WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:03.720 If something's getting in front of the CFO or someone on their team, if 2 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:08.759 it doesn't speak to the business issues at the revenue cost risk level, you've 3 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:16.760 got some work to do. You're listening to the Audible Ready Podcast, the 4 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:21.640 show that helps you and your teams sell more faster. We'll feature sales leaders 5 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:25.199 sharing their best insights on how to create a sales engine that helps you fuel 6 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:29.760 repeatable revenue growth. Presented by the team at Force Management, a leader in 7 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:35.200 B to B sales effectiveness. Let's get started. Hello, and welcome to 8 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:39.799 the Audible Ready Sales Podcast. I'm Rachel klep Miller. Today we're going to 9 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:45.840 talk about making your case to the CFO, selling to the chief financial officer 10 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:49.880 the finance office. Some of us may be in a situation where we are 11 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:54.320 finding ourselves having to make that investment case to this type of role more and 12 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.560 more, and perhaps when the budgets weren't as tight, we never had to 13 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:00.560 do this. So Brian Lasher is going to join me today to break this 14 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:03.959 down and talk through some things to think about when you're meeting with finance. 15 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:10.239 Hi. Brian, Hello, Rachel, Hello, Hello, great topic today, 16 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:15.120 So let's just start. Brian with scrutiny on spending, we are likely 17 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.560 more aware of the influence of CFO has on our opportunities. Some may say 18 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:22.719 we should have been there all the time, but regardless, let's start with 19 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:27.480 this persona and the key things we need to remember about what they care about. 20 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:32.359 Okay, so finance one on one, right, everybody knows that the 21 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:36.599 CFO and the people that work in that part of the organization, or we 22 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:41.799 should know. You know, these folks care about the overall financial health of 23 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:45.560 the organization. That is what they're chartered with. It's cash flow, it's 24 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:49.200 financial planning. The CFO themselves or the persons sitting in a sea like that 25 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:55.120 is typically going to be a strategic advisor to the CEO and the board. 26 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:59.079 So I think we've got to remind ourselves just of you know, put ourselves 27 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:04.000 in that headspace for a minute. It because our thing, our proposal, 28 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.360 our recommendation for this organization that we're working with, is one of a million 29 00:02:07.479 --> 00:02:13.759 things that's on this person or this group's desk, and many of those things 30 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:17.840 that are on their desk probably have a higher consequential value to the organization. 31 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:23.360 That's just the reality. Now, with that in mind, I think you 32 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:28.639 have to assume, and let's talk about this collectively, whether it's the CFO 33 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.360 or the rest of the organization. Right, Like, we're not just talking 34 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:34.159 about one person. We could be talking about multiple people, right, depending 35 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:38.879 on the size and the complexity of an organization. But I'll continue to use 36 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:43.120 it in the singular. Rate this person, you have to assume that they're 37 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:47.560 going to spend probably less time, not more, on whatever we are putting 38 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:53.360 in front of them for consideration, right unless that thing that we're about to 39 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:58.039 put in front of them meets some sort of threshold of strategic value or importance 40 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:00.960 to the business. So I think that's first quest she got to ask yourself, 41 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:04.319 Hey, is what I'm about to put in front of this person of 42 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:08.800 strategic value or compare to all the other things that they're thinking about. I 43 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:13.680 mean, imagine selling to one of the big three automakers right now, right 44 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:17.479 Like, whatever you're selling, it's probably down the list, right So if 45 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:22.159 it doesn't meet that threshold of strategic value, there's still a good chance it's 46 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:25.080 getting in front of them, So it better jump off the page pretty quickly. 47 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.400 Like the things that they care about, which I know we're going to 48 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:31.879 talk about if it does meet that level of strategic value, because for some 49 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:37.800 deals we are strategically high high, high level important, well then it better 50 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:42.199 not just jump off the page, but it better stand up to some pretty 51 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:46.719 rigorous review, right. And in either case, if it doesn't attach to 52 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:53.439 revenue cost or strategic business risk, then your proposal is probably going to end 53 00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:00.039 up in the wrong pile because the threshold has come way down on what's coming 54 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:04.560 across their desk in terms of spend. I've validated this with every CFO and 55 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:09.280 CEO that I've talked to in the last twelve months. They're all looking at 56 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:13.360 smaller spends than they used to, and they're looking at them with a much 57 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:15.439 more rigorous point of view. So I think that's a good starting point. 