Selling to the CFO with Michael Cremen

In this episode of The Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan dive deep into the critical role of the CFO in sales deals, especially in uncertain times. Michael Cremen joined us when he was the CSO of Elastic. The discussion revolves around the importance of understanding and addressing the CFO factor, failing fast, and asking the hard questions. The episode provides valuable insights for sales professionals on navigating financial implications, engaging champions effectively, and using strategic language to secure deals.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[00:00:36] Competing Beyond Competitors: Salespeople must recognize they're not just competing against direct competitors but against all the other potential investments the CFO could make.
[00:01:44] Stacking Up Against Priorities: The real competition lies in how your cost justification compares to all the other initiatives the CFO is juggling.
[00:03:24] The Timing Dilemma: Discussion on whether to go early and seek advice or go late and face critique from CFOs. Emphasis on the importance of early engagement and seeking guidance before formal proposals.
[00:05:08] Champion Dynamics: The significance of going with a champion and the potential pitfalls of leaving them out of crucial conversations with CFOs.
[00:07:36] Strategic Language: The hosts and Michael Kremen discuss the importance of using precise language that conveys the value proposition and justifies the presence of the sales team at the CFO level.
[00:09:28] Embracing Paranoia: Encouragement for sales teams to be paranoid and vigilant, especially when dealing with high-stakes deals and engaging CFOs.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:08:18] "The best sales teams on the planet are paranoid, like viciously paranoid. If you think it's going to sail through and everything's fine, be careful, be paranoid."
[00:10:09] "People rarely argue with their own conclusions. When you ask them to walk you through a scenario and they realize that they've just answered the question, it just makes it a lot easier."
[00:11:38] "It needs to be in their language, in their parameters. If you're forcing your goals, the way you read things, the way you're measured onto your customers, they don't understand it."

Listen to the full episode with Michael Cremen through this link:
https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/connecting-to-value-with-michael-cremen

Check out John McMahon’s book here:
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4

Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here:  https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/