Free template · 6 pages
The 2027 budget reallocation rulebook: move marketing money on evidence each quarter, with rules your CFO can audit
Get the free template ↓A budget reallocation rulebook is a short set of rules, agreed with finance before the year starts, that says when marketing money moves between channels, how much, on what evidence and who approves it. It turns the four budget jobs (capture, prime, convert, prove) into triggers a CFO can audit: each job is judged on its own metric, after its own minimum time, and every move is written in a decision log. This template gives twelve rules, the trigger table, guardrails, a review calendar and a worked quarterly example.
- Twelve rules for moving money between channels each quarter
- The trigger table: measure, source, threshold, action and approver
- The evidence ladder: what each budget job is judged on, and when
- Guardrails that stop reallocation turning into churn
Written by the PlanConversion Strategy Team, from programs run for ABB, KNIME and Nakisa. For VPs of demand generation, marketing operations and RevOps leaders who run the 2027 budget after approval, and the CFOs who check it.
What’s inside
Everything in the template
Practical and specific: questions, checks and decisions you can use in your next meeting, not theory.
The trigger table: measure, source, threshold, action and approver
The evidence ladder: what each budget job is judged on, and when
Guardrails that stop reallocation turning into churn
A quarterly review calendar and a decision log template
A worked Q2 example with stated inputs
Free preview
The principle and the first two rules
- Rule 1: money moves on evidence, on a calendar, by rule. Reallocation happens at the quarterly review against triggers written in January, not when a channel owner asks or a platform sends a recommendation.
- Rule 2: judge each job by its own metric. Capture is judged on cost per qualified opportunity, priming on engaged target accounts and branded search, conversion on meetings to opportunities, and proving on the share of spend optimized on a CRM stage. A priming line is never cut for having a high cost per lead.
The full template
The 2027 budget reallocation rulebook
The full template is locked
Fill in the short form to open it here, instantly.
Unlock the templateRelated service
RevOps and marketing operations
CRM, attribution, routing and dashboards your sales and finance teams trust.
Free tools
Put numbers on it
Questions
About this template
What is a budget reallocation rulebook?
A short set of rules, agreed with finance before the year starts, that says when marketing money moves between channels, how much, on what evidence and who approves it, with every move written in a decision log.
How often should marketing budget be reallocated?
Quarterly for moves between channels, with daily pacing inside each month. Priming lines need at least two quarters before they are judged, because their pipeline arrives later.
Are the thresholds benchmarks?
No. They are our starting defaults, to be replaced with your own ceilings and caps agreed with finance. What matters is that they are written down before the year starts.
Is there a PDF version?
Yes. When you open the template here, we email you the PDF with a link back to the online version.
What else should I read?
The 2027 B2B marketing planning hub at planconversion.com/b2b-marketing-planning-2027, the marginal dollar test article and the budget scenario simulator.
Part of the 2027 B2B marketing planning hub: every step from the revenue target to a board-approved plan, with the calculators and guides for each.
Also freeThe 2027 AI agent orchestration planWhy 2027 decides AI in marketing, with sourced numbers. The 12-month plan, stage by stage, with owners.Get the plan →Also freeAI agent orchestration for growth and SEO teamsWhy AI search changes the growth job, with sourced numbers. The 12 agents a growth and SEO team needs, with the human gate for each.Get the playbook →Also freeHow to choose a B2B demand generation agency12 questions to ask before the first call. The 9 red flags that predict a bad agency fit.Get the guide →