58 00:04:15.519 --> 00:04:19.879 Come on, Mike, Yeah, correct, that's the nuts symbol of this 59 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:25.560 persona, and we're calling this persona the CFO. It might beat somebody with 60 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:30.079 a different title in your organization lower if you're selling to large organizations. But 61 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:36.839 we talk frequently about aligning your value and differentiation to the required capabilities for your 62 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:43.160 buyer as it relates to various buyer personas. So we've talked about implementation we 63 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:46.519 talk about the economic buyer, we talked about the technical buyer. All important, 64 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:48.759 right, getting to that collective. Yes, that concept, but it's 65 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:53.639 also something you need to consider for the CFO. And you kind of mentioned 66 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:58.000 there when we're talking about the PERSONA. Talk about this level setting that you 67 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:00.600 did on this PERSONA. Let's talk about that and how you're coaching reps right 68 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:04.319 now to pull that point of view together in their deals as it relates to 69 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:09.399 value differentiation required capabilities all that. Yeah, great point. So well, 70 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:12.000 in my mind, it does go back to what we were just mentioning, 71 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.360 right, the CFO in this case, they care about the most effective and 72 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:20.079 efficient use of resources, right, which includes time, people, and money. 73 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.920 Now, specifically for the CFO, it's the money, right, it's 74 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:29.000 the cash. Like they typically will count on other leaders in the organization to 75 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:33.639 determine whether or not this thing that they're thinking about doing, whether or not 76 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:38.079 that they have the resources available and the time to get it done right and 77 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:42.480 that those are a good investment. But it's the finance organization that's often going 78 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:46.839 to have a heavy voice in whether or not this is the most effective and 79 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:49.360 efficient use of some of their cash. Right. So with that in mind. 80 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:53.959 Here's the coaching, your recommendations, your proposal, whatever it is you're 81 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:58.680 about to put in front of someone. You've got to help the CFO easily 82 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:03.839 answer the file questions. There's three questions. The first question is kind of 83 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:09.040 two parts, right. The first question is for the CFO, why would 84 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:12.560 we do this project now for the business right or set a different way? 85 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:15.920 What are the tangible business outcomes? Right? The problems that we're going to 86 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:20.759 solve and avoid and the outcomes achieved. That's for the business. That's the 87 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:26.759 first question. The second question is, well, how long is it going 88 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:30.360 to take us to achieve those outcomes? Because there's a payback period associated with 89 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:33.360 how long is it going to take to solve the problem or to stop the 90 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:36.639 bleeding or to ensure there isn't any other bleeding? And how long is it 91 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:41.279 going to take to get to those potential outcomes for the business. And then, 92 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:43.959 last, but not least, and maybe most important, like it's the 93 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.839 thing that often will push something over the edge, is well, how sure 94 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:51.639 are we that we can actually achieve these outcomes? So your ability to give 95 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:58.759 them the answers to those three questions upfront is really really critical because those three 96 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:03.680 questions are what CFO are asking themselves consciously or subconsciously. And again I mentioned 97 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:08.000 this earlier. I have been validating this for the last twelve fourteen months since 98 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:13.720 we've seen the economy shift right and the macro that everybody's dealing with. So 99 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.879 my question is to a seller from a coaching perspective, is what are you 100 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:23.040 doing to help the CFO and their team? Often people that we will have 101 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:26.439 less access to, but their team will have more access to. Right, 102 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:30.040 I'm typically dealing with people below the CFO. Most of us are not getting 103 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:31.439 a lot of access to the pafos. That's the reality of the world. 104 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:36.120 So what are we doing to help the cfo's team answer those questions so that 105 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:39.439 when they get in front of the CFO, they're much more ready for the 106 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:43.800 conversation. Let's make this clear for those of people listening. Are we saying 107 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:46.360 change the business conversation for the CFO? We're nuancing it? What are what 108 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.560 are we doing here? Yeah? I don't necessarily think that you have to 109 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:53.439 change it, but I like your word nuance right, But you have the 110 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:57.199 nuances right, So I think it does have to be very direct and pointed 111 00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:00.480 to those three questions that we just asked. CFOs don't have a lot of 112 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:05.000 time. Look, there are only two outcomes if you don't do this well. 113 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:09.839 Whether you're the one in front of the CFO, or other people are 114 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:13.439 getting in front of the CFO, or other people in the customers organization are 115 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.920 going to the CFO on our behalf, there are only two outcomes. I 116 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:20.600 guarantee