CFO's Don't Trust Your ROI Deck
4 prompts to turn financials into CFO-aligned narratives
This post is part of the Hacking Sales AI Seller Workflows series. If you’re new here, check out the Start Here page.
NEW: The Deal Narrative Kit is now available. Get the complete account research system + POV narrative builder (free) → Download here
CFO’s think your ROI deck is bullshit.
They don’t trust vendor ROI calculations. They want validation from internal stakeholders who understand the actual business context.
But here’s the real problem:
Most sellers can’t articulate why it matters now because they don’t understand how the business actually works.
There’s a difference between selling a product and running a business.
The sellers who win today know how to read financials. They can synthesize what they learn into a clear narrative that shows how their product can help.
Over the past few weeks, I've been sharing financial teardowns of different companies. Those teardowns are built off a system I personally use to turn P&Ls into clear narratives for outbound, discovery, and deal strategy.
Financial Teardown #1: Salesforce
Financial Teardown #2: Adobe
Financial Teardown #3: Target
Financial Teardown #4: Coinbase
Today, I’m giving you the 4 core prompts that power every single one of those teardowns.
These are the same prompts that power every financial teardown you’ve seen on this newsletter.
The Business Engine
Understanding how a company organizes itself tells you where decisions live.
🧠 Prompt:
Based on the [insert year] 10-k, how is [prospect business] segmented and organized?
Why this matters:
Where P&L accountability lives
Which divisions control budget
How to plan your multi-threading strategy
Who actually makes buying decisions
How the Business Makes Money
This helps you see what customers really pay the company for.
🧠 Prompt:
If [prospect company] disappeared tomorrow, what core capability would their customers lose?
Why this matters:
What the company optimizes for
How money flows through the business
Where operational pressure exists within segments
What customers actually value (vs. what marketing claims)
The Financial Signal
This reveals the money pressure that shapes all downstream decisions.
🧠 Prompt:
Based on the [prospect business] 10-k, what are the financial metrics that matter to the business in the current fiscal year?
Topline
Profitability
Efficiency
Cash Flow
Why this matters:
Shape your hypothesis of where your solution impacts the business
Identify which metrics leadership is graded on
Understand what “good performance” looks like for this company
The CFO Mandate & The Strategy That Matters to Leadership
This is where financial signals turn into strategy.
🧠 Prompt:
Based on [prospect company] most recent financials, can you help me understand:
1. What are the CFO's top initiatives?
2. What are the top strategic initiatives [prospect company] is prioritizing?
3. What are the top challenges that [prospect company] is facing?
CFO’s Top Initiatives
Company Strategic Initiatives
Top Challenges
Why this matters: This is your “why now.”
What the CFO is accountable for
Where the company is investing
What challenges create urgency
The Framework in Action
Here’s what this looks like as a complete workflow:
Business Segments → Tells you who owns what and where budget lives
Core Capability → Shows you what the company optimizes for
Financial Signals → Reveals the metrics leadership is graded on
CFO Mandate → Translates metrics into strategic priorities and buying triggers
With these four prompts, you go from “I think this might matter” to “I know exactly what the CFO cares about and why.”
You walk into discovery calls with context.
You’ll ask better discovery questions.
You’ll position differently and sound like you belong in the room.
The Deal Narrative Kit
Research is one thing.
Building a sales narrative is another.
That’s where the Deal Narrative Kit comes in.
Research and execution.
Insights and positioning.
Strategy and tactics.
Get the complete system with templates, examples, and the POV narrative builder:
Try it Yourself
Pick one target account.
Run these 4 prompts.
See what you learn.
Then ask yourself:
“Do I know how to turn these insights into a pitch that actually resonates with the CFO?”
If the answer is no, the kit will show you how.
If the answer is yes, you’re ahead of 95% of sellers. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Either way, you’ll know more about your accounts in 15 minutes in a more succinct way than others on your team.
If you have an account you’d like me to teardown, DM or email andrew@hackingsales.xyz. Subscribers are prioritized and details are kept anonymous.
Any other questions, comments, thoughts? Send them my way.
As always, thanks for reading and see you all next week.
-Andrew K
PS - if you liked this article, feel free to give a “like”, “comment”, or “share” with your network
LMAO i bet. this title got me!
I love that article! Don't hate me if I steal it for a customer call today 😀 I believe even before AI, you ran better with a strong narrative, then some made-up ROI. In all the years I'm doing this, I never found proof that believing your buyers are somewhat stupid, what closes your deals (and if you really think, your made-up calculations will impress a CFO, you believe that)