Thread by @BowTiedSalesGuy

There’s a lot of different theories in how to deal with “price” on a sales call

1) some say bring it up in the beginning

2) some say bring it up only at the end

I say it depends.

When i’m selling and the prospect is clearly qualified (company that has $$) then it’s not..

relevant to bring up price on the beginning.

If I have a feeling i’m dealing with a cheap prospect or a cash strapped startup i’ll bring it up in the beginning. Sometimes i’ll be as direct as “Look before we continue, our product starts at $40k a year. Is that affordable?”

If no - end the call

If yes - continue

If yes + objection - you say “Obviously i’m going to tell you why it’s worth that much on this call. We’re just really busy so I needed to make sure you guys can swing $40k before continuing”

In general I don’t like talking numbers in the beginning because it invites them scrutinize the deal and miss the big picture

So when I bring it up at the end I say they have 3 options

Small plan $40k - not enough for their use case

Medium plan $70k - JUST right

Enterprise $150k - overkill for their current use case

And then I negotiate within these parameters (the 3 pricing options)

“Yeah if you guys were [your huge competitor] I’d say just go with the enterprise plan but in you’re case i’d advise the medium plan.”

sometimes i like to end with:

“Ok guys we’re coming up on our time. so to recap - we’re in agreement. you like what we do, pricing is reasonable, terms are fair, so what, if any, obstacles do we need to overcome to this get approved internally? Who in procurement do we need to bribe?? [joke/laugh]”

Pricing is a necessary topic to discuss i just don’t make it a bigger deal than it needs to be

Remember, companies spend hundreds of thousands on “diversity training” so don’t be afraid to ask for $150k to transform a part of their business