CFOs Are Crashing the B2B Sales Party as Payments Go Digital

Tough times bring people together, and it’s no different across the business landscape.

Uncertainty in global markets isn’t just about headline news. It’s about daily operational reality. Tariff wars and shifting trade agreements have put pressure on both pricing and sourcing strategies. Finance must be able to forecast across multiple scenarios, and cash flow has become an imperative.

The dynamism of today’s operational realities is also rewriting the rules of B2B sales.

Traditionally, B2B sales strategies were the domain of sales and marketing teams. Chief financial officers (CFOs) were expected to provide oversight, manage risk, and keep an eye on compliance. But as the market grows more complex, so does the CFO’s role.

In this new era, CFOs can’t afford to be passive participants in revenue strategy. Their expertise is essential for navigating everything from shifting regulations to cyber risk in payments and constructing contracts that are flexible, adjusting for material cost surges, and ensuring the business is protected from downside risk

Read also: How Payments Innovation Underpins All-Weather Businesses and Resilient Supply Chains

Many B2B contracts can now routinely feature clauses that allow for price adjustments in the event of significant cost swings. These additions, once the stuff of legal fine print, now are emerging as a potentially strategic lever.

“We’re seeing prices go up,” Shep Hickey, CEO at metal digital marketplace Bryzos, told PYMNTS. “Businesses are trying to conserve stock, and the easiest way to do that is raise prices or just stop selling … It’s not what you paid for your inventory — it’s what it’ll cost you to replace it.”

But perhaps the most transformative change in B2B sales strategy is happening in payments. The days of net-60 and net-90 terms as the default are numbered, driven in part by demand for cash flow transparency on both sides of the deal. This creates a backdrop where building out a B2B sales approach is a team sport, and finance is a key player.

“A payment might be due in 30 days, but the buyer might typically pay in 45 or 60,” Boost Payment Solutions CEO Dean Leavitt told PYMNTS this month. “If suppliers can get paid at day 30 for agreeing to accept commercial cards or other digital solutions, they do it. That gives them a working capital advantage.”

Offering more ways to pay sounds simple, but it has profound implications for working capital and risk. Automated payment platforms, virtual cards, smart invoicing, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) options are increasingly table stakes for B2B sellers. Finance’s involvement is critical, and not just to vet the tools, but to structure sales incentives and terms that align with the company’s broader capital strategy.

“Over time, I expect CFOs to be more involved in sales conversations — maybe even CFO-to-CFO discussions,” Mark Flakne, CFO at Included Health, said during a conversation for the PYMNTS executive series, “A Day in the Life of a CFO.”

Research in the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Smart Spending: How AI Is Transforming Financial Decision Making” found that more than 8 in 10 CFOs at large companies are either already using artificial intelligence (AI) or considering adopting it for a core financial function like accounts payable, or the process by which companies pay their suppliers, vendors and contractors.

See also: Digitizing the B2B Payments Landscape Starts With … Sales?

At the same time, KPIs in 2025 are more granular. Sales leaders can leverage advanced dashboards to monitor not just revenue, but every aspect of buyer engagement: email opens, webinar participation, demo interactions, and social media activity. This data-driven approach enables rapid experimentation and continuous optimization of sales processes.

Buyers today also increasingly expect frictionless digital experiences, including self-service portals, real-time quotes and instant payments. Companies are investing in end-to-end platforms that blend CRM, ERP, and payment processing, decisions requiring finance’s early and ongoing involvement.

”We need high-growth businesses to survive and thrive [in this uncertain economy],” Lucy Demery, senior vice president, head of Visa Commercial Solutions, Europe, told PYMNTS, noting that embedded options are proving to be a “huge unlock for supply chain payments.”

As 2025 unfolds, B2B sales is less about cold calls and more about curated, data-backed relationships powered by technology — but never forgetting the human element. The winners will be those who balance high-tech tools with high-touch engagement, redefining what it means to connect and deliver value in the digital age.

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