Bring Up Money: How to Talk About Budget Without Sounding Like a Salesperson

Nobody likes talking about money. You hate asking, they hate being asked, and somehow it still has to happen. In this episode I'm breaking down why the budget conversation doesn't have to be the awkward moment everyone dreads, how to bring it up in a way that actually feels helpful to your client, and what to do when they still won't give you a number. This one will change how you think about money on a sales call.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Money makes most people uncomfortable. I know that, you know that, and if you're in a service-based business custom quoting people, you probably know what happens when you bring a budget on a sales call. You get one of two responses. I don't know what it costs, or I'm just trying to gather information right now. But here's the thing: most people aren't telling the truth when they say that. Not in a deceptive way, more like a genuine, I haven't said the number out loud yet, or a friend gave me some advice and I'm not sure if they're right. But they do have a number in their head. There's a ceiling that feels too high, and interestingly enough, there's normally a number that feels too low. There's a floor. Most people are looking for a Goldilocks situation. They don't want to find the person that's way too high in premium, and they don't want to find the person who is just starting out and isn't going to do an exceptional job. They're looking for somebody who can sit in that sweet spot, whatever they have decided that sweet spot is, and bring them exceptional value and that ROI that they're looking for without breaking the bank. Figuring out what that range is will help you increase your close rate and also be a better partner to your clients. Knowing what they feel like is way too high or way too low helps you actually serve them better in the long run. Talking about money on the first call does something else too. It actually takes the elephant out of the room when you talk about money and it gives you, the salesperson, the reins when it comes to leading the conversation and taking your clients or potential clients through what it's going to look like to work with you. When somebody comes to a service provider, a lot of times they're looking for a guide. They're looking for somebody to say, here's where we're going next. And if money is uncomfortable, all of a sudden they're having to lead that part of the discussion. If you come in really strong and confident and say, hey, I just wanted to talk about budget. I want to make sure that this is aligned for you. All of a sudden, it doesn't feel so intimidating. It feels like your partners, and it doesn't need to be this big topic that's looming. The worst case scenario when it comes to budget in my mind is that the person is like, hey, so I really like you, but like what is this gonna cost? Because now they are looking, now there's a number, right? They feel like the value that you're providing is too much for them to afford and they're concerned. You want them to feel confident the whole time that this is going to work for them. So we want to go ahead and get those fears out of the way and make sure that everyone is in alignment right off the bat on the first call. But I'm making that sound really easy. And if you ever want to see if you feel awkward around money, and most people do, think about how you handled the last time a waiter brought a check to your table or asked your group of friends if you guys are going to be one checker separate. I always get a little flustered and I'm like, I don't know, like it what should we do? And uh, I'll just pay for it. And there's this kind of dance that we all do with the check, right? Well, that happens on sales calls, but at a much higher stakes level. Um, we want to avoid the check dance at all possible when it comes to our clients and when it comes to actually moving a deal forward. So in today's episode, I'm going to share with you how I learned how to ask about budget and why it works and how it doesn't need to be uncomfortable for either party. It actually is going to increase your close rate and I think make you a better salesperson overall. The very first step is to set the frame. Now, in a separate episode, I talked about in the two-call close episode, I talked about how I want your first call to be really short. I want you to do most of the listening, right? I want you to learn about them. I don't need you to pitch anything. I just want you to learn about them and really lean on the next couple steps for you to prove your value. But before this call is over, after you've done your listening and you understand what they're trying to solve, you say something like this, hey, before we get off this call, I really understand the type of problem you're trying to solve. You want to give some details at this point. So if you're selling a website, you could say, I really understand that your website needs to be booking more demos for you. Or if you're a photographer, you say something like, I'm so excited, I feel like your wedding's going to be so beautiful, and I would absolutely love to be there with you. But, and this is where you kind of create some space. I do want to make sure that I am bringing to the table a proposal that makes the most sense for you. And there's so many different ways that we could add things in or make