or phased start rather than switching on everywhere at once, and a clear onboarding path.

It's also worth showing what the first 90 days involve — a dedicated account manager, agreed service levels, a benchmarking check-in and an early data-backed review — so the board sees a supported process with checkpoints along the way.

Finally, you need to show the operational backbone that comes with any new platform. This includes defined SLAs, an active triage function, a KPI dashboard, and coaching drawn from experience.

Your first steps

If you're just starting to look into this, work through it in order:

1. Write down the board targets your case supports.

2. Build a conservative ROI model on your own numbers.

3. Agree on a realistic timeline internally, so no one expects a return in a quarter.

4. Gather benchmark data and an example from a comparable firm.

5. Prepare the finance, security and procurement pack.

6. Line up an executive sponsor and map out who else needs to say yes.

7. If you can, propose a small pilot to generate your own proof.

Want to work with Unbiased?

Work through those in order, and the business case mostly builds itself. The conversation with your board becomes about how, not whether.

If you'd like help modelling the numbers for your firm, the Unbiased team can build an ROI projection around your own figures and share benchmark data from firms like yours.