Selling through a downturn for ​Sales Teams: 9 Tips from CFOS

Graycommit Insights

10 min read . Jul 10,2024

One thing that irritates CFOs is their budget control going out of ​their hand

1. Understand the CFO’s Perspective

CFOs have shifted their focus from investing in growth to getting the most out of ​existing investments. They think about potential investments in terms of budget ​neutrality, asking what the investment can replace in their existing plans. Sellers ​must craft strong business cases to appeal to this new perspective.

2. Tie Your Solution to Key Indicators

CFOs make decisions based on leading indicators such as revenue per sales rep, ​quota participation, churn rate, pipeline growth, sales cycle length, and layoff ​forecasts. Sellers need to convincingly demonstrate how their products positively ​impact these indicators in a short timeframe.

3. Frame Your Solution for CFO Priorities

CFOs care about reducing costs, growing revenue efficiently or predictably, ​mitigating risks, and improving customer and employee satisfaction. Sellers should ​create low-risk environments to prove their solution’s impact on these key areas, ​such as crafting trials or proofs-of-concept (POCs) that rely on smaller teams and ​shorter timeframes.

4. Involve the CFO at the Right Time

While CFOs are more involved in deals than ever, they don’t want to get involved ​unless absolutely necessary. Sellers can minimize CFO involvement by ensuring ​their team has done their homework, establishing the value of their solution and ​creating a strong business case before the CFO gets involved. Collaborating closely ​with champions to clear up questions and objections before CFO involvement is ​also crucial.

48%.

That’s the percentage of B2B tech salespeople who hit their quotas last year.

For reference, a normal year is closer to 70%.

Why was last year so low?

That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because of economic instability. There ​was the shock we all felt in the earliest weeks of COVID-19, there were about two ​years of unreasonably frothy economic activity, and there was the shock we all felt ​two years later, when pandemic restrictions started to ease.

That’s a lot of volatility. A lot of instability. A lot of reasons for CFOs, the people in ​charge of companies’ wallets, to be extra-careful.

In fact, according to our own research, we’ve found CFO involvement in deals has ​doubled since 2020.

For B2B tech sellers, what it means is a sales process that looks dramatically ​different from how it did just four or five years ago. Potential deals are getting more ​scrutiny and being held to higher standards than ever. Existing deals likewise.

Recently, Saastr and other software events had similar discussions in the software ​buyers space where the concerns were discussed among revenue teams.

5 THINGS SELLERS SHOULD KEEP IN MIND TO SELL WELL IN AN ECONOMIC ​DOWNTURN

1. Perspective change for CFO, "What do we need to invest in to grow?"to ​"How can we get the most out of our existing investments?"

CFOs are placing extra scrutiny on the return on investment (ROI) of current ​investments, renewals, and prospective investments. They are setting more definite ​plans and allowing for less deviation. When an area of potential investment arises, ​they think about it first from a perspective of budget neutrality: “What can this ​replace that we’ve already planned for?”

This puts more on the seller’s plate. They have to craft the strongest business cases ​possible (more on business cases below).

2. Identify how your solution could impact the leading indicator that CFOs ​care about

CFOs decide when to accelerate/decelerate investments according to a few main ​indicators:

• Revenue per sales rep
  
• Quota participation
  
• Churn rate
  
• Pipeline growth
  
• Sales cycle length
  
• Layoff forecasts
  

Sellers need to be able to convincingly and succinctly tie their products to these key ​indicators. Sellers also need to demonstrate that positive effects on these indicators ​will happen in a short timeframe — immediately, ideally, not many months in the ​future.

3. Frame your solution in terms of benefits that are attractive to CFOs.

Overall, CFOs care about four main things:

1. Can you reduce their costs?
   
2. Can you help them grow revenue more efficiently or predictably?
   
3. Can you mitigate the risks they’re up against?
   
4. Can you improve customer and/or employee satisfaction?
   

Depending on their industry, they may also care about regulatory compliance, and ​whether your solution will help them remain compliant (e.g., with higher, more ​provable data quality).

How can you, as a seller, create low-risk environments to prove your solution will ​deliver the results you promise? How can you craft trials and/or proofs-of-concept ​(POCs) that rely on smaller teams, in shorter timeframes, that demonstrate your ​impact on these key areas?

4. Know when to get your customers CFO involved.

Although CFOs have gotten more involved in deals than ever, the fact remains: ​Executives are strapped for time, and don’t want to get involved in deals unless they ​absolutely have to. This perspective was overwhelmingly shared by the panel.

You, the seller, can do a few things to minimize CFO involvement:

• Make sure your team has done their homework, established the value of your ​solution, and concocted a strong business case before the CFO gets involved
  
• Collaborate closely with your champion to clear up as many ​questions/objections as possible before CFO involvement
  
• Ask: Can we leverage an FP&A team or other business partner that understands ​what the CFO cares about? How well can we anticipate their needs before we ​make contact?
  

5. Building the best possible business case is more important than ever.

The success of deals hinges more than ever on the simplicity and reality of the ​business case. A few best practices to keep in mind when assembling business ​cases:

• Succinctness. Is your business case expressed in as succinct and easily ​understandable a way as possible? CFOs don’t want to waste time clarifying ​areas that don’t make immediate sense.
  