that there are only two outcomes when we take this recommendation, this proposal, 117 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:26.040 whatever it is, to the CFO. If we can't answer these questions, 118 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:28.920 one or two things is going to happen. The downside option is that 119 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:35.519 your deal dies right the CFO or somebody just kills it because they can't answer 120 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:37.720 these questions and they don't have the time or the patients to deal with it. 121 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.000 They got a big pile of really critical stuff they got to deal with. 122 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:46.519 That's the worst case scenario. The best case scenario, when the CFO 123 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:50.000 can't easily answer these questions for themselves with what's in front of them or who's 124 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:54.519 ever presenting it, is that they send their team off on some sort of 125 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:58.720 fishing expedition or hunting mission to go get the answers to a bunch of questions 126 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:03.120 and now think about what that does. That creates a brand new set of 127 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:07.519 meetings and actions, et cetera, which typically at best loves deals down and 128 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:13.879 time kills deals. Yep. Right, So I think that's I love your 129 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:18.200 word nuance. But it all goes back to that initial comment. If something's 130 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.320 getting in front of the CFO or someone on their team, if it doesn't 131 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:26.000 speak to the business issues at the revenue cost risk level, if it doesn't 132 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:28.639 speak to the what's it going to solve for? How fast is it going 133 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.519 to solve it? And how sure are we that we can get to those 134 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:35.960 outcomes? You've got some work to do. Yes, So you mentioned Brian 135 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:39.600 that we're not always going to have access to the CFO. Right, It's 136 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:43.919 not like they're sitting there with an open calendar invite. And let's dig into 137 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:48.559 that a little bit. Do we really push to get access? Are we 138 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:52.240 focusing our attention on equipping others they are champion to help make that case? 139 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:56.120 What's worked well when you don't have the direct line. I hear you saying 140 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:01.080 a lot of things about if I were to sum it up, click message 141 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:03.960 as it relates to what's important to that and making sure that message is clear 142 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:09.080 so it can travel. But what's worked well, when you're equipping a champion, 143 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:11.559 you don't have access to the CFO to make that case. Well, 144 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:15.519 I'm glad you brought this up. I think it's important that we're just honest 145 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:18.960 with ourselves. CFOs are not sitting at their desks anxiously with waiting our phone 146 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:22.960 costs. Right, everybody knows it. Nobody wants to say it, but 147 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:28.480 everybody knows it. So I think we have got to learn about how the 148 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:33.799 organizations we work with make decisions, how the CFO and other executives run buying 149 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:39.879 decisions, and where in their organizations do people typically have formal authority and where 150 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:43.200 and who has informal authority. I think this is a really important skill set 151 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.960 for a seller, and this is one of the big reasons why, because 152 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.720 we're not always going to get access to everybody, especially the higher up in 153 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:54.399 the organization. Right. And by the way, I think developing the leveragy 154 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.000 champions is a great strategy, but that too, in and of itself, 155 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.799 is also difficult. Right. I think you've got to be willing to listen 156 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:05.600 to others like coaches. Right, I think you've got to be willing to 157 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:11.919 think about triangulating the truth. I meet with multiple people, I have similar 158 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:16.600 conversations, so I can look for common data points and start to realize that, 159 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.039 oh, Rachel, this person she really understands and gets it, and 160 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.559 what she says lines up with but this person over here, there's something going 161 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:26.519 on. I get different answers, like I can get back in a room 162 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:31.200 and really think about how these puzzle pieces go together. I do think, 163 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:35.600 however, that maybe the most important skills set I was just starting to poke 164 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:39.600 at this a second ago. I think there's something that you know, I'm 165 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:45.320 pretty passionate about that is really critical here. It's this idea of having a 166 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:50.919 solid point of view of buying cycles that you are involved in and the key 167 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:58.679 players, because knowing who's going to be a part of the conversation because of 168 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.799 your other experiences in the marketplace that you serve one makes it easier to educate 169 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:09.799 the people you're in front of and lay a path to access to others that 170 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:16.279 most sellers don't normally get. Because most sellers are asking the question throughout the 171 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:20.159 buying cycle, especially early on as they meet people, Hey, what's your 172 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:24.679 decision process? And they're asking you that question to people who probably don't really 173 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:28.039 know what it is. They might know some part of it, but they 174 