Declan Tyrell, the CFO Whisperer, joins Kevin Appleby on the Grow CFO Show. Declan introduced himself as a former CFO and CFO Whisperer at both Google and Oracle. Someone who helps sales organizations understand finance leaders and position value propositions to inspire CFOs. He coaches sales professionals and runs deal clinics to help close deals. Declan is passionate about helping Salespeople understand the changing landscape of buying, in particular how to engage with their customers’ economic buyer in times of financial uncertainty.

Declan discussed how to approach CFOs by focusing on the business problem being solved and how the solution creates value. He emphasized clarity over complexity and focusing on “so what” and “who cares” factors.

The conversation covered how to structure deals in a way that works for CFO incentives like EBITDA targets. Terrell shared examples of transformations he led at large organizations over months or years to transition finance functions.

Declan shared insights from his time as Google’s CFO Whisperer, helping close $2.3 billion in deals. He emphasized the importance of CFO buy-in for successful digital transformations and challenged presenters to identify accountability and measure projected benefits.

At Google, he ran weekly deal clinics open for any team to book time and receive feedback on deals. Declan aimed to see 300 deals annually with a combined revenue value of over $2 billion. He challenged teams to clearly articulate the problems being solved and benefits to the business. Declan’s deal clinics became popular training grounds for Google employees, and he found CFO involvement led to higher success rates on digital transformation projects.

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Introducing Declan Tyrell, The CFO Whisperer (0:11)

Sales strategies for CFOs and salespeople. (1:27)

Finance department automation and modernization. (6:01)

Digital transformation and CFO role in project success. (11:14)

Business growth and digital transformation. (16:22)

Budgeting and strategic planning for business growth. (21:27)

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