Now that you have evidence, get the financial impact. You don’t have to do a rigorous financial analysis—just back‐of‐the‐envelope math is fine. What you’re looking for is rough estimates, ballpark figures, orders of magnitude.

Here’s a set of questions that help quantify evidence into a financial impact. Let’s take an example of a client who wants to increase call center productivity. You might ask:

1. How do you measure productivity in your call center? (Calls per hour, per caller)

2. What is your productivity now? (5 calls per hour)

3. What would you like it to be? (7 calls per hour)

4. What’s the value of the difference? This is where the back of the envelope math kicks in:

Additional calls per hour (2), multiplied by Amount of callers in the center (10), multiplied by Hours in the day (8), multiplied by

Average revenue created per call ($100) 2x8x10x100 = $16,000

5. Over time? (What’s the client’s typical business horizon or plan…1 year? 5 years?)

$16,000 x 30 days x 12 months = $5.76m.

With an annual $5.76m impact, you’ll find out pretty quickly if the client finds this worth pursuing.