Financial Gains
Financial Gains
How to make an impact selling to CFOs in today’s environment
Hey there friends-
I’m reading, hearing and talking with others about how CFOs and finance teams have a new paradigm and how this affects us in sales.
For some that have sold to CFOs before, it’s nothing too new. But even still - it seems like our pencils have to be as sharp as ever.
In this week’s edition of Stretch Weekly -
Andy Byrne spoke with 20+ CEOs and CFOs about the recession and put together his list of common themes
David Svigel on selling to the CFO and how to best structure your process to make an impact
Plus - financially sound snippets on the best way to make an impact with CFOs in today’s climate.
THANKS for reading!!
-Grant
And lastly - as always, if you find this newsletter valuable- subscribe or share it with someone who might as well 👊.
STRETCH SHARES
Common Themes When Selling to CFOs
I found this post from Andy Byrne - CEO of Clari, pretty insightful considering the environment we are all in these days.
Andy spoke with 20+ CEOs and CFOs about the recession last week and put together his list of common themes:
Every single deal is hard fought
Churn and retention are getting more attention than new logo ARR
There’s record-high pushed deals (even “blood commits”)
Teams who did hit their number, didn’t know *how* they got there
Everyone is searching for ways to better align their teams
Spend is down — but only in certain parts of the org. They’re actually increasing their investment in revenue processes, tech, and in some cases, headcount.
Because they’re realizing revenue is the most important process in their business. Everything else can wait.
5 Steps to Sell to the CFO
Came across this piece from David Svigel on selling to the CFO and how to best structure your process to make an impact.
Selling successfully to financial executives requires a focused approach that illustrates your solution’s bottom-line impact. By the time your deal crosses the CFO’s desk, it should be abundantly and persuasively clear that your solution is a good fit for the business. The only questions to be considered at this point are why invest and why now.
Here are five actions you can take to help drive a favorable decision. Show the size of the problem.
Use financial terms to present your solution’s value.
Prove your solution’s value.
Show your work.
Balance positives and negatives.
STRETCH SNIPPETS
Nate Nasralla put together an amazingly thorough slide deck that shows why Finance teams don’t trust the numbers you’re presenting, and how sales reps can talk numbers with a CFO like a pro. Hint: Projects, De-risking, and Expected Value.
I’ll say it again. If you’re not following Chris Orlob, start. He says While selling to CFOs- Quantifying problems is key. Check out this super tactical, real-life use case he broke down for us on LinkedIn.
Rick Smolen talks about the customer buying process and has a good tip to prevent deals from pushing each month. “Have your buyers answer the following question: What is your response going to be when the CFO asks why are we spending $X on this?” Build on that.
Charles Muhlbauer says CFOs care killing deals right now. They are looking at your offering costs and asking themselves if there is anything they can rip out to purchase this new solution. What can we as professional AEs do to weather this storm? Read on…
🧠 Mindset
Thanks for reading!
My hope is if you find this valuable, consider sharing it with friends (or signing up if you haven’t already).
— Grant 👋
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Compiled and aggregated from a network of sales leaders in SaaS, Stretch VP showcases learnings, insights, and experiences as well as best practices to overcome common hurdles, obstacles, and setbacks in your quest for excellence as a sales leader in SaaS.
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