I have made more presentations than I can count to prospects that had no money. I would develop a PowerPoint presentation, assemble a professional looking proposal, and involve other sources of expertise to help deliver the message, all at significant cost of time and money. I would deliver a killer presentation and almost always in these situations, the prospect was highly enthusiastic about what I was proposing. And why wouldn’t they be? They had no money to buy it! They could dream right along with me without any risk of getting hurt since they knew they weren’t going to buy it. “We love it! We are going to put this into our budget for next year because we are definitely going to do it.” Thank you Mr. Prospect . . . for nothing!

The professional salesperson must avoid this potential money/time wasting trap by implementing the next step in the systematic selling approach called the budget step. You must be comfortable talking about money with your prospects early in the sales dance if you are to avoid wasting time with prospects that are broke.

“I don’t suppose you have set aside a budget for a solution, have you?” What a simple question to ask and yet many salespeople are afraid to ask it because the prospect might get mad or we think that we haven’t earned the right to ask such a question. We need to get past this and ask the question. This is just the first step, because here comes the prospect’s answers . . .

“Yes, I have a budget.” – Okay, we are getting close. Now nurture it a little more by asking the prospect to “share” (everyone likes to share) in “round numbers” (less abrasive than “exactly”) what they have for a budget.

“No, I do not have a budget for this.” – This could have a lot of meanings so we need to ask the prospects more questions like “What do you mean when you say, ‘I have no budget’”. Typically the prospect then tells you that money can be found if the solution you provide is of value. What started as ‘No budget’ turns into ‘Maybe there is budget.’ If the prospect continues to insist that there is no money for your solution, it is here that you begin to end the sales call. No presentation is given and all of your intellectual property concerning your solution remains safely between your ears.

“Maybe I have a budget.” – It is okay as the sales professional to come to the table first with pricing. Be careful not to scare the prospect off with a price that is too high or a price that is too low. The best way to do this is to have options prepared ahead of the sales call that cover the best, the better, and the good solution and then let the prospect choose where they want you to be. This ‘bracketing’ technique may be assertive, but it is effective at qualifying your prospect in the area of budget.

Once you determine the prospect’s budget you need to confirm if the information they have given you is truthful. I have mentioned previously that prospects lie and this is one of those places where it happens. Simply ask the prospect if you were to propose a solution that they would want in the budget range they selected, they wouldn’t fire you over money. It might even be a good idea to ask one more question regarding their claim to budget to avoid any surprises after your presentation. It is easy for small lies to be told once, but it becomes more difficult to lie about the same issue when asked about it a 2nd and 3rd time.

If you choose to take it to presentation without the prospect’s budget, you are at risk of wasting time and money while providing free consulting. Since selling Sandler Training, I have done this, and not once has it resulted in an order. If prospects don’t share budget with you, then they are not a likely buyer. If prospects are to be worthy of your time and intellect, then they must show you the money!

by Karl Schaphorst, President

402-403-4334

www.karlschaphorst.sandler.com

Sandler Training is a global training organization with over three decades of experience and proven results. Sandler provides sales and management training and consulting services for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as well as corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies. For more information, please contact Karl Schaphorst at (402) 403-4334 or by email at kschaphorst@sandler.com. You can also follow his blog at karlschaphorst.sandler.com