Read time: 4:39 minutes 

In this edition, I'm going to share 3 non-obvious deliverables that your CFO clients desperately need. 

These deliverables will result in: 
• Closing more sales.
• Keeping clients around longer.
• Increased lifetime value of your clients.

A quick backstory: 

A few years ago, I met one of our clients IRL. During the meeting, he told me that my firm, KFE Solutions, does a great job delivering forecasts, projections, and insights. 

But he said those were FAR from the most valuable deliverables we brought to the table.

What did he value more than that? 

Our ability to provide: 
👉 Executive level leadership
👉 Executive level accountability
👉 Executive level decision making

I immediately took out a pen and paper, started asking questions, and took detailed notes. Because I realized the client was onto something. 

This was truly an eye opening conversation. Yes, the reporting was great (and required). But the leadership, accountability, and decision making were exponentially more valuable. Because no one else fills those roles. And clients are willing to pay a premium to get them.

Today, I'm going to break down each of these 3 essential deliverables and give you my perspectives on what they mean.

Before I get into the deets, I want to point out that each of these 3 deliverables starts with the words "executive level". This isn't accidental and it shouldn't be overlooked.

Let me explain: 
A lot of the business owners you'll work with don't have anyone else on their team serving at the "executive level". They don't have anyone thinking strategically, long term, or big picture. You know, "executive level"! 

As the fractional CFO (and a CEO in your own right!), you have a unique opportunity to stand with your clients as an executive level peer.

They need this.
They value this.
They will pay for this.

Because no one else is filling that role.

Let's dive in.

Executive Level Leadership

Let's start by first defining leadership. To me, leadership is simply the ability to motivate and inspire others to take action.

That said, the role of CEO can be a lonely one. It's normally the CEO's job to motivate and inspire everyone else. But the truth is, CEOs need leadership as well. And where exactly are they going to get that? 

As the fractional CFO, you have a unique opportunity to step into that role. You've seen behind the curtain and know what's really going on in the business. You also know what the CEO's goals are. And you have the financial understanding to know the mechanics of what needs to happen to get there.

Who else does your client have on their team that has all of these insights? 

Likely no one. 

You can pull from these and leverage them to really lead your client to do amazing things. 

Executive Level Accountability 

Let's be honest, you probably have an entire list of things you know you SHOULD have done by now in your firm! 

Things that would materially move your firm forward. Things that have likely left real money on the table.

Why not? 

Because you don't have anyone holding you accountable.

You don't have anyone that's going to call you out for not getting $hit done.

👉 And your clients are in the exact same boat!

As the fractional CFO, you are in a unique position to provide that accountability. 

You know where your clients are today.
You know where your clients are trying to go.
You know what they need to do to make it a reality.

👉 And your clients know that you know these things! 

Because you have the entire picture, your clients will allow you to step into that executive level accountability role. 

And they need you to do it - because no one else is willing or able to.

Executive Level Decision Making 

The CEO's you serve are likely making big decisions. Decisions with lots of 0's at the end of them.

As you know, making decisions at that level can be challenging. 

And without our help, clients will usually take 1 of 2 approaches: 
1️⃣ They'll cross their fingers, close their eyes, jump in, and hope that their decision pans out.
2️⃣ They stare at the decision endlessly and not do anything because they just don't know.

Both of those approaches can be equally deadly for a CEO. Both of those approaches can leave your clients feeling unconfident, uncertain, and another un-words I can't think of right now 😳.

As the fractional CFO, you can help your client take a more data-based approach to decision making. You can show them the numbers. You can help them think through various scenarios. You can help them see potential challenges or consequences they may not have considered.

Remember:
💥 In the multitude of counsel there is safety.

You get to be the multitude of counsel for your clients.

My hope for you is that you realize that you bring much more to the table than reports.

Yeah, we have to deliver the reports, the metrics, and the dashboards for our clients. But those are simply vehicles for us to provide the real value that we bring to the table.

We are executive level peers that can empower our clients to do amazing things.

They need that. The value that. They will pay for that.

You coach,
Michael