It depends on a number of factors and when they ask for price.

if I have the DM and We've gotten through some discovery and demo then I have no problem showing price, budgets are a real thing and if we’re light years apart I’m not wasting my time.

but if it’s a super low level person who’s doing research for a superior and it’s one of the first questions they ask, then no.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Perfect Strategy. Works for sure. Thanks

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Agreed with this. Also I think ballpark figures are fine but would not provide a down to the dollar quote unless the prospect is serious and it's determined to be a good fit on both ends.

Prizrak

Politicker

Disruptor of worlds

This annoys the hell out of me when I'm trying to buy software. I have a budget, you might be way below, just right or way above. Don't waste my time and yours with this silliness.
The products I sell are a lot more complex and custom, so I need to figure out what you need before I even start on pricing. But I can still give ballparks along the way and I flat out tell them we're usually not the most expensive but we're far from the bottom. If they're shopping on price get me out of there before I waste days on a client that will never buy.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

My industry works the same. I definitely try to disqualify prospects before I spend too much time with them.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Ah, I see. Okay🤝

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Pretty much straightforward approach. Thanks for adding in

paddy

WR Officer

Director of Business Development

Doesn’t matter just present the value.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Hmmm, makes sense

SaraB

Opinionated

Account Executive

Present the price if they see the value. If they don’t on the demo, hold off on price pres until the follow up

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Makes sense. So ask directly post demo, how'd you rate the product basis your pain area and you think, it would be a good fit? And then if yes - put on the price?

Annonny

Big Shot

Account Executive

Hard one..depends on how the demo went and if they are ready to make a move. Some can be a one and done and they sign right away. Guess it just depends on how you performed and their level of trust with you. But performance is key!

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Performance matters. You're right. Thanks for the feedback

Finesy

Valued Contributor

Account Representative III

This is subjective. If you aren’t doing another demo then yes, talk about pricing at the end. Make sure you have already established that your product checks all their boxes and they know timeline etc. pricing is last. If they ask before I’m ready to discuss in detail then give them ballpark. I hate when people hide pricing but you do need to be strategic about it.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Ah, I get the point. Thanks for clarifying

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

If you sell a product that is headcount based, and not based on feature use/professional services, then throw out that price if you feel there is a good fit. If they can't afford it you will want to find out right then and there. Kill the deal as early as possible and let them come back if they find value/budget.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

That's a cool and effective strategy. Thanks for the add on

ChaoticGood

Contributor

Chief Revenue Officer

I usually have the approach of "the price is the cherry on top". We can typically get through identifying needs and showing some of the flashy stuff so by the end of the demo giving them a price is typically not a problem. If anything, being confident about the price shows that you believe the product is actually worth it.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

The last point here makes a big difference. Thanks for the clarification

CaneWolf

Politicker

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

It depends on what you sell. Is that possible based on what you're selling? Are you at a really high price point? Is this customer expecting pricing?

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Software. Not at high though. Customer surely is expecting to plan on budgets for further discussion

CaneWolf

Politicker

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

If price point isn't high, then I think you're fine to put the pricing at the end.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Gotcha. Thanks

SalesPharaoh

Big Shot

Senior Account Executive

It's always safe if you feel the guy is all about the budget to share a range. Having a range will calm the prospect down and also help you both know if it's within the budget or not. The range is never specific. But always safe to put from x up to y.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

You're spot on and so right. Agree

Strangis

Valued Contributor

Key Account Manager / BDM

always give just an indicative costs so they have something on hand to present to leadership for their approval process.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Yes. This makes process more easy as well. Thanks

HoldemCaulfield

Politicker

Sales Training & Enablement

I would tend towards "no" because it's highly unlikely after one demo that there's enough value established and the paper process is fully known (maybe if it's an SMB or VSB sale, then sure - get the $).

Additionally, depending on who we're talking to, this person may not really be the right contact to give pricing too; they may not be the Economic Buyer at all. At the same time, I think it's probably ok sometimes to disqualify a person by giving a range, however, this begs the question --- why is this person on a demo in the first place if they don't have the authority or budget?