this really unique to you. So, in order for me to do that, I would love to understand what kind of budget would make you feel comfortable and what kind of ROI you're looking to see on that investment. Now, if you're a photographer, obviously your brides aren't looking for an ROI, but kind of saying like what would feel like an absolute win or what would you love to say about me after your wedding day, right? So you're looking for them to share not only what they want to spend, but also a success metric that would make the investment worth it to them. So at this point, you're teeing them up for two questions: budget and ROI. Both really matter, and asking them together shows that you're really invested in getting them an outcome, which is so important. We don't want to just say, hey, do you have a budget in mind? Because it makes us feel like takers. And we want to make sure that we are always communicating to our clients that we want something for them, not from them. So in this way, you're able to say, hey, what is your budget? I want to make sure I'm gonna be able to provide that for you. So at this point, I would love to tell you that everyone that I ever talked to is like, Susie, my budget is your highest range. But at this point, a couple of things can happen. So sometimes people say, Hey, I'm looking to spend X amount. And at that point, I can say, Awesome, that's really helpful to know. And I would typically follow that up with like, is there any flexibility there? And regardless of what they said. I've had people say that in numbers that like I had the cartoon heart eyes like pop out of my head and had to sit there and be like, uh-huh, totally, that would change my life. Like that would be amazing, right? But I also have had that with people who are way too low. If they are hard and fast on their budget, I still like to ask the question, is there any wiggle room here? Um, I just, you know, there's always things that we can add in, and as things come to me, I want to make sure that um, you know, is this the number that we're sticking to? This is really important when it comes to filming your Loom video. If your client has a budget that's way too low, or you feel like, oh, this is gonna be, you know, this is a big project for us, you want to speak to the fact that, hey, I came up with these numbers because you told me your budget was X, and you want to be really respectful of that. The other thing that can happen is sometimes they'll give you a range. They'll say, I don't know, I'm looking to spend somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000. Well, that gives you a really great place to put a proposal together for them that has some kind of better best scenario. This is awesome. And when somebody gives you a range like this, it typically means they want to weigh out their options. I would typically try to put together some kind of a budget that's towards the low end of their range and some kind of a budget that's towards the high end of their range so they can weigh out which one would work best for them. And in a last case scenario, they're hesitant to give you any kind of numbers. And I'm not gonna lie, this happens all the time. This is when you're going to help them by anchoring the conversation. When I was running Lost in House and we were selling social media retainers, I would say something like, Look, I can hire a helicopter and film you jumping out of an airplane, and that would be an incredible video. But my guess is you're probably not looking to spend $200,000 on social content. I also could send you a template pack on Canva for next to nothing, and that would probably not be helpful because you're looking to get this off your plate. But you can see where I'm asking about budget because there's such a wide range when it comes to the kind of support that we can offer you. And we do have packages in place, and I can show you what those are. But if you're willing to show me what your budget is, I can put something together that's more aligned with what your business vision is. Okay, I have shared that script with so many people. So many people. And what's really funny is everyone's like, yeah, but then they probably say, like, I don't know how much it is. And I'm like, no, you don't understand. When I use that line and I explain that to people, 90% of the time they tell me, well, this would be too much. $5,000 is is probably more than we're looking to spend. And I'm like, okay, less than $5,000. Or they might tell me, you know, our current social agency charges us six grand a month. Okay, great. That's great to know. Would you mind telling me what's included in that? All of a sudden, I've got some kind of a range that I'm working with because they respond to it. I'm not kidding, 90% of people typically give me some kind of clue when it comes to talking about budget. Now, if they really won't give you a number, you need to just give them your honest quote and do the best you can to match up what you think is going to be a number that's going to work for them or be like, this is what it's worth it to me. That's the best you can do. You've done all the sleuthing you can on your first call without any hardcore pitching. If they didn't give you a number, hopefully they have answered the ROI question and you can say, hey, the investment that I am recommending here has to do with the ROI that you are looking for. So this is what