What is the value to you for providing a referral to a B2B CFO partner?  Like many professionals, a major source of customers is referrals from clients or other trusted business advisors such as bankers, attorneys, CPA firms, financial planners, brokers and others.   When I make a referral, I trust that at some point the person will reciprocate and refer a potential customer to me.  Perhaps you have the same expectation.  I don’t know about you, but that hasn’t worked particularly well for me.  How about you?  Maybe there is better source of value. 

If you refer a business to B2B CFO, what’s in it for you?  While I believe most B2B CFO partners do try to reciprocate with referrals, I submit that there are more direct benefits to you for taking a step of faith that your client would benefit from a relationship with a B2B CFO partner.  This article explores those benefits.

B2B CFO is a national partnership that helps business owners optimize their financial performance as a means of improving company value, increasing personal worth, providing security for loved ones, all while reducing the stress associated with growing a business.  Achieving these and other objectives certainly helps the business owner and likely will resulted in some financial benefit to the B2B CFO partner.  What might not appear obvious are the direct benefits to you and the referral source.

Suppose you have a customer that has revenues in the $2.5 million range.  The financials, while adequate, are neither precisely accurate nor provided on a very timely basis.  You suggest your customer talk to a B2B CFO partner and a relationship begins.   Over the course of the next several months, the partner introduces the owner to a wide range of financial management tools designed to improve working capital, optimize cash flow, reduce expenses, and improve profitability.  The B2B CFO partner also helps the owner implement a budget and create financial projections.   These initiatives result in achieving the desired outcomes identified above – improved company value, increased personal wealth, security for loved ones, etc.  Obvious benefits to the business owner, but you are likely to benefit as well. 

If you are a banker, you can expect such an owner to increase the balances in existing accounts and take advantage of other services that you offer such as lines of credit, loans, and others.  If you are with a CPA firm, you can expect that accurate and complete financials will make the preparation of taxes or audits faster and more risk free.  As an investment advisor, you can expect that the increased personal wealth of the owner will make it more likely that he or she would increase their investment portfolio, provide a more solid retirement plan and have the peace of mind that security for loved ones brings.  Regardless of your profession, doesn’t it make sense that if your customer is in a better financial position that they would take advantage of more of the services you have to offer?

We at B2B CFO appreciate the demonstration of trust you exhibit by referring your clients to us.  In our view, it is important that we bring value, not only to your customer, but that you benefit as well.  We do that by making your referral a better, more solid, customer for you.