Asking The Budget Question

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Asking The Budget Question

Written by Al Davidson

Voicemail
At The Sound of the Beep

I always get a big chuckle when sales people call my office to prospect for new business. I’m amazed at the fundamental lack of research, amused by their haphazard preparation and surprised that they actually believe their approach has any chance of working.

Here are a couple of actual winners I’ve recently received. The messages you are about to read are real. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. See what you think:

Hi, this is Ken with Hopeless Inc. We purchase used office telephone equipment and PC’s. Our number is 214.555.1212. If you’ve recently switched systems or plan to in the near future please give us a call at 214.555.1212.

Not much of a compelling reason to return this call. What is the potential value in doing business with Hopeless Inc.? It looks like the classic numbers game…make enough calls and eventually you find someone who has just “switched systems” and wants to get rid of the junk sitting in the closet. I couldn’t do that for a living, and I’m glad I don’t have to!

Here’s another example. Maybe it looks familiar to you.

Good morning Kim, this is Barbie with Clueless. We produce the business to business database called Insight Online. I’m following up on your email inquiry to see if you have any questions about our product. Please give me a call at your convenience. My number is 888.555.1212 extension 1234.

Well for starters my name isn’t Kim. Yes, I did make an email inquiry, and I’m pretty confident that I didn’t misspell my name on their form. Barbie says she wants to see if I have any questions on their product. Maybe it’s just me, but if I had a question I’m thinking I would pick up the phone and call them. What if Barbie was calling because she had ideas to share on how Insight Online has helped other sales speakers improve their business? Think I would return that call? You better believe it!

So what does it take to craft a better voice mail message? How can you improve your odds of getting a call back? Here are five questions that will help you start creating better messages now…

#1. Who is your target market?
Specifically, what is the title of the decision maker you want to do business with? And, if you are leaving a message for me, I want to hear that you work with professional sales trainers and speakers. I’m not interested in a one-size-fits-all approach. I’m interested in talking with someone who knows something about what I do (that’s why it’s called research!).

#2. What are some of the specific challenges that you solve? What are some opportunities that you help create?
Be as specific as possible. This is the classic pains & gains stuff. Re-visit these ideas often… that is why they are called classics!

#3. What emotions (frustration, disappointment, concern, optimism, hope) does your target market experience with the challenges and opportunities you outlined above?
Remember that emotion plays a big part in buying decisions, yet most of you sell using too much logic. Ever see someone driving a Lexus or wearing a Rolex? Help me understand the logic behind those decisions.

#4. What are some of the competitive alternatives available to your target market?
Yeah, I hear you screaming “never bring up the competition!” Do you really believe your prospect is only going to consider you without checking out someone else? Think again! And remember, doing nothing is a competitive alternative.

#5. Why, based on all of the alternatives available, should they do business with you?
What are your compelling differentiators? Be careful here, because most of you are thinking “great products, awesome service, solid reputation and a competitive price.” If most of you are thinking this, then it really isn’t a compelling differentiator… is it?

{sidebar id=7}Now just plug and play!
Fill in the blanks, read, revise, get feedback from your peers and you will have crafted a message that is purposeful, powerful and on target.

“I specialize in helping (target market) who are (feelings/emotions) with (specific challenges) and want proven solutions for (your specific benefits). (Quantify number or use names) of clients have already discovered that unlike (competitive alternative), my solution is/does (compelling differentiator).

My goal is not to make a sales call on you, but if these issues sound familiar and the benefits are important to you, then it might be worth ten minutes for us to have a brief fact finding conversation.”

I can’t guarantee that this process will work for you, but I can guarantee that it works. I’m hoping you will take some time to review and improve your current library of voice mail scripts. If you aren’t getting all the callbacks you want, you don’t have much to lose!

Asking the budget question is one of the most common mistakes in lead generation. Asking this question the wrong way is just like sticking your hand in the prospect's wallet. Although we would all like to do that…there are smarter ways to get to the same place. (And you can do it without getting thrown out of the decision makers office.)

There is going to come a time when budget will come into play during the sales process. But the way you approach this question can mean the difference between a successful sale and a bad reputation. Play your cards right, you could turn this one sale into repeat business. Mess it up, and a scared or put-out prospect can spread the word around faster than you can dial the phone.

Although you are going to eventually ask some sort of budget question, it is important to understand the dangers in pursuing this information. If you don’t ask the question in just the right way and at just the right time you will moist likely create negative energy between you and the decision maker. When this happens you risk getting bad (or no information at all) thus your sale is about to veer off the road. My advice? Never ask "Do you have budget for this purchase?"

Sure, that's the question you want answered. But this is not the way to find that information. It is the way to shut down the process quickly. The prospect may say no when in fact he does have a budget because he thinks you are prying in to his personal information. Then again, he may say yes and tell you a low ball figure because he doesn’t like the way you do business. Some people are going to take this question to mean "how much can I possibly charge you for this before you'll run?"

Asking the question at the wrong stage of your sales cycle can be the kiss of death. Believe or not many sales people ask this question during lead generation (see the previous article about qualification questions). The earlier you ask this question the more dangerous your path becomes. You don't meet someone at a party and say "Hi, Jeff, nice to meet you. I'm Bob. So, what's your net worth?" It's not acceptable in a business environment, either.

Asking this question the wrong way is just like sticking your hand in the prospect's wallet. Although we would all like to do that…there are smarter ways to get to the same place. (And you can do it without getting thrown out of the decision makers office.)

{sidebar id=7} Getting at the budget in a sale is an art form…it requires a lot of finesse. The real trick is getting the prospect to GIVE you the information you're looking for without having to ask for it. First, by leading off with questions that show you're concerned with their best interests. Then show them how you can help solve their problems. Finally, provide a basic cost-benefit scenario and leave it to them to tell you if the can afford it. You don't even have to ask if the "have enough money."

The concept of budget is usually best introduced in the context of ROI. Don't ask if they can afford it. Show them how they CAN afford it. For example: "Our solution can save help you reduce your payroll by x and also give you more capacity and faster processing. This means that you can save X during the next 12 months…the cost of our solution is Y…would a return on your investment of Z be a good fit for you? If so, then we might have just the solution you're looking for.

Again, you aren't ASKING them for money, you're SHOWING them how much money they can save/make with your product or service, as well as how you are going to solve their problem(s) at the same time.

Tessa Stowe
		About the author:
		Tessa Stowe teaches small business owners and recovering salespeople how to turn conversations into clients without being sales-y or pushy. For her free list of the 'Top 10 Sales Mistakes - and How to Avoid Them' .