As an IT Solution Provider or Managed Service Provider (MSP), whenever you meet a prospective new customer\u00a0one of the most challenging parts of the conversation can surround uncovering the client’s budget.<\/p>\n
The prospect has a challenge in their business, and has called you because they hope you can help them resolve it. You\u2019re happy to do that if you\u2019re able to, but you aren\u2019t going to give up your time for free. So you ask the client if they\u2019ve considered a budget for this work.<\/p>\n
The most common answer to this question by a prospect is \u201cNo, not really.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now the prospect may not have a very firm figure in their head, but they\u2019ve nearly always got a rough idea. However they may not want to share this with you because their fear is that you might have been willing to help them with their challenge for a lot less than the figure they have in mind.<\/p>\n
From your perspective, you might find it difficult to put together an estimate for the work because you\u2019ve got lots of calculations to make to arrive at a figure \u2013 and IT is a much more complex business than most.<\/p>\n
So the client isn\u2019t willing to share his budget, and you aren\u2019t willing to take a wild guess at what it will cost to resolve the client’s challenge. You\u2019re at a stalemate. What can you do?<\/p>\n
Here are three techniques you can use to help uncover a client’s budget.<\/p>\n
Instead of asking the prospect what their budget is, ask them if they\u2019d mind sharing with you \u201cin round figures\u201d what their budget is.<\/p>\n
This softening statement will often put the prospect at ease, showing that you\u2019re talking in broad general terms rather than in specifics.<\/p>\n
Likewise, you can share with the client \u201cin round figures\u201d what you\u2019d expect the work to cost.<\/p>\n
Neither of you are holding the other to hard costs, and so the negotiation can now begin.<\/p>\n
So the prospect wants an estimate from you, and encourages you by telling you: \u201cWe won\u2019t hold you to it\u201d. However you know from experience that if you quote a figure and later on that figure rises, the prospect will grumble.<\/p>\n
One way to avoid this is to use the bracketing technique.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve probably got a very rough idea of the cheapest you could do the work for \u2013 let\u2019s say $2000 \u2013 and alternatively, an upper figure you\u2019d like to do the work for in a perfect world \u2013 let\u2019s say $5000.<\/p>\n
Offer to the prospect that, based on previous experience working with other clients who had similar challenges to them, the work will cost between $2000-$3000, or between $4000-$5000.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re doing two things here. You\u2019re not committing to a hard figure that you can beaten up on later, and you\u2019re demonstrating to the prospect that you have previous experience solving a similar challenge.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, you\u2019d assume that everyone would go for the cheapest cost. And they might. But many times I\u2019ve seen a client who was reluctant to share their budget earlier in the conversation pick the more expensive figure and say, \u201cThat\u2019s great, we had budgeted $4500 for this work.”<\/p>\n
Try it and see!<\/p>\n
I learned this technique from a Shopkeeper who shared with me a story of a man visiting his store and telling the shopkeeper that he wanted to buy his wife a new handbag for her birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have a budget in mind?\u201d asked the Shopkeeper. \u201cI\u2019ve no idea,\u201d offered the man.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me show you these handbags then, starting at $1000.”<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my no,\u201d said the man. \u201cI was thinking more of $100.”<\/p>\n
If a prospect tells you that they have \u201cno idea\u201d of their budget, offer them the highest figure for the work you\u2019d charge \u2013 and then some.<\/p>\n
When, as they typically will, they share that they didn\u2019t want to pay that much, ask them again what they had in mind. They\u2019ll share their realistic budget with you.<\/p>\n
A conversation with any prospect\u00a0must<\/em>\u00a0tackle the sticky subject of money.<\/p>\n Many of us are uncomfortable talking about money, but the reality is that if the prospect doesn\u2019t have the budget required to hire you to do the work, you\u2019re wasting your time and their’s continuing the conversation.<\/p>\n Using the three techniques listed above, you can help the client to share their budgets with you, and get a much better idea of whether you\u2019ll be able to help them or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As an IT Solution Provider or Managed Service Provider (MSP), whenever you meet a prospective new customer one of the most challenging parts of the conversation can surround uncovering the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","topic-msp-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n