When NON-Decision Makers Reject Your Price

“How should I respond when a NON decision maker asks me about pricing? Every time I answer them after they press me for a price, they say “Oh – my manager would never approve that” and the call ends. What should I do?”

To answer this correctly, we are going to reference those sales situations when indeed you are truly speaking with a NON-decision maker. This is a common scenario when a “warm lead” is involved. Typically, a lead comes in from a non-decision maker, and the sales person contacts the lead in order to qualify and set an appointment with the actual decision makers.
During that process, it’s not uncommon for the prospect to inquire about price, even though they aren’t the decision maker. And if you give them your price, it’s almost always a disaster.
The reality is, non-decision makers aren’t AUTHORIZED to say NO. It’s not their call to say “THAT’S TOO MUCH / THEY WON’T APPROVE THAT”. Yet, that’s often how they respond.
DANGER ZONE
If you give a non-decision maker your price, they no longer need you. You no longer have any power in the sales call. You are in effect, at their mercy.
With all of that said, one factor we cannot overlook is getting the prospect’s commitment to solving the problem. Getting agreement from the prospect that a problem exists and that they are committed to making it go away is a key step in the sales process. Do that first, and you’ll create an ally that will help put you in front of the decision maker.
Here’s one way that I’ve found to be successful when responding to a non-decision maker’s pricing request:

“Pricing will depend on a few factors. I’ve seen it as low as $_______ and I’ve seen it as high as $_______. My job is to see if we would be a good fit at helping you to have a higher success rate at (HOT BUTTON) and, if so, set up a meeting with you and your (boss / manager / supervisor) with one of our (sales reps / advisors etc).”

By giving a low and high price range, you’ve given them an answer yet there is still a need for you to be involved in the call. You’ve also given your prospect a valid reason as to why it would be in everyone’s best interest in setting up a call with all the right players.
– Michael Pedone
Michael Pedone is a straight commissioned sales person with 20+ years experience selling by phone. He is the CEO/FOUNDER of SalesBuzz.com – an online sales training company that shows inside sales teams how to eliminate call reluctance and close more sales.

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