telecastermain

Account Executive

Client says they have no budget (fishing for pricing)

Hey guys, I could use some advice here...

I am an AE in an SMB/MM segment, and our software is in the Learning Management Software space (LMS).

The software makes most sense for those in MM to Enterprise space.

Being in the SMB/MM segment and not having our pricing published, means we get a LOT of tire kickers and unqualified people through the doors.

The majority of my leads are people who when asked about budget "don't know" and are "just collecting quotes".

This is fine and all, but the problem is management has made it very clear not to give any pricing (including ballpark pricing/starting pricing) at all until AFTER a demo.

So even though I want to DQ them early, I can't.

So I guess I am looking for some advice on how to get budget out of people who "don't know" (or won't give it up), or other tactic that can help me properly qualify/disqualify them so I don't waste time going through a demo and multiple follow ups only to get ghosted because we are way out of range.

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25 comments

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Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

4

Sales Rep

When you hear "don't know" and are "just collecting quotes", what are you following up with.

If you seeing something you like, are you willing to allocate budget? Have you had that conversation with the finance team on that process? If so, is the a range you are looking to stay at price wise?

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

These are good questions I will work in - thanks!

Maximas

Tycoon

0

Senior Sales Executive

Was about to say that too, good one Kosta.

Diablo

Politicker

1

Sr. AE

Is your pricing per user or set of licenses per tier? Did you reframe to understand how much they are willing to spend? For me, if I know they are 5 users and each cost $1, I’ll ask them if they have budget around $5 with some flexibility, if not doesn’t make sense. You will still be engaged but just to waste your time and I guess your management wants that 😜

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

Unfortunately this requires me to give out pricing and they had a whole meeting saying not to give any pricing at all until after a full demo.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Are most of the leads you speak with the decision maker? - Id guess they are just being tasked with collecting quotes versus having input on final solution they go with.

Will management let you toss out anchoring pricing? - I get a lot of these types of leads too.

To at least keep them engaged, I say something along the lines of "So we can sell you a (product/service) anywhere between $20,000 and $350,000.

I'm guessing that range doesn't help you very much at this time. Would it be unreasonable to learn more about what you're trying to accomplish so we can sharpen the pencil a bit?"

If they beat around the bush on that...just follow up in 6 months.

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

I would love to do this, but we are not allowed to give out any pricing of any kind until after a demo. There was a specific meeting about this.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

0

Sales Director

What's their reasoning?

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

They say you have to establish value in order for pricing to land.

Which is true - kind of.

It is only for clients who actually have budget, not theSMB's and startups who have already pre-decided to spend at most $3,000 because they found our lowest priced competitor out there.

So when I go through the consultation, demo, pricing and they find out our solution starts at around $9,000 it ends with an "oh ok thanks can u send it over" with a follow up pricing call that gets cancelled or ghosted.

Again - I am ok with losing these early. It's all the unnecessary wasted time in between that is frustrating me.

Which is why I am trying to find a way to either get a budget range early WITHOUT giving any pricing or coming off with other questions I could ask...

CPTAmerica

Opinionated

1

President/CRO

I know the space well, lead and LMS from early days to exit. This pricing tactic is common but so unhelpful IMO.

So to DQ you need to have them tell you it's too much? But you're also not allowed to tell them how much it is until after a demo?

If so, what does your org consider a "demo?" I'd get good at rolling through a high level demo (should be able to do this in 15mins).

So prospect asks for pricing I'd go with "obviously pricing can vary depending on users and configuration, etc. How about this, I don't want to waste a ton of your time so what if I give you a quick overview and you let me know roughly what setup would work for you and then I can give you a ballpark quote... The only thing I ask in return is this; if we're out of your price range would you be comfortable letting me know at the end?"

Get them to commit ahead of time to being honest about price and you will see a much greater level of transparency. Obviously it wont work 100% of the time but you'll be surprised how effective it is.

And if your org wants some help overhauling their sales process a bit have them reach out ;)

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I hope your suggestion is one that telecastermain can leverage, because it's absolutely the best path.

Requiring the DM on a demo would be choice #2 for me.

telecastermain

Contributor

1

Account Executive

I like this - it still isn't in line with what they want. They've been very clear about how they want the sales process to go, and what to say/not to say on each call.

It would be like if you can do a "quick demo" you can do a full demo.

They don't seem to be receptive to DQ'ing anything unless it's been run through the full cycle.

Good thoughts though, I am going to see what elements of this I can work in.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

0

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Who runs your demos? Is it you, or do you need to have a team?

