Selling to CFOs: The Three Numbers That Open the Door
CFOs don't buy outcomes. They buy financial models. The three-number frame that gets you taken seriously by the most skeptical buyer in the room.
Selling to a CFO is not selling to a buyer. It's selling to a model. The CFO has already decided what good capital allocation looks like — your job is to fit inside it.
There are three numbers that get a CFO's attention. Master them and the rest of the room will follow the CFO's lead.
Number 1 — Payback period. Not ROI. Payback. How many months until they get their money back? Under 12 is interesting. Under 6 is urgent.
Number 2 — Risk-adjusted cost of inaction. What does it cost to do nothing, weighted by the probability it actually goes wrong? CFOs live in risk-adjusted numbers — speak the language.
Number 3 — Marginal cost of the next dollar. What does it cost the business to keep solving this problem the way they solve it today? If that number is growing, you have a deal.
Bring all three numbers to the meeting. Show your math. Let the CFO challenge it. The challenge is the buying signal.