What Your Clients Wish You'd Cover in Monthly CFO Calls (But Won't Tell You)

I got this DM from a buddy of mine recently. He works with another Fractional CFO.

His Fractional CFO was asking him what he'd like to go over in his monthly meetings.

Candidly, my buddy wasn't sure how to answer that question.

This wasn't a shocker to me.

Most business owners don't know how to articulate what they need from their Fractional CFO calls. At the same time, clarity around these calls is essential.

This is why, as a Fractional CFO, you've got to lead that process, or you'll end up with client churn.

Today, I'm going to share exactly what I told my friend that resulted in him saying this:

The Question Behind the Question

When your client says, "I'm not sure what I want," they're actually saying something deeper:

• I want clarity.
• I want guidance.
• I want you to lead the conversation proactively.

Most importantly, they're relying on you to understand their business enough to steer the meeting and conversations in ways that make sense.

The Clarity Clients Crave

Here's the rundown of what I told my friend he should go back to his Fractional CFO with:

👉  Clear goals and a concrete plan to get there.

If you haven't already done so, share your personal and business goals with your Fractional CFO. Tell him to make sure he explains how his recommendations tie back to your goals, so you clearly understand the why.

👉  What's working well and what needs fixing?

Tell your Fractional CFO that you want him to identify things that work particularly well in your business through the financial lens. You want to understand the things that are working so you can keep doing them - or even double down on them!

On the other hand, encourage him to point out things that aren't working. Where are you spending time and money on investments that aren't yielding a sufficient ROI? Where are you spending time and money on investments that aren't getting you closer to your goals?

👉  Priorities and why they're important.

You have a lot of things going on in your business. There are 1000 things that you could (or should) start doing, stop doing, or do differently. Have your Fractional CFO help you prioritize those opportunities based on your financial goals. Make sure to have him explain the why behind each.

👉  Financial blind spots and mindset issues.

Tell your Fractional CFO you know you have some money-related mindset issues. Tell him you know you have blind spots. Tell him you know you don't understand the financial concepts you should understand for a business your size.

Tell him the real problem is that you don't know what any of those are.

Ask him to point them out and help you close the gaps.

👉  Recommendations on improving financial processes and systems.

Ask your Fractional CFO if he sees any opportunities to improve the systems, processes, tools, and automations you have set up.

Ask him if your current setup has any inefficiencies or risks that you aren't seeing.

👉  Leadership, accountability, and help in making big decisions.

My final bit of advice for my friend was to ask his Fractional CFO to help with leadership, accountability, and making big decisions.

To me, that's where a big chunk of the value of a Fractional CFO should come from. 

It's almost intangible - but it can be very powerful.

What This Means for You

If you're a Fractional CFO and you're stuck trying to figure out what to talk about with your clients, turn this blog into a checklist and review it every month as you prepare for your client calls. 

If you're a business owner who's working with a Fractional CFO (or if you're thinking about working with a Fractional CFO), use this blog as a checklist. Give it to your Fractional CFO to help them deliver maximum ROI for you.