The best “I have no budget” advice we’ve ever seen.

Eight experts weigh in on one of the most common prospecting hurdles. Things not lookin' right? [View this email in your browser.]( [ Hi {NAME}, When a prospect says they have no budget, some salespeople just [take a penny off the stack]( and move on. Which is a mistake, because [“I have no budget”]( can mean a lot of things. For example, it could mean... - “I’m not the person who makes these decisions.” - “I know I have a problem, but I haven’t figured out what it’s costing me.” - “I don’t have time for this %@$&*! right now, and you’ll probably leave me alone if I tell you I’m broke.” Step one is figuring out what the prospect is telling you. Step two is giving them what they actually need. This month on the Nutshell blog, we gathered eight of the best salespeople we know and asked them [what they do when they catch a “no budget” call](. [( Here’s what [LDK Advisory Services]( President [Anita Nielsen]( recommends: [( First, acknowledge that you understand what the prospect has said and recognize its validity. Then, tell them, “I understand. A few of my customers have gone through their budget quickly this year and are trying to get approval for an additional budget.” That initial statement is what the pros call a neutralizing statement. Then you can immediately follow up with a [high-impact question]( such as: “What is your annual budgeting process?” or “How do you determine which initiatives get priority for funding?” These questions validate that the prospect’s statement is recognized and understood. However, when you respond with a statement that seemingly agrees with the objection they just made, they are likely to detect that you actually empathize with their goals, which allows you to turn an objection into an opportunity to ask a powerful question that will get you additional information. They may even share with you what it takes to get additional funding. The info you get from the questions can help you undo the objection. At a minimum, you can ask additional questions, which allows you to continue to guide the conversation forward. And here’s [Mark Stoddard](, VP of Sales & Marketing at [ClientSuccess](: [( To me, this question all comes down to doing proper discovery early in the process. I need to understand exactly how much of a problem they have and what it’s costing them. To get there I’m asking questions like: - Sounds like this is an issue for you, do you think it’s actually costing you money? - Is it just a minor annoyance that you need to put up with - What’s your best estimate of how much it costs you? - Does anyone else know about this? If it turns out it’s costing them money, I ask them: “what do you think would be a reasonable budget to solve that problem for you?” If they come back and tell me they have no budget, I refer back to the earlier discussion and say, “I’m not in a position to tell you how to spend your money, but if I had a problem that was costing me X and someone was offering me a solution that cost far less than that, it would seem reasonable to me to figure out a way to find the budget, am I missing something here?” If you have a reasonable prospect they typically will follow your logic and agree with you. If not, typically you’re either talking to the wrong person (i.e., not the budget holder), or you’re talking to someone that’s unreasonable. [Read the rest of this article on the Nutshell blog,]( and if you have any sales or marketing questions that you need some expert advice on, reply to this email and I’ll get it to the right people. Take care, [( Ben Goldstein Editor in Chief, Sell to Win [( [( [( [( [( Nutshell | 206 E. Huron Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Getting too many emails from Nutshell? Change your subscription settings [here](.