In the almost four decades we've been doing complex sales training, coaching, and consulting (with over 2,400 companies), we've learned that there are a lot of constants in what prospects and suspects ask salespeople.
One of those constants is this: they always want to get to clarity early about, 'What does your solution cost?"
"What do you think it's going to cost for this?"
"Just give me an idea of the ballpark price."
Something like that.
And we've found that a simple example from another industry will help a salesperson begin to start the process of qualification and avoid doing the deal-killing premature pitch with unpaid consulting that can land them at Wimp Junction(R).
Think of it this way: Imagine if we called an airline and asked, 'How much is a plane ticket?'
Do you think they could give us a good answer?
Probably not. They're going to ask us a few questions, like:
"When do you want to go?"
"How long are you going to stay?"
"Are you coming back?"
"Do you want to ride up front, or do you want to be in the back with the guy with the live chickens?"
They're not trying to be jerks, they're trying to figure out what the best solution is for you.
It's the same way with a salesperson. If I, as a seller, just have the presence of mind to ask a follow-up question to the pricing request, then I can start qualifying the opportunity rather than prematurely dumping information on the prospect. (This also helps me give the most accurate and honest response to the prospect.)
It might sound like this:
"Well, thanks for asking. I hope I can help. It is important that I understand what you're trying to do. So could I ask you a few questions to see if we're even a fit and if we're not, I'll tell you. And after I understand a little bit more about what you're trying to accomplish, I can give you a reasonably accurate guess as to what it's going to cost. Is there any reason we can't do that?"
Get off of the whole price thing and start qualifying. And you can use those little questions, like, "How accurate does it have to be?"
And of course, if they say "Very", then you get to do the safest move in sales, which is, "I'm not sure I understand." And now they'll talk, and you'll learn what you need to learn in order to give them an honest, thorough, and contextually appropriate answer to their question.
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