“Let’s Pretend”

“Thanks so much coming out today, would you be able to give me a price for the proposed work and we can go from there?” Coming from an interested prospect, these words might sound promising; but be careful. Stingy prospects sometimes ask sales people for a price estimate just so they can use it as a bargaining chip or glean important information from it. This doesn’t apply to all sales situations but when a considerable amount of planning and/or analysis is needed to give an estimated price, a sales person should be careful before agreeing to give an estimate. Rule #25 in “The Sandler Rules” book warns sales people about this situation, and gives some helpful advice for dealing with it. Mattson suggests asking the client what will happen if an estimate is given. For example, “I’d be happy to start working on that. ‘Let’s pretend’ for a moment that when I come back with our preliminary plan you are completely comfortable with my approach, the estimated costs are within your budget, and the completion dates meet your deadlines… what would happen at this point?” By saying this, you are letting the client know that you aren’t free research. You are happy to give an estimate but not if they aren’t actually interested in buying. In sales it’s important to take care of the customer, but if you aren’t careful you can easily over-extend yourself and lose valuable time and resources. What are your thoughts on balancing generosity with thriftiness in sales? I would love to hear them.