The Secret to Getting a Budget from Prospects in Sales

During my sales training, everyone always wants to know how to get a budget. After I explain how, some nonbelievers will inevitably ask about the most difficult prospect they’ve ever had as a reason why they can’t get budgets from prospects in selling situations. So, let’s lay that out on the table—there are some prospects that simply will not give you a budget, but they are in the small minority if you follow these three secrets to getting a budget.

STHU: Most sales people spend the majority of their sales meetings talking. S.T.H.U. means to shut the heck up. Stop talking so much during your sales meetings, but rather spend your little time talking asking prospects questions with the intention of understanding what is going on in their world. More specifically, try to understand where the prospect is hurting.

Understand Where the Hurt Is: People will expend considerably more effort avoiding pain than they ever will in the pursuit of pleasure. So during the course of asking questions, work to understand exactly where the prospect is hurting. How long has the prospect been dealing with this challenge and is she committed to actually doing something about this? Once you understand those challenges, it is totally reasonable to understand what the prospect is willing to invest to fix this problem. (Note: I didn’t say, what the prospect is “willing to pay you,” but rather, what the prospect “is willing to invest to fix this problem.” Big difference)

Ask: Most sales people don’t get budgets from their prospects for one simple reason—they don’t ask. If you do not ask the prospect his budget to solve his problems, then he will almost never give you one. After you’ve identified the key challenges, ask: “Do you have a budget to fix these problems? …Would you share it with me?” Hang in there. Even if the prospect initially claims to not have a budget, don’t give up. Most sales people get flustered and move on rather than hang in.

By following these three simple secrets to getting a budget, you will see your close ratio increase and your average sale size increase—and most importantly, your sales motivation will increase.

How do you get budgets from your prospects? Please share below.

Written by Marc Wayshak, motivational sales speaker and author of the book, Game Plan Selling.