The Challenge
Getting across the full value of the platform to prospective customers is vital, but also difficult, due to the varied parameters and richness of the solution. “We wanted a way to immediately grab a CFO’s attention and present a strong, quantifiable business case and compelling story at the same time,” said Craig DeMartini, head of strategic sales for Tipalti. “We really didn’t have a way of doing that.”
Tipalti had a good understanding of the components of its solution’s ROI, but it required working out of Excel spreadsheets that were dense with information. “It just wasn’t very compelling, and it required a lot of work to produce, as well as work to consume. It wasn’t intelligent. It wasn’t easy.”
Factors contributing to Tipalti’s ROI include operational costs for payables, liability and risk mitigation, cost of compliance, opportunity costs, the time value of money, goodwill and supplier relations, and more. Each of these has a value that can be quantified and then rolled into an overall ROI figure. Understanding the aggregated value initiates more conversations, secures a decision maker’s attention, and drives more productive meetings, leading to a faster and smoother sale. At the same time, understanding each of the components adds weight to pragmatic decisions and color to a narrative or story.