• Reality. Is your business case realistic? Does it reflect what the CFO knows ​about the business — e.g., are their data points, like current costs, reflected ​accurately?
  
• ROI commitment. What kind of ROI are you offering? If you promise that the ​CFO’s team will save 20% of their time, is the CFO willing to reduce new ​headcount by 20%? If not, productivity gains is not a compelling ROI offer.
  

We’re seeing a shift from B2B tech companies spending as aggressively as possible ​in the name of growth to as efficiently as possible in the name of continuity and ​efficiency. Sellers must reevaluate each element of their sales process in order to ​appeal to this new buyer perspective. Ultimately, they will emerge stronger sellers ​— better at assembling strong business cases, and better at anticipating buyer needs ​before they become objections.

So as your working your deals and your champions undoubtedly loop in their CFOs, ​keep these tips in mind. To make it even easier for you we’ve put together blogs ​here.

What are some examples of low-risk environments to prove my solution’s ​impact?

Proving Your Solution’s Impact in Low-Risk Environments

Based on the search results, here are some examples of low-risk environments you ​can use to prove the impact of your solution:Trials and Proofs-of-Concept (POCs)

• Conduct trials or POCs that rely on smaller teams and shorter timeframes to ​demonstrate the impact of your solution. This allows you to prove the value ​quickly without requiring a large-scale deployment.
  
• For example, you could set up a trial with a small group of users to show how ​your solution can improve a key indicator like sales cycle length or quota ​participation.
  

Controlled Environments

• Test your solution in controlled environments that mimic the customer’s real-​world conditions, but on a smaller scale.
  
• This could involve setting up a test environment with similar data, workflows, ​and systems to the customer’s, but with a limited number of users or a shorter ​duration.
  
• The controlled nature of this environment allows you to isolate the impact of ​your solution and provide concrete evidence to the CFO.
  

Simulations and Modeling

• Use simulations or modeling techniques to project the impact of your solution ​on the customer’s business metrics.
  
• This allows you to demonstrate the potential ROI without requiring a full ​deployment, which can be appealing to risk-averse CFOs.
  
• For example, you could build a financial model to show how your solution ​could reduce costs or increase revenue based on the customer’s data and ​business goals.
  

Pilot Programs

• Implement a pilot program with the customer that starts small and gradually ​scales up as you prove the value of your solution.
  
• This stepwise approach allows the customer to validate the impact in a low-risk ​manner before committing to a larger deployment.
  
• Pilot programs can focus on specific use cases or departments to demonstrate ​the solution’s effectiveness before expanding it across the organization.
  

The key is to create environments that allow you to quickly and cost-effectively ​prove the impact of your solution on the metrics and priorities that matter most to ​the CFO, such as revenue, costs, risk mitigation, and customer/employee ​satisfaction. By taking this approach, you can build a strong business case and ​minimize the CFO’s involvement until you have established the value of your ​offering.

How can I identify low-risk environments within my current client base?

Identifying Low-Risk Environments Within Your Current Client Base

Based on the additional information provided, here are some ways you can identify ​low-risk environments within your current client base to prove the impact of your ​solution:Analyze Current Usage and Engagement

• Review how your existing clients are currently using your solution. Look for ​clients who are highly engaged and seeing positive results.
  
• These clients may be more open to expanding their usage or trying new features ​in a low-risk manner, as they’ve already seen the value of your offering.
  

Assess Organizational Structure and Dynamics

• Understand the decision-making processes and risk tolerance of your clients. ​Identify clients with a CFO or finance team that is more open to trying new ​solutions.
  
• Look for clients with a culture of innovation or a willingness to experiment, as ​they may be more receptive to low-risk pilots or POCs.
  

Identify Specific Use Cases or Departments

• Pinpoint areas within your client’s organization where your solution could have ​the greatest impact on the metrics that matter most to the CFO.
  
• These could be departments or teams that are struggling with issues like sales ​productivity, revenue growth, or customer churn that your solution could ​address.
  

Leverage Existing Champions

• Work closely with your champions within the client organization to identify the ​best opportunities for low-risk deployments.
  
• Your champions can provide valuable insights into the client’s priorities, ​decision-making process, and areas where your solution could have the most ​immediate impact.
  

Propose Phased Rollouts

• Suggest a phased approach to implementing your solution, starting with a ​small-scale pilot or POC before gradually expanding.
  
• This allows the client to validate the value of your offering in a low-risk manner ​before committing to a larger-scale deployment.
  

By analyzing your current client base and identifying the right opportunities, you ​can create low-risk environments to prove the impact of your solution. This will ​help you build a stronger business case and minimize the CFO’s involvement until ​you’ve demonstrated the tangible benefits of your offering.

In summary, the shift from aggressive spending for growth to efficient spending for ​continuity and efficiency requires sellers to reevaluate their sales process. By ​keeping these tips in mind and focusing on building strong business cases, sellers ​can adapt to the new buyer perspective and emerge as stronger, more effective ​sales professionals.