Stop stakeholders benchmarking so that you can save valuable time (and make more B2B sales)

How to navigate 'we're just gathering information right now...' and other stakeholder mysteries.

A few days ago, I wrote a tongue in cheek post on LinkedIn about an experience that all service based sellers undergo… information gathering. Typically, it goes something like this;

Stakeholder: We'd love a price for XXXXX
Business owner: Perfect - can we hop on a call to discuss so that I can price accurately for you?
Stakeholder: We don't want to give you any other information because we're information gathering right now.
Business owner: Completely appreciate that you're information gathering... but in order for me to give you the most accurate information... I need some answers about what you're looking for in a training/ speaking/ engagement
Stakeholder: Just tell us what your starting rates are and then we'll figure it out.
Business owner: Well, with no other information on the practicalities of who'll attend/ customisations/ recordings/ virtual or in-person delivery etc, the starting rates are £££.
Stakeholder: 👻 👻 👻

Sound familiar?

If this happens to you, you're not alone! Companies will often ask junior level assistants to scope out projects before something is signed off - so they'll often ring/ email around to find the quotes with very limited information.

But - lacking control of a sales process from an early stage causes MAJOR pains later. So, what do we really need to know about these situations - and how can we do things differently so that we’re not wasting our time on speculative benchmarking?

Firstly, we need to understand why stakeholders are benchmarking this type of information anyway. The honest reality is that service providers are not the only ones interested in pricing (!) Stakeholders are also super interested in what prices are for services because they’re not always exposed to external prices in the areas that they want to work on. Understanding the market benchmarks for particular services can help organisations to set budgets/ allocate budgets to new services and help stakeholders decide what they think is ‘reasonable’ to pay.

So if pricing is so important to stakeholders, why don’t senior stakeholders approach service providers to get benchmarks?

Well honestly, senior stakeholders are pretty busy people and they don’t have tons of time to;

• Google service providers who can deliver workshops/ trainings/ keynotes/ coaching in particular areas.

• Scroll through their websites to find contact details and copy/ paste the same message to each.

• Wait for them to come back with the information (or follow up with them to find out!)

(There’s always also an expectation that freelancers/ service providers must want the work at any price and will compete to find the lowest possible price… but that’s a whole other post!)

And so it’s usually a job, allocated to a junior assistant who unfortunately has zero knowledge or understanding of the practicalities that a service provider needs to know in order to give accurate pricing. The sole responsibility of the junior is to find a shortlist of service providers to provide a ballpark price range/ service list so that the senior stakeholder can make decisions about what they want to action next… and if they want / can afford to allocate budget to that area moving forward.

It’s not personal.

They’re not even looking simply to ‘tick a box’.

The junior is doing their job… and in order for you to make the most of these ‘warm’ leads, you need to do yours. As the primary salesperson for your business.

So, what is your job in this situation?

Well, if you’re a business owner / service provider who is trying to sell your services into corporate organisations? Your job here is threefold;

1. Demonstrate credibility + professionalism

2. Qualify what they’re really looking for (and make sure it matches your requirements too!)

3. Commit to a conclusion in a reasonable timeframe - to avoid wasting your time and theirs!

And what does that all really mean?

Essentially your job as a business owner/ service provider who is being approached by a potential prospect is to do a decent sales job - and that doesn’t mean giving them the hard sell/ telling them how you’re not going to give them a price unless they get their boss involved/ being a jerk.

It actually means;

• Educating them on what information you need to give them an accurate quote.

• Setting clear boundaries around what you’re willing to do/ how you’re willing to support them in getting that information.

• Demonstrating credibility and professionalism - even in the face of turning them down (if needs be!)

Let’s look at the practicalities of doing that…

I know you’re sat there thinking ‘easy for you to spell out all these ideas Jess. They sound great - but how the heck am I supposed to actually do that?’ so let’s get into it.

I tell my clients all the time that communication is key in these scenarios. Our job is not to shame/ make a stakeholder feel bad… but we do need to set clear boundaries and simple communication makes that easier.

So if we receive an email / contact form through our website that says something like;

‘Hi. We are a [TYPE OF COMPANY] looking for a wellness session on [TOPIC] in [MONTH] and think you might be a good provider for us. Can you tell me more about your pricing and sessions please?’

then we want to politely let them know why we can’t just ‘give them a price’ and what we can do instead e.g.

‘Hi NAME, Thanks for getting in touch - I’m really pleased that [COMPANY] is investing in wellness this year. Unfortunately our pricing is based on a number of practicalities around the delivery of a great session - so it’s not possible to give ballpark or standard price lists. However, if you’re willing to hop on a quick call and discuss the number of participants [AND OTHER PRACTICALITIES YOU NEED TO CONSIDER] then I’m available on DAY/ DAY and would be happy to share details about other sessions that we’ve run for other organisations.’

Super simple. Super polite. And also super clear that we won’t be participating in a ‘ballpark’ discussion.

But what if they say no… or ghost us?

This could absolutely happen. And if it does - what have we actually lost?

Think about all the times you’ve experienced this exact scenario… and the hours you’ve spent going back and forth, writing speculative proposals or extensive ‘one-pagers’ that they just ‘want a quick look at’ - only to not win the business or get ghosted.

As a business owner and service provider, you are a huge part of the decision making process around the companies you work with.

Which means that you get to choose what you tolerate.

Typically, inbound leads take a lot of work to convert if they’re not fully qualified. And business owners/ service providers are often led to believe that the best leads are inbound… That unfortunately, is not necessarily the case. Just like we see here, inbound communications about a service/ menu of services are not giving you the elements of a sales process that we know are most likely to convert into real sales:

• Direct contact with the decision maker who is responsible for your area of specialism and who has budget to pay you.

• Direct sales communication about what they actually want in terms of transformation (and other practicalities that can help you sell the best solution for their needs)

• The ability to follow up with the person making the decision about bringing on this service.

If you want to know how to handle more real-life B2B sales scenarios?

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