The subject of budgets is something that has scared sales people for years. It is incredibly difficult to broach this topic with potential consumers without making at least one side uncomfortable. There are differing views on whether budget constraints should even be brought up during a sales pitch, but for the sake of this discussion I will assume that knowing the consumers budget is a benefit for the seller.
I experienced the power of the knowledge of a consumers budget first hand just this past week. My girlfriend and I have been looking at engagement rings for a while and have visited several different stores. This past week I was surprised when one of the stores started the pitch by asking what our budget was. This was the first and only place that had asked me and I was surprised that no other store had bothered to find out. I felt much more comfortable there because the sales person was intentional about only showing us items that fit our budget. Many of the other jewelers would instantly show us some of their most expensive merchandise in the hopes that once we saw it we would want to buy it. I felt very pressured and taken advantage of. The fact that this store was conscious of our budget made all the difference to me as a consumer. I hadn’t realized how important this would be going in, but it has definitely swayed me towards wanting to buy from that particular store.
Regardless of whether one thinks that asking about budgets is uncomfortable, it is hard to argue against the value of knowing someone’s financial position when trying to sell. Having a technique to find this information out could make all the difference between completing a sale or having the consumer walk out.
BoweryJE22