Selling to a CFO
What a CFO owns, how they're measured, the signals that make one open to outside help, and how a services seller should open the conversation.
3 min read
Blog
The Stage 1 blog Page 17
How services firms find accounts getting ready to buy, get in through people they know, and open conversations worth having. Written by Kevin French.
The first 90 days of a new CIO are your window
A new CIO's first 90 days are the strongest window in services sales. Here's why it opens, how fast it closes, and what to send first.
3 min readWhen they say send me some information
What "send me some information" usually means from a senior buyer, the reply that turns it into a real conversation, and the brochure mistake to avoid.
3 min readWhy quick question kills your email
The "quick question" subject line and opener became a cold email cliche. Here's why senior buyers ignore it and what to write in its place.
3 min readWhy a cost program needs outside help
When a company announces a cost program, the people inside are too busy to run it. That's why it's one of the strongest signals a services seller can track.
3 min readComp plans that reward Stage 1
How services firm leaders can build sales comp plans that pay for real first conversations with the right buyers, not just closed deals or raw activity.
3 min readOpeners senior buyers delete in two seconds
The first lines that get a cold note deleted by a senior buyer before the second sentence, why they fail, and what to write in their place.
3 min readAsking a client for an intro
How to ask a happy client for an introduction to a target buyer, when to make the ask, and how to write a note they can forward in one click.
3 min readSelling to health systems
How services firms sell into hospital and health systems, who really buys, the pressures they face, which signals matter, and an opener that lands.
3 min readThe ideal customer profile most firms skip
Services firms define their ideal customer by size and industry, then skip the part that predicts a deal. Here's the profile of the moment, not the company.
3 min readSelling to a CTO
What a CTO owns, what they're measured on, the signals that make one ready to buy services, and how to open a conversation they'll actually answer.
3 min readLayoff news and the services seller
How services sellers should read layoff news at a target account, when it points to outside help, and how to reach out without looking like a vulture.
3 min readFounder-led sales and when to hand it off
When a services firm founder should stop being the only seller, what to hand off first, and what the founder should keep doing for good.
3 min readWhy your cold email sounds like everyone else's
Cold email sounds generic when it starts with your firm. Research and a hypothesis about the buyer's problem make an opener sound like nobody else's.
3 min readHow to be usefully wrong
Why a specific wrong guess about a buyer's problem gets more real replies than a vague right one, and how to write a hypothesis worth correcting.
3 min readWhen they say there's no budget this year
What "there's no budget this year" usually means from a senior buyer, the reply that keeps the door open, and the mistakes that close it for good.
3 min readTiering accounts without overthinking it
Account tiering doesn't need a scoring model. Here's a simple way to sort target accounts into tiers by fit and signals, and keep the list moving.
3 min readSelling to credit unions
How to sell services into credit unions. Who decides, the member and margin pressures they face, the signals that matter and an opener that fits.
3 min read