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nickdunse profile picture

nickdunse

CRO

Contributor

Send me the price before the demo

Wud up.


About 20% of our leads want the pricing before the first disco / demo. That's resulted in some saying they're not interested in the meeting, before they've even understand the value etc.


We don't publicize our pricing because, although it's simple, it scares people... Also, we provide a revenue solution that means our product is free in a lot of cases.


How are other people overcoming this request without sounding like a dick?

🔍 Discovery
10

11 comments

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Ace
Arsonist
4
CEO
One thing that helps me out is putting myself in a vulnerable position. When they ask price before looking at demo, I give them the price but tell them that regardless of they go ahead with this or not, I'd still like to show them the product because it helps us improve our product. A feedback from the other side of the table helps. With a demo, we will kill 2 birds with 1 stone - I will get my feedback and you can take an informed decision. Works more than I thought it'd
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
3
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Another reason to not give price right away is because then it puts us in a corner to either undersell/underdeliver on the product/promotion. 

My response to people asking pricing is something like....

"Listen, I can give you some off the wall pricing when it comes to XX. However, it would be unfair to you because the solution tied to that number might not be right for what you need. I would recommend for us to go through the demonstration to further find out what your needs/wants truly are so that I can create the best possible solution that will elevate your business while maintaining a proper price-point." 

I get about an 85% success rate with this rebuttal. 
TheHypnotist
Executive
2
Sales Manager
First, have a conversation (either face to face or phone call) - find out WHY they are asking for the price:

- is there a budget? 

- do they want a ballpark figure or exact pricing? 

- do they have to give the price to someone else who should actually also see the demo?

- are they going to decide on price alone?

This is your chance to obtain more information. Once you have the WHY, you may have in fact saved yourself from doing a useless demo which would be a waste of your time and theirs. Then give them a price range (I am assuming you don't have one fixed price per user) and tell them that you need to spec their requirements to give exact pricing.

Avoiding the price conversation will just erode any trust you have built with the customer.
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
2
☕️
We don't publish our prices, but we do offer it when people ask. I'd rather qualify out than waste 45 minutes myself.

That said, a simple response could be along the lines of: "I am happy to share our pricing with you during our conversation. The reason we do not publish our pricing is that it is highly variable based on features/revenue model (etc), making it difficult to share a number with you before we review your specific use case." 
mistamor
Opinionated
1
VP of Sales
Here's what I think... I'm all for giving price pre-demo, BUT... if I have an opportunity to speak to them on the phone or Zoom first and justify the price, I rather do that.

So here's what works for my team:

1. Ask them:  "I hope I don’t come off too blunt, but if I tell you the price now without showing you a demo, you’ll think it’s too expensive. Would you be totally against me first showing you how we came up with it?"

IF THEY STILL SAY NO

2. Give them the price
funcoupons
WR Officer
1
👑
I'm comfortable providing a ballpark price. Might as well qualify out people who don't have that kind of budget right away. I usually say something like "Our prices are in the x to x range, however to get you accurate pricing the next step would be for us to have a conversation so I can learn more about your current situation and needs, how does Thursday afternoon sound?" Parlay it into a meeting, always.
Justatitle
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
Yeah sure let me just go ahead and closed lost you now as well.
SaaSguy
Tycoon
0
Account Executive
I think being open about pricing builds trust instead of being one of the "I want to provide value before we discuss pricing" salespeople imo
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
0
Bravado's Resident Asshole
That's why you can "people-skill" them into the demo without having to share the price. 
Annonny
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
I can totally send you the price of something random, but we like to customize the solution based off your specific needs, and wants, so it is hard to send you over something fair without initially at least meeting and getting your vision. > It usually works great for me! 
jwils
Politicker
0
Sales Manager
No. I'm open to sharing ranges, but why would you tell someone the pricing before understanding the value. 

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Did a couple discovery meetings, sold the value, gaged interest, submit proposal ----> GHOSTED!

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