Olly profile picture
Olly profile picture

Olly

Account Exec

Catalyst
Contributor
Fire Starter

Prospect goes dark after quote

Had a prospect seeing a demo of our product, liked it and asked to learn about our pricing. After 2 weeks without response, he reaches out and asks for a quote ($50K).


Followed up on him after sending the quote and he goes "I'll let you know if I have any questions".


After 3 follow-ups, is it dead or should I keep trying?

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22 comments

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Incognito
WR Officer
5
Master of Disaster
Did he have a general idea of what the price would be prior to the demo? If not, I’d straight up ask if this is more than he can afford, and what’s a realistic price point (assuming you have products at a lower price point) and offer to demo those. 

Used to do this in horse sales all the time. Prospect would walk in saying they had x budget. I’d show the horse at exactly that price point, then show one below the price point (like a total piece of shit, but I’d quote it just slightly below their budget on purpose), and then I’d bring out something above their budget that was amazing. 

I knew they wouldn’t be able to get the expensive one out of their head - especially because the one they sat on directly before was SUCH a contrast in quality that it made the expensive one seem even better. 

Great way to see what they’re actually willing to spend vs what they tell you. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
5
🦊
What pain can you solve? What emotion can you use? 
Olly
Catalyst
0
Account Exec
They have an upcoming project that our solution is ticks all the boxes to make that project a smooth sailing
Fletch
Opinionated
3
Full-Time AE/Side-Hustle Owner
Sounds like he didn’t have anyone there to address his sticker shock when seeing the price. I never have good luck when sending a quote. Always present on a call or demo if possible.
saasesforthemaases
Tycoon
1
Account Manager, West
Agreed. This is an ideal way to do it. 
Kinonez
Celebrated Contributor
2
War Room Enthusiast
I hate when this happens so much, been there waaay to many times as well. It's part of the thrill of the game.
Diablo
Politicker
2
Sr. AE
I always set a price expectation during discovery (any try to understand their budget.. doesn't make sense to waste his and my time when I know he expects 1/10 th of our base price) and while sending a quote I also tell them that this is a list price and if he would like to discuss further I can see wherever flexibility exists with pricing.
LordBusiness
Politicker
1
Chief Revenue Officer
Sounds like he used you to get a better price on competitor solution
Covfefe4ClosersOnly
1
VP of Sales
Did you find out if he had prior experience with your kind of product and price range? If so, I like asking after my demo “what would you imagine the cost being for a product like this that does x,y,z (my most differentiated perks). Let’s you know immediately if you are in the ball park or will need to do work all before showing the actual price.
torontowarroomrep
Politicker
1
Account Executive
It might be dead, or maybe this guy is one of those who will out of nowhere send you a PO for 50k. Wait it out, send an email weekly, and if nothing by the end of the quarter, closed lost. 
Olly
Catalyst
0
Account Exec
Yeah simple as that. Thanks!
ChunkyButters
Tycoon
1
AE
Need to get at least a high level alignment on price/budget during the first 1-2 calls. This at least establishes a base line or range for them as they continue evaluations. I've also had people super interested in our product have our price 5-10x outside their budget so we part ways after the first call.

BANT might be dead, but budget qualification is not.

To answer your question tho: send a break up email.

You can keep chasing them up, but send a break up and then just slowly drip them some propaganda until they come back around.
Olly
Catalyst
0
Account Exec
Agreed. Do you bring up the pricing first, or do your prospects typically do that by themselves?
ChunkyButters
Tycoon
1
AE
Depends on the flow of the conversation. If I bring it up it's typically around other qualification. Asking if there is a specific event or driver for the project/evaluation. Then getting into "Okay, have you set aside a budget, or have an idea of what you're shooting for?". It's not "do you have money" it's "do you have an idea of what you'd like to spend on this project".
Olly
Catalyst
0
Account Exec
Great stuff. Very much appreciated.
ColdCall
Valued Contributor
1
Account Executive
Sounds like break up email territory! 

"Hi 

Sounds like you're not looking at this solution or have already found a way to solve x problem. 

I'll stop contacting you- let me know if this is not the case" 

Feel like this is a good way to get a response or close the oppo and move on. 

Good Luck! 
Olly
Catalyst
0
Account Exec
Wow this is a great template, thank you!
Woody
Politicker
1
Business Development Executive
No it is not dead necessarily.  3 Follow ups is nothing.  

This is going to happen a lot. It happens to all of us.  A lot. 

Many software companies have a set appointment - run demo - send proposal - follow up model.    

This is an acceptable brute force way to barge into the marketplace.  I've seen it work effectively many times particularly if you have a high profit margin and a recurring revenue model.  

It produces a lot of no response from customer outcomes.  This is because there is very little qualification of the customer at any stage of the journey.  Why ask someone at the end of the demo for their honest feedback on the viability of the solution and their ability to invest when this may cost you the opportunity to write a proposal and score another KPI for the month?  

If you have a motivation to be more efficient (which you may not because you need to hit the demo and proposal kpis) You might consider starting the demo saying something like, " Charlie I'm going to run through this solution today. A typical implementation of this costs roughly $50,000 - $100,000 so at the end of our conversation I'd basically like to know yes or know if you feel like this is going to bring that much value to what you're doing and whether or not you could afford to buy this this year. Is that fair?"   

If he can give you an honest reason they don't want it or cant afford it you've saved yourself a proposal writing session and a whole lot of follow up calls.  But again you don't get that proposals out the door tally. 
Olly
Catalyst
0
Account Exec
I like your idea of building the expectation before the demo. Kind of a risk but then again if they're interested and it ticks all the pain boxes then it would work I guess
ATX_Seller
Opinionated
1
Cat Herder
Corp actually has a very solid break up email:

"Hi ______

After reaching out a few times over the last ______, I'm starting to get the sense that there's been a shift in priorities, and _______ is now lower on the list. I'd consider it a personal favor if you could let me know either way, and I can stop filling up your inbox (which I'm sure you can appreciate)."
Olly
Catalyst
0
Account Exec
This is fantastic, thank you!
cw95
Politicker
0
Sales Development Lead
Give the ultimatum of a yes or no - if no, we will go with that and shake hands. 

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