Hey Reader,

(Missed the previous lessons? Catch up here: Lesson 1 & Lesson 2)

You know that awful feeling when you're on a sales call, pitching your services, and you can literally see the prospect shaking their head?

Yeah... we've all been there.

I used to think success in sales was about convincing people how amazing my firm was. "You'll love working with us!" I'd say. "We'll do an incredible job!"

But here's the thing - no matter how enthusiastic I was, some prospects just weren't buying it. And it wasn't because our services weren't good. It was because I was approaching sales completely wrong.

Everything changed when I had a painful experience.

Literally.

But before I tell you about this, here's the video for today's lesson:

Watch the Full Tutorial on How To Pitch Your Leads

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I woke up one morning with this intense pain in my ribs. So I did what any sensible person would do - I went to see a doctor.

But here's what fascinated me: The doctor didn't walk in and immediately say, "I'm amazing at fixing ribs! You'll love working with me! Trust me!"

Instead, the process looked like this:

1. Before I even saw the doctor, I filled out forms about my medical history
2. A nurse took my vitals and asked preliminary questions
3. By the time the doctor saw me, she already had a wealth of information
4. But she still asked more questions:
   • "Describe the pain"
   • "How exactly did it happen?"
   • "Does it hurt when I press here?"

Only after gathering ALL this information did she start educating me: "It sounds like muscle irritation. Good news - you haven't cracked a rib..."

That's when it hit me - this is exactly how we should be selling CFO services.

Instead of jumping straight to "here's why we're great," we need to:

Before any sales call, I now:

• Research their company thoroughly
• Connect with them on LinkedIn
• Study their team structure
• Look into their tools and systems
• Understand their industry challenges

• Who's currently handling your finance function?
• What tools are you using?
• Where do you feel you need help?
• What are your plans for the future?
• What happens if you don't solve these issues?

Here's a real example: When a prospect tells me they're paying vendors via wire transfers from their bank, I explain how an accounts payable tool could streamline their process with approvals and one-click payments.

The goal? Get them to say those magic words: "Huh, I never knew that."

Only after steps 1-3 do I present solutions. By this point, I might even identify problems they didn't know they had. And because I've taken the time to understand, educate, and diagnose, presenting our services feels natural, not pushy.

Will this approach get you a 100% close rate? No. (My close rate is around 20%, and I'm constantly working to improve it.)

But here's what it will do:

• Build trust through expertise
• Position you as a consultant, not a salesperson
• Make your solutions feel tailored, not generic
• Create clients who stay longer because they were sold correctly

In our next lesson, I'll show you exactly how to package and price your services. But for now, I want you to try something:

Before your next sales call, write down 5 diagnostic questions you'll ask. Questions that will help you truly understand their business, not just qualify them as a prospect.

Reply to this email with your questions - I'd love to help you refine them.

Talk soon,

Josh
Your CFO Guy

P.S. - That rib pain? Turned out to be just muscle irritation. But the sales lesson was worth every bit of discomfort! 😅

Josh (Your CFO Guy) ​Fractional CFO for Startups | Founder & CEO at Mighty Digits NEW YORK United States of America ​ This email is part of a special series dedicated to my upcoming workshop. To unsubscribe from all emails related to this series, click here. ​Looking to change the frequency of emails, or unsubscribe? ​​Click here to manage your preferences​ ​​Unsubscribe me from everything​

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