How to ask a client for their budget (and why I stopped asking)
Allison Sebastian's client told her they had $3,000 to $4,000 to spend. Her lowest package was $5,000.
After the Lead Product interview, it was clear that the scope required to truly address the client's needs matched her $8,000 package. The client moved forward with the $8,000 package without hesitation, and didn't even mention the smaller offer.
That's why I stopped asking clients for their budget. The number you get back isn't real. Any budget a client gives you upfront is what I call the Fear Budget.
Two copywriters
A friend of mine was asking a copywriter about their services. Not a hard pitch, just curiosity. She asked: how do you work? Who do you help?
The copywriter said: "I can write copy for anything. It depends on what the client needs."
My friend asked: "How much do you charge?"
The copywriter deflected. Everything is different, I price it out based on the project, blah blah...
My friend said okay and moved on.
A couple weeks later, she talked to a different copywriter. Same question: "How do you work?"
This copywriter said: "First, you'll pay me $500. I'll interview you, review all your existing copy, and give you a plan. I'll tell you where I think you should focus your energy, what your copy strategy should be, and exactly what it'll take for me to handle it for you. I won't pitch you anything you don't need."
My friend bought on the spot.
Same need. Two copywriters. One was clear, one wasn't.
The first copywriter has no idea she lost a client that day.
What the budget question really says
You can't ask people for their budget! That question means: I don't know how to price this, so I need you to tell me what you're comfortable spending.
And what does the prospect think? If I tell them I'd spend $10,000, what if they were going to charge me $5,000? Now they'll just charge me $10,000.
So they give you their Fear Budget. The lowest number they think they can get away with. Based on nothing. No trust, no clarity, no plan.
When someone asks for your budget, what do you say? You lowball them. You're not going to volunteer a high number when you think they'll just meet whatever you say.
Why the number is so low
Any budget a client cites upfront is usually generated from a scarcity mindset that is focused on spending as little as possible. And that makes sense, because until they have clarity on what the actual outcome might be, and the value they are going to receive, it's just money spent. Not an investment to get a future result.
A simple example: what if I invited you to a party and I told you the tickets are $1,000. Would you immediately say yes? I mean, you like parties, it sounds like fun, but $1,000? You can go to free parties, and it's not clear why this party would be worth $1,000.
Now what if I invited you to the same party for $1,000, but I told you there would be five perfect clients there that I would introduce you to, all of whom already told me they need your help, and all of whom definitely have the money to invest in your highest priced services that are $20,000+.
Now how does that $1,000 feel to you? I'd pay double or triple or more to go to that party. That $1,000 was a cost when it was just a party. Now it's an investment.
The moment the investment in working with you stops being about the deliverables, and starts being about the outcome, is when the Fear Budget goes out the window.
What to do instead of asking
Have clear process, pricing and offers, so you never need their number to come up with yours.
Then offer your Lead Product. It has its own set price. You don't price it in response to anyone's budget, and it happens to sit well below most Fear Budgets, which is what makes it an easy yes. You build trust through a live interview, and then deliver a written plan to achieve their goals.
This happens constantly inside our programs. Clients come in saying they have a $5,000 budget. They do the Lead Product for $650. By the end, they're buying the $10,000 package because the trust is built.
All those people telling you they "don't have money?" You have no idea how many of them actually do.
When the Fear Budget sticks around
Sometimes it sticks around even after the Lead Product. That's usually because you skipped a step: you didn't properly qualify them, you didn't build enough trust during the engagement, or you didn't dig deep enough to uncover their real motivations and tie your work to them.
Start here
Next time you're about to ask "what's your budget?", say what your first step is and what it costs instead.
The five steps are on the Lead Product Method page.
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