Last week I spoke to lots of clients who complained about wasting their time on prospects who can't afford their services. The problem is: they didn't know it until they'd already put in a lot of time, either talking on the phone or creating a proposal. Some even met in person.
That's why we highly recommend that you bring up the topic of money right away, on the first phone call, just to make sure you're on the same page.
How? You should always ask first what their budget is. But if they don't have one or don't want to give it to you, for whatever reason, then it's up to you to provide a price range for what you would charge to do what they need done. You could say something like: "A simple web site usually runs ($X,XXX, while a more complex one could be as high as $XX,XXX. How does that fit into your budget?"
It's actually very simple. Any language or other techniques to recommend?
'tis like you're reading my mind. I've definitely gotten into the habit of talking money up-front, and it's worked well, although I've still gotten stuck a couple of times. I tend to like Peleg's wording, "so what kind of budget do you have set aside for this?"
Posted by: Dani Nordin | February 13, 2007 at 02:56 PM
Instead of offering that first consultation for free, try putting a price on it, refundable upon signing an agreement.
Posted by: Kathryn Beach | February 22, 2007 at 04:08 PM