I agree there’s much more to the message than the money. That said, the level of ignorance among sales reps regarding financial analysis is, well, staggering. That means there’s a HUGE opportunity for the few.

Understanding and speaking $$$ opens the door to the CFO’s office. The insights gained and intelligence available there are GOLD. Plus, many a decision-making executive is uncomfortable with financial lingo positioning the $$$-savvy rep extremely well.

Todd

You wont’ get any push back from me on the importance of selling financial value, however the sale can be motivated by more than just the finances.

Sometimes the financial return is just too difficult to measure. Customer experience investments are an example. I wrote about this a while back, in reference to a Vail investment. “The Problem with ROI” http://asalesguy.com/2009/12/23/the-problem-with-roi/

good stuff, just not always so black and white.