GrowCFO Show
The GrowCFO Show is the podcast produced for finance leaders by finance leaders
#242 What Makes a Great CFO Mentor with Jen Burton
In this insightful episode of The GrowCFO Show, host Kevin Appleby interviews Jen Burton, a new mentor at GrowCFO and current Chief Financial Officer at RJE Business Interiors based in Indianapolis. Throughout their conversation, Jen shares her extensive experience spanning multiple industries including her significant 14-year tenure at Rolls Royce, where she implemented global finance shared services strategies and led successful system integrations.
The discussion explores Jen’s journey from public accounting to various CFO roles, highlighting her operational and strategic expertise. Particularly valuable is Jen’s perspective on mentorship, as she discusses how her diverse experiences – from implementing ERP systems to managing finance transformations – have shaped her approach to guiding other finance professionals. Her unique background, including her skydiving experience, provides powerful metaphors for the trust and teamwork required in effective financial leadership.
Key topics covered:
- Jen identifies primarily as an operational CFO with strong process-driven and team-oriented skills, though she has significant experience in strategic roles and as a trusted advisor
- Drawing from her experience implementing global finance shared services at Rolls Royce, Jen emphasizes the importance of change management and having the right people in the right roles
- Jen shares personal insights about overcoming imposter syndrome, offering practical advice for new CFOs on building confidence through breaking tasks into manageable steps
- The discussion explores how Jen’s skydiving experience taught valuable lessons about trust and teamwork that directly apply to financial leadership
- Kevin highlights the distinction between mentoring and coaching, explaining that mentors bring valuable “war stories” and practical experience rather than just guiding mentees to find their own answers
Links
Timestamps
- 0:11:03 Introduction to Jen Burton as a new GrowCFO mentor and CFO at RJE Business Interiors
- 0:20:00 Discussion of different CFO types and Jen’s identification as primarily an operational CFO
- 0:25:15 Jen shares her skydiving experience and the parallels to teamwork in finance
- 0:30:45 Exploration of Jen’s experience implementing global finance shared services at Rolls Royce
- 0:38:20 Discussion about imposter syndrome and building confidence as a CFO
- 0:46:42 Kevin explains the value of mentorship and the importance of chemistry between mentor and mentee
Find out more about GrowCFO
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The Next 100 Days
The Next 100 Days Podcast is a leading UK business show. Through this podcast, Kevin and Graham reveal strategies you can use to improve your business and take it to the next level. In addition to featuring their own advice, Kevin and Graham host amazing guests from across the business world. Often the guests are successful, but lesser-known business owners and entrepreneurs, enabling the show to bring fresh content and stand out from many of the US based business shows.
Graham and Kevin believe that business change comes about when a business owner focusses on just one thing that will make a real difference to his business. That might be product development, a new product launch or a marketing campaign. Focussing for less than 100 days, or focussing on too many things generally won’t deliver the results you need, Equally, its difficult to maintain effective focus for much longer than 100 days without re-assessing priorities.
The Next 100 Days Podcast is your source to learn how to move your business forward, with practical advice and guidance that you can put into action and make a difference in your own organisation within the next 100 days.
Chris Brisson runs a texting platform from the website salesmsg.com he is the founder of Salesmsg, and discusses SMS marketing and business communication strategies.
Summary of the Podcast
Key Takeaways
- Salesmsg provides a platform for businesses to send and receive SMS messages, integrating with CRMs for automated, two-way text conversations
- SMS is emerging as a critical channel for business communication due to high open rates and engagement compared to email or phone calls
- Ethical use of SMS marketing requires explicit opt-ins; unsolicited texting is illegal and damages customer relationships
- Salesmsg offers AI-powered text conversations that can qualify leads and drive conversions while maintaining a natural, human-like tone
SMS as a Business Communication Channel
- SMS is becoming increasingly important as email deliverability declines and fewer people answer phone calls
- Text messaging offers a “clean” channel with high open and engagement rates
- Businesses can use SMS for lead generation, engagement, qualification, revenue driving, feedback collection, and referrals
Salesmsg Platform Features
- Integrates with major CRMs like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive
- Allows businesses to send/receive texts from computers, not personal phones
- Offers automation capabilities for immediate response to web form submissions
- Provides AI agents that can conduct human-like conversations using brand voice
Compliance and Best Practices
- Explicit opt-ins are required; cannot text old lists without new permission
- Businesses must get approved to send text messages, ensuring legitimacy
- Best to use SMS as a channel to move customers to the next stage in the funnel, not for hard selling
- Keep messages simple, personal, and natural – avoid long, marketing-heavy texts
Use Cases and ROI
- Event speakers using SMS for lead capture (e.g., “Text ‘slides’ to this number”)
- Appointment reminders and delivery notifications
- Sales follow-ups and meeting scheduling
- Customer support and engagement
Pricing and Volume Considerations
- $49 per 1000 credits (1 credit = 1 text message sent)
- Costs can add up with conversational use, but ROI often justifies expense
- Start with smaller plans and scale up as needed
Next Steps
- Explore Salesmsg integration possibilities with existing CRM systems
- Review current opt-in processes to ensure SMS compliance
- Consider testing SMS for upcoming events or campaigns to gauge effectiveness
- Evaluate potential ROI of SMS marketing compared to other channels
The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts
Graham Arrowsmith
Graham founded Finely Fettled ten years ago to help business owners and marketers market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. Graham founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, where he introduces AI Agents that sit on websites, to increase engagement, dwell time, leads and conversions.
Kevin Appleby
Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He’s the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com