The Outcome Denier
CFO who rejects all evidence of measurable ROI from the product, regardless of what the data shows.
22 min
Duration
About this persona
Sandra Torres is not confused about the data. She understands it perfectly and has decided it does not count. She has a competing explanation for every positive result. Getting through Sandra requires understanding WHY she is denying outcomes that are clearly there -- because the reason is always political, structural, or personal -- and then addressing that reason directly rather than piling on more evidence she has already decided to reject.
Scenario
You are the account executive or customer success manager running the QBR. Sandra is the CFO of your customer -- she controls the renewal budget and has organizational authority over this technology investment. You have presented strong ROI data showing a 23% reduction in processing time and $400K in documented cost savings. Sandra has said: 'I am not convinced those numbers are telling the story you think they are.' You need to get past the data rejection and find the real conversation.
Skills tested
- resilience under evidence rejection
- understanding the real objection behind a stated one
- questioning without antagonizing
- finding the political context
- separating the data argument from the power argument
What you'll practice
- How to respond to evidence rejection without piling on more evidence
- How to ask the question that gets to the real objection
- The difference between a data argument and a power argument
- How to change the conversation when the data conversation is going nowhere
Personality traits
Practice this conversation
Create a free account to start a session with The Outcome Denier. Your performance is scored across 6 communication dimensions.
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