Preparing for the Conversation
If you’re anything like us here at Postal, we like to over prepare for important conversations. But if you aren’t an accountant or Wall Street expert (no — we don’t mean you’ve watched Wolf of Wall Street more than once), gearing up for a conversation with your finance team can seem a bit daunting. To make matters more complicated, you’re wanting to ask finance for MORE money for a new software. Cue the questions!
So we want to empower our champions to sell software internally to their buyer by giving you a preview of what you’ll likely encounter in your conversation with finance. We are your partner in this effort and we want you to be successful in getting your buyer to say “yes” to purchasing the solution you want and need.
Below we’ve outlined some common topics you’ll likely encounter during your conversation with finance. But we aren’t leaving you there! We also give you a guide to understand why they are asking it, and what a good versus bad answer might sound like. We want you to understand the what, why, good, and bad of it all! Plus, download our checklist at the end of this guide to ensure you’re fully prepared for the conversation ahead.
Here’s a checklist to have on hand!
A preview of the conversation with finance…
Q: “What makes this software a necessity right now?”
The why: Your buyer wants to understand the urgency of the new software. If the company has been functioning adequately without it, what justifies the sudden need?
The good: "While we’ve managed so far, implementing [insert solution] now will streamline our operations and allow us to stay competitive. If we continue on with our manual process, we can likely only add 50 new customers before we need to hire another data entry person."
The bad: "Well, everyone else is getting it, so I thought we should too. Plus, I like the new interface—it looks cooler."
Q: “What type of return and benefit are you expecting to realize?”
The why: Your buyer needs to categorize the software by its effect (time reduction, revenue improvement, need it now, or just seems cool) to understand its impact on the company's finances and operations.
The good: "This software primarily improves efficiencies by automating our invoicing process, reducing manual errors by 40%, and saving us approximately 100 hours of labor per month."
The bad: "I’d say it’s a mix of everything. It’s like a Swiss Army knife—does a bit of this and that. Hard to quantify, though."
Q: “Is this expense already planned for in our budget? If not, how do we cover it?”
The why: Your buyer needs to ensure financial discipline and understand how their ROI calculation might change from the current state.
The good: "This expenditure was not initially budgeted. After looking into the tool more, I’ve discovered that we are overpaying for two other tools we currently use that will no longer be needed. If we don’t implement this tool and instead hire another full-time employee, our expenses will double."
The bad: "I was hoping that we can ask other teams if they have leftover budget to lend us this quarter."
Q: “How does this software align with our current goals?”
The why: Your buyer needs to be able to point to why each dollar is spent in the org.The most important goal to your buyer’s boss is achieving business-wide performance goals, therefore, that’s also your buyer’s goal. You’re helping them with their job when you identify a wider objective of the business as part of new software.
The good: "This tool directly supports our objective to enhance customer satisfaction by improving response times and reducing errors. It aligns with our goal to increase operational efficiency and our NPS score above 50."
The bad: "We always say we are on the cutting edge, so I think that implementing the newest tools will prove that."
Q: “Do we already have tools that do this? Why not use those?”
The why: Your buyer wants to avoid redundant spending and understand if the budget should go towards improving utilization of current tools already purchased, or fully commit to offboarding the old and onboarding with new tools.
The good: "We currently use Tool A and Tool B, but neither offers the comprehensive features or integration capabilities of [insert solution]. It consolidates functionalities and reduces the need for multiple platforms, which will streamline our workflow, reduce potential data integrity issues, and speed up onboarding for new employees who will need to learn one less tool."
The bad: "Our current tools are quite complicated to use and the sales team at the new tool told me their solution outperforms our current tool."
Q: “What kind of time commitment does this require from our team to implement?”
The why: The buyer needs to understand the human resource impact and ensure that the team can handle the implementation and ongoing management of the new software while still accomplishing their job function.
The good: "The initial setup and training will require 100 hours spread over three weeks. Post-implementation, the new tool offers a dedicated customer support manager as well as a campaign strategist to help us use the tool in the most powerful way. Our current tool doesn’t include any special product assistance, so we’ll likely reduce costs without needing our hourly consultant."
The bad: "It’s hard to estimate with the unknown of whether it will go smoothly. I assumed it will, so no more than a few hours the first week we start to use it."
Q: “What are the implementation costs and potential future upgrades?”
The why: Your buyer wants to understand the full financial impact, including any potential future costs, to avoid unexpected expenses.
The good: "The implementation costs are $6,000 for the new tool (which includes an additional $1,000 for an hourly consultant in case of emergency). There is no immediate need for an upgrade as the current plan supports our projected growth for at least the next two years."
The bad: "I thought we should start with the basic model since it’s the cheapest. I’m not sure what the next tier of pricing looks like, but we can deal with that next year. "
Q: “How does the pricing model work?”
The why: Your buyer needs a clear understanding of the pricing model to predict costs and ensure it aligns with the company’s budget and usage patterns. This helps predict how pricing can escalate.
Usage-Based Pricing:
The good: "We’ve analyzed our current usage patterns and added our anticipated projected growth base on the most recent QBR call. Based on our estimates, we won’t need to upgrade to the next tier of usage for another two years if our projections become actuals.
The bad: "If the business is expanding and we need more utilization of the tool, I see that as a win-win! This means business is booming, so we can afford additional software costs.”
Seat-Based Pricing:
The good: "We’ll start with the exact number of seats we need now, with the flexibility to add more as our team grows. This ensures we aren’t overspending upfront and only pay for what we actually use. I view greater adoption of the tool as a win!"
The bad: "I can envision this tool being super useful for alot of teams in our org. I think it would be better safe than sorry and buy extra seats now, even if we don’t use them all."
Q: “What are you assuming is going to happen in order to predict the value of this tool? And how confident are you that your assumptions are realistic?”
The why: Your buyer wants to understand what could influence the success or failure of the tool as presented, and be able to predict the potential that best case or worst case scenario occurs.
The good: "We received a 14 day free trial and conducted a beta test with a small team, which gives us confidence in our projections. We also gathered feedback from other teams and talked with the new tool’s sales team to ensure that our teams’ concerns are addressed."
The bad: "I’m going with my gut based on the past and how successful we’ve been implementing new tools."
Q: “Are you willing to take on the role of “champion” in getting this tool implemented correctly, of course with the help of experts?”
The why: Your buyer doesn’t have the time to implement the tool and needs a single point of contact to be responsible for the tool. Since you are the one wanting the tool, it’s a likely question to be asked.
This one is up to you, but we’ve put together this checklist to help you prepare for the conversation and bring a new software tool to your organization effectively.
You’re Prepared. Now Go Have The Conversation!
Postal is the leading intelligent gifting platform, and we have real-world proof that our strategic gifting efforts are a better investment than traditional online marketing spend. But just saying it sometimes isn’t enough to convince finance to sign on the dotted line. You can present case study after case study showing why a certain solution has worked for other teams, but oftentimes your buyer wants to know how you plan to use it in your own organization and role.
We hope you feel confident in seeking out tools that will help you in your daily work and bringing them to your internal buyer. When you show you understand the business, empathize with the difficulty that new software can bring, and prioritize preparedness, your internal buyer will be much more likely to say “Yes!” You’ve got this.
