ZVRK

Enterprise Account Executive

Valued Contributor

Directly approaching CFOs - A great move or a risky gamble?

Fellow Savages, I'm seeking your wisdom on a new approach my team is considering :)

Our enterprise SaaS solution outperforms several big players in the market, functionally speaking. Due to our competitive pricing model, we can save customers switching to us a significant amount (30-70% off their current ACV).

Given the current economic climate, my SDR team and I are contemplating engaging CFOs directly with a concise message (LinkedIn, cold email, cold call) highlighting immediate cost reduction without sacrificing functionality or service quality.

Our solution typically doesn't involve CFOs, and our ICP targets organizations with 3,000+ employees. Do you think a CFO would be intrigued enough by our proposal to refer us to the relevant LOB for further exploration?

I'm open to all suggestions and experiences.

Thank you!

🔎 Prospecting

12

25 comments

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poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

5

☕️

CFOs make all money decisions right now, so why not go go then first to get the wallet before you go through tech and security reviews?

Do it.

ZVRK

Politicker

2

Enterprise Account Executive

Yup, were thinking the same thing. The question remains though - what`s the best way to go about this?

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

1

☕️

Well, do you have a list of competitor customers that you can go to with a specific savings value prop?

ZVRK

Politicker

0

Enterprise Account Executive

We do yes, we`ll be working on the messaging this week and launch the campaigns next week. However, it`s not a huge list and CFOs are, well not that many :) That`s why I`m stressing over the actual message and how it will be received.. No second chance for a first impression in Enterprise SaaS LOL

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

My thought exactly. I don't think it can hurt, and in fact, could even be very much appreciated by the CFO.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

1

🦊

You gotta risk it to get the biscuit.

Maximas

Tycoon

2

Senior Sales Executive

Yeah,go for it NP,they'll really like it for saving some cash!

ZVRK

Politicker

0

Enterprise Account Executive

I sure hope so :)

sketchysales

Politicker

2

Sales Manager

My MO in sales is this:
Always always always start at the very top.

I hate the bottom up sales approach. Hit the people at the very top with the power to make the decisions, cut the crap and save time and money for everyone.

Don't be scared to do it.

ZVRK

Politicker

0

Enterprise Account Executive

A great MO for sure, what space are you in btw? Asking because in my space (hr tech) I’ve never developed an opportunity like that (chro-down). VP HR, SVPs , HRIT director… first meeting’s always at that level, however, it’s always the CHRO decision(from the LOB side) that matters at the end. I’ve had a few deals stalled because of their uncertainty so far..

RandyLahey

Politicker

2

Account Executive

This is the ultimate risk reward play. I say DO IT...

ZVRK

Politicker

1

Enterprise Account Executive

Lol, if it works with even two of these large enterprises, there goes my annual quota, ultimate reward indeed 😀

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

1

Sales Rep

Love that movie!

detectivegibbles

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Initial thought is the CFO has no idea who to even refer you to in that big of an org.

Is your solution for a specific department?

If yes, go for the director of that department.

If no, who's it actually for?

ZVRK

Politicker

0

Enterprise Account Executive

Yeah, didn`t mention this in my post so as not to make it too long :)

Our buyers are the Hr/HRIT department. It will be pretty obvious to the CFO that they should refer us to them just by the nature of the solution.

The regular and proven way, is to go through the HR department, build the internal champion, go through the rounds of demos, discussions and workshops, and in an average cycle of 6 months reach a final decision which is always at the end approved by the CFO.

What we`re looking to do, is get the CFO`s attention here early on, and cut some of the sales cycle :)

detectivegibbles

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Love the hack.

What are you thinking for the cold email to the CFO language wise?

I'd probably make 2/3 various cold emails, pull a list of CFO's and send out.

See what emails get best response and then go gang busters.

ZVRK

Politicker

0

Enterprise Account Executive

Several drafts with the SDR team for now, I`ll come back tomorrow with some of them in the chat here :)

ZVRK

Politicker

0

Enterprise Account Executive

we`ll have to test a few copies, although, whatever email I read out load it seems to sales-y and marketing-y when I know a CFO will be reading it .. it`s a first for me, I`ve never sold to a CFO. CHROs, CIOs, CEO even - sure, never CFOs...

braintank

Politicker

1

Enterprise Account Executive

Make sure you're factoring cost to switch into your message.

Sometimes it's cheaper to stay with the tool that everyone is trained on and is ingrained into processes.

ZVRK

Politicker

0

Enterprise Account Executive

Good point, ill try to squeeze this in, hoping to make the message super short though.

AnchorPoint

Politicker

1

Business Coach

Shoot at the highest level that actually makes decisions... even if they do not get involved in the process - they can refer you to them. CLevel are focused on profit where others are more concerned with process.... and change...

Diablo

Politicker

1

Sr. AE

You will not know until you try. Good luck

Justatitle

Big Shot

1

Account Executive

Worth experimenting with, only advice I would offer is that CFOs are constantly being told software is going to be saving them money so how are you going to differentiate yourself from the others?

ZVRK

Politicker

1

Enterprise Account Executive

It’s pretty straightforward in our case, we just have a more favorable pricing model with no hidden costs, if they are willing to read a two sentence message they should be able to “get it” right away.

LeadMachine

Opinionated

0

Sr. BDR

Depends on what you want totalk with them about

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