Prevent Sticker Shock With One Simple Shift

Today’s Skill: Money Talks

Have you ever had the scenario where you tell someone how much your product/service costs and they respond by gasping for air with sticker shock?

→ This is a very uncomfortable situation.

But, do you know the real reason it happened?

Because you talked about money too late.

The longer you wait to discuss money, the more control you give up in the sales process.

We all hate having money conversations, let’s just lay that out there.

But, while you avoid these conversations to limit friction or awkwardness, you actually put more stress on yourself. You put yourself in a corner where you have to start overselling the value you just tried to build, discounting or letting the deal slip away after a lot of time investment.

My stance: You should talk about money on the first call, and reiterate it every chance you get.

So, why don’t you?

Why You Don’t Talk About Money

When we think about money, we think about a transaction.

I want to purchase this thing and it’s going to cost this amount of money. It’s simple.

But, when it’s for our products and services, we overthink it. We believe that if we discuss the “transaction”, we look like the “used car salesman trying to fast track a sale.

The lie we’ve been fed is that we have to “show value” first before we discuss how much it will cost. Like if we have that order of operations people will go, “Wow, only that much for all of that. Let’s do it!”

Maybe they will, but there will be more times where they go…

“Okay, let me think about it”

“That’s way more than I thought it’d be”

“Do you have a cheaper option?”

“What if we removed X, how much would that change the price?”

Remember the “sticker shock” I mentioned? It happens too often because people vastly underestimate how much it costs to solve real business problems. So, when you present the price after all this build up, it’s a lot to take in.

What You Should Do Instead

Talking about money isn’t about getting someone to buy right then, it’s building the path for open dialogue as you create value.

Think about it this way…In order for this business relationship to happen, there will have to be an exchange of money for the product you’re selling. That is a known fact.

So, wouldn’t it be better to create a discussion about the potential costs earlier?

It’s not just for the Buyer, either.

→ It gives you insight into:

• Whether this is a serious opportunity

• How to shape the right solution

• Whether a proposal is even worth creating

Because the more you have clarity into their budget and there is less ambiguity about costs, you can guide the conversation more easily.

How To Frame This Properly

Frankly, there is no perfect way. This is where you need to take the skill of having deeper conversations and blend it with your personality.

For me, I’m more direct, so I’ll call out the “elephant in the room”. I may frame it like, “Okay, so I know pricing is on your mind. Although we still need to sort out details, I want to share some ballparks so we are at least on the same planet to start with.”

or, if I want to see how much thought they’ve put into this I could flip it and say…

“Tell me about the budget you’ve set aside for this project? Do you know what you have to work with or are you still figuring that out?

Either approach, we get to agree that we are on the same page and it’s within range.

Here are a myriad of other ways you may ask/approach this conversation.

• “Would it be helpful if I shared a rough pricing range to see if we’re aligned?”

• “Before I put anything formal together, is there a budget range already set aside for this?”

• “How does your team usually approach budgeting for projects like this?”

• “To make sure we’re not building something out of scope, can I ask what kind of investment range you had in mind for this project?”

• “Has this project been budgeted yet or are you still working to build the case for it internally?”

• “Have you’ve thought about the pricing range you were expecting this to fall into?”

• “Most clients I work with are somewhere between X–Y per month/year depending on scope. Is that within reach for your team?”

• “I find it helpful to be on the same page about the costs early on, let me share the range of pricing based on what we’ve discussed so far and see if that tracks with what you were thinking.”

Which one is your favorite? Reply to this email and let me know (I read and respond to every message.)

→ Don’t forget the outcome goal. it starts the conversation. That’s all that matters early on. Start by broaching the subject in whichever way is most comfortable for you and then find clarity in their response.

Final Reminder

Your time is most important.

You want to spend it with serious buyers.

So, pry deeper as you ask questions about money.

Because if your product is going to cost $10,000 and they said they only have a budget of $1,000 for this project, that likely won’t work. It’s a pickle many people run into too late.

It’s okay if they haven’t secured budget yet, it’s really getting their buy-in that they understand the potential costs and are willing to proceed anyways.

→ Let’s remove the sticker shock from the end of the process.

If it’s going to happen, let it happen at the beginning.

Best case, they now know the potential costs and are willing to proceed.

The other Best case, it’s way out of budget and you part ways for now.

I’d rather “lose” a deal within the first 26 minutes than agonize over it for weeks by investing hours into calls / emails.

Your Action Item

Review a recent call you’ve had (either the recording or from memory) where you received a pricing objection or the client didn’t move forward because of the costs.

Now, ask yourself, “What could I have asked or discussed differently on our first call that might have eliminated this from happening?”

Sit with it for 5 minutes and challenge yourself to do it differently next time.

You’ll start to feel what it’s like to take control over your sales conversations.