One of the most common objections we hear as salespeople is “I don’t have the budget”, it can be extremely frustrating but there are certain responses you can use in order to get the deal back on track. Hit play on the video or keep reading!
The first thing you have to do when you’re faced with this objection, or any objection for that matter, is to qualify it. Is it really about the price or is this just a smoke screen for what their real issue is? I always say to my clients, it’s rarely about the price- but that your prospect doesn’t see the value in what you are offering (read this post to learn how to sell value over price.)
So what responses can you use when you hear this objection?
OBJECTION RESPONSE 1:
“I’m really sorry to hear that, can I ask how much you were expecting it to cost?”
A response like this enables you to put the onus back on the prospect and also allows you to understand what they would need to see in order to close the deal.
OBJECTION RESPONSE 2:
“I understand that totally but can I ask, what will doing nothing cost you?”
This response encourages your prospect to picture what impact not doing something will have on their business. If you know you can help them and that they are experiencing a real pain point, asking this question will encourage them to really consider your solution.
OBJECTION RESPONSE 3:
“I totally understand that you don’t have the budget, but can I ask you, what do you normally do when a problem occurs and you have to find the money for something that you don’t normally have? What do you do then?”
What this enables us to do is to identify whether the problem we’re trying to solve is something that is really important for the prospect or something that they can do without.
We’ve talked in previous videos about ensuring that our service solves a real problem for our prospect because if it doesn’t, the chances are they’re not going to want to invest in working with us. So using a phrase like this enables us to qualify how important this is to the prospect.
So, there are 3 responses you can use when a prospect says to you ‘I don’t have the budget.’ It’s important to discuss their budget as early on in your conversations as possible to avoid wasting your time. Ask the right questions and qualify that you’re a good fit for them (download my ’42 qualifying questions below). If it’s clear they don’t have a budget, you can move onto the next prospect.
However, 9 times out of 10, as I mentioned earlier, it’s not that your prospect doesn’t have the budget, it’s that they don’t see the value in your product or service, so it’s your job to make them see this and turn them into a happy, paying customer.