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

I run it solo. SE joins if needed for more complex deals.

WheelofCheese

Opinionated

1

Sales Executive

Tire kickers are the worst. If it were me and I had no choice regarding cutting them loose, I would tell them that pricing is very customized on their needs and you're not able to provide pricing until after you've done a demo and some discovery. A serious shopper/buyer shouldn't give you major pushback. You're a professional who wants to provide a solution that makes sense for THEM. In my opinion, a serious buyer is willing to invest some time. Someone looking for pricing right out of the gate doesn't understand the value you bring to the table. Those are not the clients you want. They will buy on price, and will leave you on price.

Regarding their budget, I would ask them when they set their budget for the year. Most companies set aside money for sizeable investments during their budget meeting/s each year. Depending on their answer, you may be able to determine if they are in the market to make changes or not. They should be able to tell you what they have budgeted for the year which will give you an idea if your solution/s are even a viable option for them. Perhaps they are collecting quotes to justify their decision to go with someone else and they are required to get several quotes before making a final decision. Obviously, this is a complete waste of your time.

telecastermain

Contributor

1

Account Executive

I love this - thank you.

WheelofCheese

Opinionated

0

Sales Executive

You’re welcome!! I hope it helps.

Pachacuti

Politicker

0

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

You haven’t built enough trust with them &/or you are talking to the wrong person.

Years ago I was tasked with researching Sales Training for my office. All the trainers wanted to know my budget, which I didn’t have since I was researching options. Price was a consideration but not everything. It it’s also very hard to develop a real ROI on training. It’s speculation at best.

So put yourself in those shoes. Yes, price is a factor but until they commit to take you past the tire kicking stage, price doesn’t matter. You need to create enough value for them to say “I see real value in this”. And they need to involve more people in their org in the conversation.

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

I definitely understand the "talking to the wrong person" side.

I get that feeling as soon as I see the other person is an admin or someone who isn't even connected to the problem.

They've been sent to collect numbers, put them on a spreadsheet and give it to their manager who will pick the lowest number.

My goal is to try and create enough value (or reveal the pain), but when the prospect is either (a) too far away from the pain to talk about it, or (b) too focused on keeping it under $MysteryDollarFigure, then I have to keep qualifying and hoping that we will land in the ballpark of what they're ok with.

I am ok with Closing Lost after the first call if it's going there anyway. It's all the in-between wasted time that I am trying to avoid.

Pachacuti

Politicker

0

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

You need to be willing to walk away from “bad deals”. It’s hard, but if they aren’t willing to commit resources to learning about your solution, they probably won’t buy anyway.

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

I am willing to walk away - and I want to asap. But I cannot DQ without giving away pricing, and I am not allowed to give away pricing.

Pachacuti

Politicker

0

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

You need to develop go/no-go criteria, or gates. For example:
Gate 1 - client interest
2- initial discussion/discovery with client (gather requirements, customer business case, other fact gathering, establish real business need)
3- demo with decision maker only after understanding client requirements and need
4- proposal and pricing along with next step discussion and commitment to move forward

This is very simplistic but it’s something to launch from.

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

Given this, I think my goal then is to hold off demo unless I can get a budget from them or get a DM on the demo.

Otherwise we will always look like we're priced high if a DM (or someone close to the pain) isn't involved.

RandyMoss

Politicker

0

Account Executive

I find that it's helpful to humanize yourself a bit. Try to put yourself on the same side of the table as your prospect with something like: "Hey, I completely understand that you have people to answer to. They are hounding you for updates on proposals and pricing for future projects; I completely understand and empathize with your position. But I have people that I answer to as well. I carry a number, and if I submit X number of proposals in our system for organizations like yours that want to get a look at our pricing, my leadership team is going to expect me to bring in Y amount of revenue to account for those proposals."

If the person on the other end of the phone/email, cannot at least understand your situation, then you just have to politely DQ them. Tell them you are happy to refer them to your director/boss if they push back on that, but they are going to get a similar answer from your boss/director.

An analogy I have liked using a lot lately is to tell people: "You have to pick up your end of the couch. I can't be the one doing all of the giving and putting in all of the effort, or this is never going to be a successful relationship."

telecastermain

Contributor

0

Account Executive

This is true - I think I am going to do this. Add some more transparency and push back a little. If they want a quote, I'm going to need something to work with. Either a ballpark budget or someone who has some authority to be involved in the demo.

Thanks!

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