The Talk. The budget talk. It’s just one of those things you can either feel like its another simple conversation, or something you would rather never discuss. To be fair, most people are brought up not to ask other people about their money, their salary or nosy questions of the like, but when you are selling a product to a person- there is going to be a price on it whether it be fixed or can be negotiated a bit. They need to know that price, and you need to know what their price range is, not because you’re nosy and rude, but simply because you want to help them find the product best fit for your customer that they are most comfortable purchasing.
Truth be told, I think it can be a hard subject to talk about with some people. Especially when I don’t know them at all and all of the sudden want to know what a person can spend on an item. But luckily, things do not have to be as awkward as you would think. There are a couple a key questions that could help you transition into talking about this subject. You could go along the lines of, “Quick question: internally, have you talked about the kind of money you need to solve this problem?” Or maybe ask if they have a set range such as, “Have you set any budget parameters for this project?” With this question, clear answers only are given usually 1/3 of the time though. While these are good starter questions- a good way to get to the heart of this topic and get real numbers is by asking questions about range and asking for a threshold. It might be beneficial to ask a person, “If this product was between this price and this price, what would you think?” Maybe give them a few different ranges and go up or down and let them choose which one they would think is the most reasonable. You can also ask them why they did not choose a lower number if they give you a certain amount they would spend. By asking them this, it gives them more positivity to talk about and why they could choose a higher number.
Overall, budget it an important talk to have- and usually uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be! Be comfortable and open and make it a casual conversation. It is nothing more than it has to be!
BoweryJE22
I think this subject is so hard to talk about, and like Prof Sweet said, it can be offensive if we assume someone has money and they don’t or vice versa; this goes hand in hand with Sandler’s rule about not assuming facts and it is important to approach budgeting confidently, but lightly.
I agree, I’ve observed a few situations where assumptions have gone badly both ways. It’s best to let the customer guide the conversation in that area, people are generally more comfortable talking about money than we think they will be. Another assumption not to make. 🙂
I loved the title of this blog post and its so true. Talking about price is essential in making the sale and you need to learn to not feel awkward about it!