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:31.840 don't know the whole thing. I mean, think about it like whatever I 175 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:35.559 do for a living, whatever I represent, whatever I sell, I'm in 176 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.279 that conversation all day every day. The person I happen to be in front 177 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:43.240 of right now is in that conversation for a very short period of time. 178 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:46.720 They don't buy every day, they don't buy our stuff every day, et 179 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:50.919 cetera, et cetera. So being able to go on the offense with a 180 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:56.720 point of view from the moment you enter and help people identify who's important and 181 00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:58.960 who's going to have a voice, whether or not I ever get access to 182 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.879 those people are not well actually start to give me a chance of getting more 183 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:07.080 access to the host people. Right. So, at a minimum, this 184 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:09.200 point of view helps you educate who you're in front of. That Hey, 185 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:13.360 I understand Rachel, that you are one of many. Obviously I'm going to 186 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:16.159 honor that, but I also know that there's value and you and I getting 187 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:20.440 to those other people to understand their point of view. But the second thing 188 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:24.720 does is it helps you message why access to those other people and their point 189 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:28.399 of view should matter to you. It's funny I when I coach people and 190 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:31.360 then we talk about this, they talk about it. Yeah, I got 191 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:33.120 to get I'm working with someone named Rachel, and I got to get to 192 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:37.919 Rachel's boss, Grant, and I'll say, Okay, explain to me how 193 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:41.440 you're going to ask for that, and they always do this. They give 194 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:43.639 me this, Well, Rachel, you need to let me meet with Grant 195 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:48.399 so that I can. And when they've done, I say, well, 196 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:52.720 who is that? Ask all about was about the seller? And my response 197 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:56.039 to that is, well, why wouldn't that ask me about why Rachel should 198 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:58.720 take you to Grant? What's in it for her and what's in it for 199 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:03.759 Grant and seeing you their value is not about you, It's about what am 200 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:07.879 I giving to you? Right? And then third, but maybe most importantly, 201 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:11.559 especially in this situation, when we're not often the one who's getting the 202 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:15.879 access to the CFO or the people in that part of the organization, it 203 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:20.840 helps these people that I do have access to more effectively message when I'm not 204 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:24.960 in the room. So yes, we can talk about using executives on your 205 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:28.200 team to help you get access to executives on the customer's team and all of 206 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.120 those other grand ideas. I think that's really good. All of that, 207 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:35.440 it's all good. Or I think as a seller for the things that you 208 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:41.960 can do and the things that you can control, this knowledge and this well 209 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:46.120 thought out point of view on who the other players in the customers organization are 210 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:52.279 and why their points of view matter is your best chance to either getting to 211 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:56.840 people who were higher up like the CFO, or at least ensuring that when 212 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:01.120 people get there on your behalf, they're in a much better position to message 213 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:07.519 in a way that the CFO cares about. That's some great points in that 214 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:09.799 segment that you just did, Brian. I think those are really important points 215 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.440 for us to remember. Those of you are listening can't see, but Brian 216 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:22.279 is shaking his fists in happy advancing. One other topic I wanted to bring 217 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:24.480 up. When you make your case right, how does it matter to that 218 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.320 matters them? Right? It's not about you, It's about them and their 219 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:31.799 outcomes. And it reminds me of the recent episode we did with Tim Cato. 220 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:37.480 You're calling on multiple options and branding those as it relates to the outcomes. 221 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:41.960 You're trying to drive for them the outcomes they're trying to achieve. Using 222 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:46.519 these right, can be really effective in your negotiations. But I'm seeing also 223 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:52.679 how they can really benefit you with the CFO. Yeah. So, first 224 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:54.080 of all, I just have to give a plug for this. If you 225 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:58.000 haven't listened to that podcast, that strongly suggests you do, because I think 226 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:04.639 Tim's point of view that he has helped our firm develop on negotiation and the 227 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:11.399 power of multiple options when done in a way that is customer focused, is 228 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:18.360 really some amazingly great content that is so far past the simple word negotiation. 