I’m frequently asked if you should bring up pricing early in a deal.
I think you should almost always bring it up – here’s why:
- It’s on your buyer’s mind and a psychological barrier (they don’t want to fall in love with something they can’t have)
- It shows you are confident in your pricing relative to the value
- It establishes what type of solution you should be scoping
- It disqualifies bad fit early
Here’s how to bring it up:
1) Explain how you price, simply.
Most SAAS companies price based on tier + consumption/usage. Walk your customer through the levers that determine pricing for your solution.
2) Give an estimate based on their company size and use case.
This may sound something like, “Companies your size trying to solve [insert relevant problem] usually spend between $30,000 – $50,000 annually for our solution.”
Simple enough, right? But what if they react with sticker shock to your initial estimate?
Here’s one response:
“We aren’t for everyone. Typically our buyers are facing [insert problem] that can cost as much as $xxx,xxx. Have you already solved that issue?”
Put the focus back on the problem to be solved, and the potential gain, and “sticker shock” may fade.
If it doesn’t, that’s ok! Better to lose the deal early than after months of effort.
I hope this is helpful. I love feedback – reach out via email to share. I also love topic requests: let me know where you are getting stuck and I’ll see if I can help with a future edition of the Sales Introverts Newsletter!
– Kyle
