Closer links between finance and sales can also hold direct financial benefits for a company. Nonstop CFO Papano was recently debating the worthiness of a project to enhance the company's software products with an application that would let customers interact with their suppliers over a shared Web site, rather than the traditional faxes. "The customer CFOs I talked to said that would be nice, but as I chatted with them, it became pretty obvious they weren't willing to pay for it," he says, since "they were under the impression that anything you got from a Web site should be free." With that insight in mind, Papano scrapped the project, saving "at least a million dollars" in development costs.

Given the similarities between selling to customers and selling to Wall Street, in fact, StorageTek's Kocol recently arranged for salespeople to train the 12 members of his finance department on the message they should be giving customers. "I look at it from the standpoint of succession planning," he says. Plus, there's nothing like a little free advertising. "If we can have as many people in the company talking to customers as freely and openly as possible, that's how we can grow revenue."

Poll: Customer Care

How much time on average do CFOs spend with customers?

• 5 days a week: 5%
• 3-4 days a week: 6%
• 1-2 days a week: 38%
• None: 51%

Based on a CFO.com poll of more than 180 finance executives.

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