Author: �Audience: Classmates
Argument pyramid template
Key Idea�
Supporting Point 1
Supporting Point 2
Supporting Point 3
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Argument pyramid�Example 1
Author: Tim T. Beaver�Company: Market Agency�Audience: Agency Senior Leadership
Key Idea�We should allocate $40K to support our speaking opportunity�at this year’s National Retailers Federation conference
Supporting Point 1
A single new client from the event �will more than pay for the expense
Supporting Point 3
We will be able fund this investment from our existing marketing budget
Evidence
1st year profit from all prior Fortune 1000 clients is >$250K
Evidence
90% of the companies attending are Fortune 1000
Evidence
1/3 of qualified leads convert into to clients
Evidence
~30 potential clients will attend likely our breakout session (NRF estimates)
Evidence
Transition from freelance copy-writers to a full-time staff writer frees up $75K in marketing budget for next year.
Supporting Point 2
This investment will likely generate at least one new client
Sub-supporting point
We need as few as 10% attendees to become qualified leads to likely close a new account
Sub-supporting point
We need as little as $40K to get the quality and staff that will support lead generation
Evidence
Quality: $15K allows us to get professional design and speaker coaching
Evidence
Staff: $25K allows us to bring 5 staffers who can identify and target high potential leads
Argument pyramid�Example 2
Author: Noelle Laureate �Company: Boston Pidgeon Tours �Audience: Leadership Team
Key Idea� We should pilot a demand based pricing model in January for our tour packages �(where ticket prices are different based on time of day and day of the week)
Supporting Point 1
Demand based pricing could increase revenue by 10%
Evidence
Weekend wait list suggests that people would be willing to pay a premium for peak times
Evidence
Prior discounting experiments suggest that discounts can boost slow weekday sales
Supporting Point 2
A January pilot would generate good test data with minimal risk to the business
Evidence
Meaningful demand fluctuation within the month means that the test can yield good results
Evidence
Four month lead time means we have enough notice to build the systems for the test
Evidence
Low overall traffic means that there is limited risk to our reputation if the test fails
Evidence
Modest starting assumptions suggest a 10% revenue increase is reasonable