This Master Class, led by Jerome Teng, addressed critical challenges in the modern B2B sales process, focusing on the transition from traditional ROI-based selling to a more robust approach that incorporates Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). With input from participants across multiple countries and industries, the session explored the evolving procurement environment, the increasing rigor of finance in purchase decisions, and practical tools and frameworks for building business cases that gain CFO approval and drive sustainable customer relationships.

THE STAKES

The B2B buying landscape has fundamentally changed, particularly in the aftermath of COVID-19. Historically, purchase decisions were driven primarily by desires for growth and improvements, with approval often following a linear path—from user interest to procurement rubber-stamping the choice. Today, the environment is marked by:

• Tighter Budgets and Scrutiny: Finance teams now play a decisive role, often with the power to veto investments, and demand full transparency into all associated costs.
• Changing Decision Criteria: Where ROI (Return on Investment) once sufficed, CFOs now demand clarity on TCO—encompassing upfront, operational, change, and exit costs, as well as hidden or surprise costs that could affect the actual value realized from a purchase.
• Risk of Incomplete Value Propositions: Focusing only on ROI tells "half the story," leading to buyer distrust, stalled deals, and, potentially, long-term damage to vendor credibility if hidden costs emerge post-sale.
• Increased Complexity: The decision journey now involves multiple stakeholders (Procurement, Finance, HSE, etc.), requires addressing new metrics beyond technical performance, and must factor in the possibility of not being considered if the full impact (including TCO) isn’t presented early.

Key risk: The "silent killer" of deals is the TCO not presented transparently, leading to loss of deals, loss of trust, and reputational damage in the market

THE BENEFITS: WHAT YOUR ORGANIZATION GAINS

Shifting to an integrated ROI + TCO approach delivers multiple organizational benefits:

• Increased Win Rates: By anticipating and addressing CFO concerns upfront, your proposals stand a much higher chance of advancing beyond the evaluation stage, which, according to Forrester, is where 86% of B2B purchases stall
• Strengthened Customer Trust: Full transparency on cost drivers, implementation, switching, and operational costs builds much deeper credibility, shifting your position from "vendor" to "partner."
• Long-Term Customer Relationships: By eliminating "surprises" post-sale, you avoid buyer’s remorse and future reluctance to buy, paving the way for ongoing business.
• Better Competitive Positioning: The ability to clarify not just direct savings but also risk, scenario planning, and hidden costs allows you to more effectively differentiate your offering—especially when lower upfront investment is not the long-term optimal solution
• Scalability of Sales Excellence: Utilizing standardized frameworks (such as the six-step CFO-ready business case and the two-page decision pack) enables your teams to deliver consistent, high-quality proposals at scale

KEY TAKEAWAYS: PRACTICAL ACTIONS

The Master Class presented actionable methodologies and tools for success:

New Sales Frameworks:

• Introduced a six-step process for building defensible, CFO-approved offers, starting with quantifying the pain of inaction, integrating both ROI and TCO early, mapping out all cost elements (upfront, change, run, and switch costs), and presenting scenarios (realistic, expected, optimistic) to preempt CFO stress tests

Strategic Conversations:

• Sell the return (ROI) to create interest, but introduce TCO at the business case level to build credibility and address the holistic impact.
• Engage in customer-centric dialogue: ask buyers for their metrics, and when they're not disclosed, use benchmark data and industry standards.

Tools to Implement Immediately:

• The five-liner TCO model: Upfront investment, annual gains, total cost of ownership (3 years as a benchmark), net impact, and payback period.
• A "story spine" format for your buyer to relay internally: Pain, cost of inaction, solution, impact, payback, and proof
• The CFO-ready two-page decision pack: a forwardable template to standardize and professionalize proposals for any C-level audience.

Cultural Change in Selling:

• Move away from discount-driven, feature-focused selling toward becoming a trusted advisor with a focus on long-term value and risk transparency.

CONCLUSION

Today’s market demands more than ROI promises: to win and keep high-value deals, organizations must master TCO-based selling and transparent, CFO-friendly business case creation. Leveraging the frameworks and tools shared in this Master Class, sales teams can anticipate and neutralize deal-breakers, win greater trust and market share, and build lasting, profitable customer relationships. By embedding these practices, your organization will be prepared to navigate and succeed in the complex, post-COVID procurement environment.

For further implementation, Halifax Consulting provides the CFO decision pack and ongoing learning opportunities, such as upcoming public masterclasses, or in-house training sessions, to reinforce and deepen these practices in your team.