One is responsible for money in, the other for allocating funds. While similar in some ways, yet distinctly different in others, the CRO-CFO relationship can be contentious. Nailing it can work wonders for an organization. In separate conversations with Revenue Brew, SaaS platform Xactly’s CFO Jason Godley and CRO Sam Zayed dished on how they’ve built an effective relationship with each other, how to navigate difficult conversations between teams, and other advice for other CFOs and CROs. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. What are some common miscommunications that can happen between the CRO and the CFO? Zayed: The CFO might think that the CRO is just like any other sales guy that wants to get a deal done at all costs, at any terms and discounts, and give away the farm just to kind of get a deal done and bring the register. Godley: CRO probably has a shorter lens: “The world is quarter.” I’m looking both this quarter and in the future. So in the near term, if there’s an issue or disagreement around a certain decision right now, if we can frame it in the context of the long-term plan. Keep reading Revenue Brew’s story on the CFO-CRO relationship here.—BS |