Tactfully Approaching the Budget
[by Jenna Close]
Dealing with budgets can be a tricky situation. I always find it odd when a client says they “don’t have a budget”, so I tend to look at this response as more of a tactic than the actual truth. In most cases, when someone is looking for a product or service, they have an idea of what they can afford to spend. The tricky part comes in getting them to talk to you about it.
When I first speak to a prospective client, I always ask up front what they would like to spend on the job. I phrase the question like this:
“What have they given you in terms of a budget?”
Notice that this is slightly different than saying “What do you expect to spend?” or “What’s your budget?”. I’m subtly taking the pressure off of whomever I’m speaking to. It’s not THEIR budget, it’s the budget THEY’VE BEEN GIVEN. Remember, part of their hesitation to divulge may come from fear of offending you. Or it may be because their boss told them not to answer that question directly on the first call. Likely it is also a negotiation tactic, but that may not be the entire story.
That said, asking bluntly results in a surprising number of direct answers. In this scenario, the information is valuable but not absolute. Just because they quote a price doesn’t mean you have to meet it or that you will lose the job if you don’t. Look at it as a starting point for discussion and modification of job parameters.
If the client responds with something like “Well, we don’t know what our budget is right now”, I don’t let them off the hook immediately. As I mentioned earlier, I generally don’t believe that people have absolutely no clue what they want to spend. In this case, a little humor can help. I respond to this kind of statement by presenting them with a ridiculously wide range. I might say, “Ok. Can you give me a range? Would it be closer to $2500 or $20,000?” They usually gasp and say “Oh no! Not $20,000! More like $3,000.” Sometimes they say, “Oh, probably somewhere in the middle”. Whatever the response, you can pick up clues to what they are really thinking not only by their answer, but by the tone of their voice. You may not get a succinct number, but you’ll have a better impression of where they are coming from.
Jenna Close has never experienced life with an unlimited budget. She suspects her clients haven’t, either. She can be found crunching numbers at www.p2photography.net.