229 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:23.080 It is so it's so good, so valuable. But in the case of 230 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:30.879 a CFAIL, if I and the people I do have access to can develop 231 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:36.559 two or three options, all of which would be really good positive outcomes for 232 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:41.879 the customer, I mean, who doesn't like choices? Right? And So 233 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:47.240 now what I'm doing is I am helping my customer team make the cfo's decision 234 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:51.559 that much easier because now one of two things are likely to happen. The 235 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:55.759 CFO is potentially likely to look at two or three options and say to the 236 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:59.360 team, oh, you've actually thought through this at multiple levels. Right, 237 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:02.639 we could go for the whole thing right now, and here's the outcomes and 238 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:04.720 the value that that creates for us. Or we could do some sort of 239 00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:08.519 crawl walk run approach. I'm just doing this in the moment, right, 240 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:12.319 and here's the business value for us short term versus long term. So now 241 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:15.920 the CFO is thinking, oh, this group has done their homework. That's 242 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:22.440 the first thing, and a may choose one of those options and or allow 243 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.720 the team to more readily choose. Right, A lot of things happen. 244 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:29.480 You're not putting the CFO in a box of this is what we should do. 245 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:30.799 This is the one thing. This is our only option. Right. 246 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:34.240 The second thing, and I think this is something else to remember, is 247 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:38.400 when a CFO sees two or three options, the other thing that could potentially 248 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.640 start to happen is they may not choose one of them, but they may 249 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:44.599 start to say to the team, well, you know, it's interesting. 250 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:48.640 I like a lot of the stuff in option two, but there's a couple 251 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:51.119 of things over here an option one that I think we would want to have 252 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:52.519 if we get option two. Is there a way to do that? So 253 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:59.079 now the CFO is actively engaged in helping craft a solution out of those two 254 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:02.359 options, that makes the most sense in their mind. So I think your 255 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:06.400 tie back to that episode, Rachel is spot on. It's really well thought 256 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:08.839 out, and I would highly recommend people go back to that if they haven't 257 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:11.880 heard it because there's so much in there. Thank you, Brian, and 258 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:15.680 I'll make sure to link it in the show notes. Check that episode out 259 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:19.079 everyone. And it also goes to, as you said, the clarity of 260 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:22.319 message. Right, the CFO doesn't have enough time they want to see and 261 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:26.480 often the multiple options, although you should be kind of positioning them throughout your 262 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:32.240 negotiation process, as Tim would say, but the CFO might be looking at 263 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:33.880 them later and on in the process and you want to make sure that it's 264 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:38.039 really clear for them. Any final thoughts on this topic as we wrap up, 265 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:41.400 Brian, I think I would say, as I always like to say, 266 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:47.200 be realistic in your expectation to the access. So if that's true, 267 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:49.160 and we're going to be honest with ourselves and know that the higher up we 268 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:53.079 go on an organization, typically the amount of access we're going to get is 269 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:59.640 less right and fewer times, we have to be really ready so that when 270 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:03.680 we do get that access or someone tries to get us that access or has 271 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:07.519 to go there on our behalf. We can meet that person, in this 272 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:11.160 case the CFO where they live. And as I like to say, when 273 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:15.559 that piece of paper, hard copy or digital is in front of a CFO 274 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:23.160 representing our recommendations and our solutions, here's my ultimate question. Does that document, 275 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:26.440 by itself, with no one else in the room, have the ability 276 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:30.519 to jump off the page, grab the CFO by the shoulders and give them 277 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.680 a little bit of a shake and say, hey, CFO, you can't 278 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:37.519 afford to not do this right now. This is a really smart investment for 279 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:44.000 organization to solve for the following problems, to avoid additional issues, and most 280 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:48.359 importantly, drive for the following outcomes in a timeframe and in a way that 281 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:52.519 is sure. Just be honest with yourself. If it can't do that, 282 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:56.200 you got some work to do. That's my take. Here we go. 283 00:19:56.359 --> 00:19:59.640 Thank you Brian Walsh, thank you Rachel. All right, be sure to 284 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:03.279 check out the show notes for some additional resources on all the topics. Brian 285 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:07.839 mention, and thank you for listening to the Audible Ready Sales podcast. At 286 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:12.480 Force Management, we're focused on transforming sales organizations into elite teams. Our proven 287 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:18.960 methodologies deliver programs that build company alignment and fuel repeatable revenue growth. Give your 288 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:23.240 teams the ability to execute the growth strategy at the point of sale. Our 289 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:29.200 strength is our experience. The proof is in our results. Let's get started. 290 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:33.160 Visit us at forcemanagement dot com. You've been listening to the Audible Ready 291 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:37.160 podcast. To not miss an episode, subscribe to the show in your favorite 292 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:40.000 podcast player until next time.