Do They Have Budget?

February 6, 2016

Many people I coach are flummoxed that what they believed was complete agreement with the buyer fell to pieces when the buyer sees the fee for the first time—even modest fees. Some feel betrayed, others feel like failures.

Whenever you’re dealing with any mid-market business (let alone “mom and pops”) always check for fee expectations prior to leaving and before creating the proposal. Many of these buyers are simply not accustomed to dealing with value-based fees, and/or with anything other than minimizing costs (and neglecting to consider ROI).

Try these questions:

What parameters would you like me to stay within?

Have you allocated a budget for this project?

Will you proceed knowing that investment will be a minimum of X (fill in your best fee)?

Will you have to discuss the budget with anyone else? (Often a family member whom you ought to meet.)

If you’re confident of a minimum 10:1 return, would you make the requisite investment?

Find out in advance what the fee expectations and tolerance are, and then educate accordingly. You don’t want to feel as if you’ve been betrayed or like a failure.