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Yeah. To an extent this is right. Yet, if key stakeholders are there in the demo (if preparation is done on the persons who are joining demo from AEs end) better to give a costing

HoldemCaulfield

Politicker

Sales Training & Enablement

For sure. I don't think there's really a right or wrong here overall. I think it's best to keep it in your back pocket, but you also have to be transparent with them as well. Sometimes, it makes sense to give pricing early on.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Absolutely 💯. I agree with your perspective

Law

Personal Narrative

Head of Business Development

It depends on a number of things.
1. Who's going to be in the room? Senior DM or product user who equally doesn't have purchasing power but is influential in the DM-making process? If with DM - 100% show price and close in the room, if with user show value first, align on the pros and how it solves for their challenges, then discuss price only if, the user sees full value and is bought in, use that to use them as your internal champion!

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

You just penned a crystal clear Strategy. Thanks a ton

Law

Personal Narrative

Head of Business Development

Love this space, too! You are welcome

handysales

Politicker

Enterprise Sales Lead

Depends on the prospect – sometimes I'll get someone from the older, stodgier crowd who isn't willing to shell out for SaaS, but sometimes I'm pitching to a person who isn't messing around and wants to move much more quickly. Usually have numbers roughed in either way, and then will feel it out based on how the first half of the call goes.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Interesting Strategy. Like the way you said you'd gauge things in 1st half of the call

yohnst

Account Executive

Post demo I absolutely think sharing price is a value-add. It's the question on everyone's mind, saves everyone time if you're not close cost-wise, and it can create trust with your buyer by being transparent. Current role (new gig in 2021) the average sales cycle is 140 days. I'm at 140% of quota in Q2 (still June to go) with an average sales cycle of 25 days. Existing team is rigid with discovery call, demo call, technical/SE deep dive call, then pricing call. I'm digging on discovery or listening to my BDR's Chorus disco calls pre-demo, then bringing an SE to ride shotgun on my (personalized) demos to answer the technical questions on that call and providing pricing at the end. ASP is $32k.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

That's a long cycle for sure. Great Strategy and reasoning you've said. Thanks

OMG_It_has_a_watermark

Good Citizen

Head of Sales

This is actually a really great poll.
Here's the thing - if someone asks, tell them something. When salespeople "avoid the price" because it didn't slot in nicely to the sales process, you already start to lose trust.
I always ask the price on the discovery call - always. I don't need a 30-page proposal, but give me a range. Can I afford this realistically right now? Does it align with my budget? Do I have to go ask finance for more? I'm not wasting my time to find out 3 conversations later that it's not going to work.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Thanks for the feedback on the poll!
Yeah you're right. This strategy works good and to sales folks' advantage

YoungGoat

Opinionated

Surgical Technology Specialist

I'm up front with pricing. Reason being is that if price is prohibitive there's no point exploring if the solution is a good fit

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

So right. Agree with you

QuesoBlanco

Opinionated

Enterprise Account Executive

Definitely depends on situation. Last company I worked for sold a CRM. It was AWFUL product but way cheaper than Salesforce. Bringing up price on demo was one of only reasons people would even consider buying.

Current role for SaaS company though is much different. Product is more expensive than a majority of competitors, but also significantly better. Reps who are good and can quickly get into the value prop/ROI do fine with pricing discussions on demo. But a lot have lost people when they bring out pricing too early and the prospect just shuts down.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Totally depends. Your scenarios made it clear and concise. Thanks

POSitive

Opinionated

Senior Account Manager

Depends what you're selling...typically I'm selling hardware (printers) and based on my rapport or gut feel with the client I'll straight shoot on that early in the demo rather than waste our collective time. Software is a different beast entirely. Ballpark figures are ok to throw out early too and then "sharpen your pencil" when things get serious.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

I liked how you termed sharpen the pencil. Absolutely. That's very key and decides the deal movement too, I believe

slaydie

Big Shot

Account Executive

I always like to get price out there if they are interested in the product and it seems like there could be a fit...no sense in trying to hide it and waste any ones time.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

You're right. Makes sense

RampagingDog

Politicker

Recruitment Consultant

Personally, I do my daggum best to have all deciding parties on initial demo. If I don't see me getting the close right then, I push to reschedule. The best time to show price is directly after my shiny demo. Once I show price, I'm going for the kill. That's it. As humans, when we take time to "think about it" we more often think of reasons not to do something rather than to do something.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

You're a champ with your thought process. Absolutely. Agree with that perspective.

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Salespreuner

Do you think putting out the price in the first meeting where a demo is shown , is recommended? Would it add value or loosen the deal or interest?

Pricing in 1st demo ?

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