it's going to cost to get you the kind of results that you are asking me for. And normally at that point, it gives you something to anchor towards where you're not just saying, like, hey, this is it costs what it costs, but you're able to say, in order for you to get what you want, this is what I believe you should invest. And you're acting as more of a consultant than you are just a salesperson. Okay, so at this point, they've given you some kind of information, right? How do you wrap up the call from there? That's one of the questions I always get. So you how do you move on from talking about budget? At this point, you simply say something like, Thanks so much for sharing this. Um, and if they haven't shared anything with you, be like, that's okay, you're gonna see more on the Loom video. But if they have shared something, just thank them, acknowledge that, and be like, this is super helpful. Like I said, our pricing is our pricing, but I do, I think I've got a better idea of what I'm going to recommend for you at this stage in your business, um, especially knowing the ROI that you're trying to drive. That's such a kind way of responding to this and take so much of the pressure off. And then you're gonna be able to reference that moment back in the Loom video and say, hey, remember when we talked about this? No surprises here. This is exactly what we already referenced, this is what we talked about before, and it's going to make everybody feel more confident and comfortable. Now, we've talked about a couple times on this episode that it's uncomfortable to talk about, and I want to just mention why and why it feels weird to ask people about money. And even though you set up this business to make money, and probably with the vision in mind of making more money than at your previous job, it's weird to ask people for money. And I just want to talk about why for a minute. There's something that feels sleazy or greedy, or like you're trying to squeeze somebody for every penny they're worth when you bring up what your investment is to work with you. I want to reframe this for you. Asking about budget is actually so honoring to your clients. It's really respectful of them. You're putting them first when you ask about ROI and budget simultaneously. You're not trying to, it has nothing to do with I don't want to waste anybody's time or my pricing is my pricing, which I hear both of those, you know, retorts to this all the time. But it really is saying, hey, I I want to be respectful of you. Uh one of our rules at Lawson House was that no budget was too low. And it wasn't the idea that we were going to take all of these low budget projects. We turn people down all the time, but it was the idea that someone could come to us and say, I'm looking for a website for $100, and we weren't going to laugh at them and say, that's ridiculous. Because I had started a business too where I didn't have $100 to spend on a website. I had been there before. And so I never wanted anybody to feel like we were disrespectful of their low budget. I also never wanted anyone to feel like I was going to take advantage of them just because they did have a bigger budget where I wasn't going to provide an ROI for that. I wanted people to get the sense from us that regardless of what they were walking in the door with, that we were going to do the best job we could with the resources that they had to provide value for them and to get them that ROI. Your job as a salesperson is to act as that consultant, to coach them on their best next step for where to put their investment and how to get their best ROI. When you are trying to solve problems instead of just close the deal, you'll never come across as disingenuous or greedy or sleazy. You're going to come across as being helpful and considerate when you are always trying to solve your client's problems first. This week I want you to try to work in the budget questions into your sales calls and see how they go. Walk in confidently and know that this is what's best for your client and the best way to help them long term. Okay, if you are listening to this and you're feeling like, I wish that I sounded better on my sales calls, I wish that I typically asked about budget, or you're just feeling like you should be closing at a higher rate. I have a new freebie I would love to have you take advantage of. It is susieconsoli.com slash free. Uh, couldn't come up with a more creative URL than that. Um, susieconsoli.com slash free. You can upload one of your sales calls or give me a link to one of your recordings. If you're not recording your sales calls and need you to start recording your sales calls, it's one of the best things you can do. And you can share that recording with me and I'll actually send you back my notes and what I would change or some things that you could do better to increase that close rate. If this is helpful, I'd love to jump on a call with you and talk to you about what I saw and some other ideas for you. But if you just want somebody to audit your sales call, I would love to do that for you. Again, that's susieconsoli.com slash free. Okay, that is all I have for you today. Keep an eye out for some really fun upcoming episodes that I'm gonna call Phone a Friend, where I've got some really fun industry experts coming on. I'm really excited for you to hear from them. Thanks for listening to today's episode. Until next time, sell well.