Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How One Rep Won by Asking the Buyer to Redefine ROI
Transcript
- Lucas: There is a sales rep I want to talk about today named Carla. She sold workforce management software to mid-size companies. And she won a two-point-three-million-dollar deal by asking her buyer to redefine what ROI even meant. Luna: Redefine ROI? That sounds like a conversation that could go sideways fast if you're not careful. Lucas: It could. But Carla didn't walk in and say 'your numbers are wrong.' She started by asking the buyer's CFO to walk her through their internal ROI model. The company was evaluating a headcount planning tool, and the CFO had set a hard requirement: any software investment must pay for itself within 18 months. Luna: Pretty standard hurdle rate for a lot of finance teams. Eighteen months is actually on the shorter end. Lucas: Right. So Carla asked to see the spreadsheet. She didn't demand it — she said something like, 'To make sure I'm not wasting your time, could you help me understand how you calculate payback?' And the CFO was happy to share. He showed her the model: they were using the fully loaded cost of a sales rep — salary, benefits, overhead, all in — and comparing it to the revenue that rep would generate in the first 18 months. Luna: Seems straightforward. Where was the error? Lucas: The revenue number only included direct sales commissions. It excluded cross-sells, renewals, and any revenue from products the rep didn't personally close. So the numerator was high and the denominator was low. Payback looked like 22 months. Well over their threshold. Luna: So they were making the math look worse than it actually was. Lucas: Exactly. But Carla didn't jump in and say 'you're wrong.' She asked a question: 'When you think about a new rep's contribution, is it fair to include only direct sales or also the downstream revenue from that rep managing accounts over time?' The CFO paused and said, 'I suppose we should use a more marginal view.' He recalculated using only the incremental cost of the rep — salary plus commission, no overhead — and included all revenue attributed to that rep's territory. The payback dropped to nine months. Luna: And suddenly the deal was within the 18-month window. Lucas: Barely half of it. Carla won the deal at full price. No discount needed. No long negotiation. She just helped the buyer see that their model was underestimating the value of their own investment. Luna: It's interesting because most sales reps get defensive about price. They argue that their software is worth the money. But Carla did the opposite — she let the buyer's own math be the argument. Lucas: That's the core insight of this episode. The buyer's ROI model is almost always wrong in a way that benefits you — if you can find the error. Most companies build their internal business cases with conservative assumptions, often too conservative. They exclude secondary benefits, they double-count costs, they use time horizons that don't match the product's actual lifecycle. Luna: But you have to be careful. If you come in like an auditor and tell the CFO their model is flawed, you're going to get defensive resistance. Lucas: Right. Carla's approach was to be curious, not corrective. She asked 'help me understand' and then asked a gentle question about what should be included. She never said 'you're wrong.' She offered a different perspective that the CFO himself adopted. Luna: That's a skill. It requires a deep understanding of how the buyer's business works and where the hidden assumptions live. Lucas: And it requires trust. The CFO has to believe you're genuinely trying to help them make a better decision, not just manipulate the numbers to get a deal. Carla had already built that trust over several meetings. She'd asked about their hiring goals, their turnover rates, their training ramp time. So when she asked about the model, it felt like a natural extension of an already consultative conversation. Luna: What if you find a model that's actually too generous? Like the buyer is overestimating the benefit? Lucas: Then you flag it. Honestly, that builds even more trust. If you point out an assumption that makes your product look better than it should, you become a credible partner. And then when you find one that's too conservative, they're more likely to accept your suggestion. It's a long game. Luna: So the practical takeaway is: before you defend your price, ask to audit the buyer's ROI model. And do it with genuine curiosity. Lucas: Exactly. And I'd add: ask to see the model early. Don't wait until you're in the final negotiation. If you find an error in week two, you have time to let the buyer absorb it. If you find it in the final week, it can feel like a last-minute trick. Luna: Speaking of something that's better done early and with genuine intent — we should mention that this show doesn't run ads. We've never had a sponsor, and we don't plan to. That's intentional. These conversations are for operators who want practical tactics, not interruption marketing. If you find value in that, and you want to support the show staying ad-free, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's not a subscription, it's just a way to say 'this mattered to me.' And it genuinely helps us keep the lights on without ever having to pitch a mattress or a meal kit. Luna: Alright, back to Carla. After she helped the CFO recalculate, did she do anything else to cement the deal? Lucas: She did one more thing. She asked the CFO to personally present the new ROI model to the procurement committee. That way the CFO owned the recommendation. Carla became the advisor, not the salesperson. Procurement approved it in a single meeting. Luna: That's a great move — let the champion be the hero with their own data. Lucas: Exactly. And it works in any industry. Whether you're selling software, consulting, or capital equipment, every buyer has some internal model for value. If you can help them refine it, you're not just selling a product — you're improving their decision-making. That's a relationship that lasts beyond a single deal. Luna: Alright, so next time you're stuck on price, try asking to see the buyer's math. You might find a hidden winnable assumption. Lucas: And if you do, let us know. We'd love to hear your story on a future episode.