Ron and Ed sit down with entrepreneur, advisor, and educator David Fionda, founder of BizBreakthru.com, to explore what it really takes for business owners to break through their growth ceilings. With decades of experience guiding firms through transformation — from startups to global consultancies — Fionda brings both the discipline of a CPA and the curiosity of a strategist.

They discuss why most advisory work fails to scale, how to turn financial data into decision-making power, and the mindset shifts that separate incremental change from genuine breakthrough. This is a real-world architecture of growth, built from a lifetime of turning insights into action.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Dave and Ed go back to the late 80s/early 90s. They met in Fargo, North Dakota at a Holiday Inn. Let’s put that on our TSOE Bingo card for a future get together.
Dave Fionda on the software sales market: “You’ve gotta be top of mind.”
Is “built from the ground up using AI” something that should be considered important in ERP software? “You can over adopt. People get so excited about AI.” —Dave Fionda
“It’s not that we are going to fire all the CFOs and say we don’t need them. AI is a tool.” —Dave Fionda

Segment two

“Where should the kid go to school? Is he good at math? Yeah. Then he should go to Bentley.” And that’s how Dave became an accountant. Compare and contrast with today’s college admissions process.
Bentley was founded as an accounting school. It started in 1917 as the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance, with a first class of just 30 students. Its sole purpose was training accountants.
“What the CPA does for you is it gives you a very strong business foundation.” —Dave Fionda
What is Dave’s take on the billable hour? “You have go to in the value billing direction.”

Segment three

“For most accounting software vendors, 80% of their business comes from 20% of their VARs.” —Dave Fionda
Questions of wisdom from Dave who has a lifetime of sales experience: “What is the opportunity to build a relationship with this customer? How does this potential customer see me?”
In a sales conversation: “My mom told me one thing. You have two ears and 1 mouth. So you should be listening twice as often as you should speak.” —Dave Fionda
One of Ed’s favorite questions in the sales process: “Do you view us as an extra pair of hands? Do you view us as an expert? Or do you view us as a collaborator?”

Segment four

Check out the Deal Closers Playbook from Dave Fionda at this link: https://bizbreakthru.com/
Dave also has a Proposal Success Scorecard which is only 2 minutes and easy to fill out. Check it out here: https://bizbreakthru.com/free-proposal-win-rate-assessment/
A big THANK YOU to Dave Fionda to joining us today! Check out his Deal Closers Playbook and Proposal Success Scorecard at his website: https://bizbreakthru.com/

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits.