How to Ask Your Clients About Their Project Budget
It’s time for the awkward conversation - you know the one. You’re hitting it off…everyone is laughing, and then just when the call is wrapping up, someone asks about budget or pricing. Then there a whole lot of “umms” and “uhhs” followed by “I’ll follow up soon.”
Doesn’t it always feel like a stand-off? You go first… no you go first. No you. I insist…AHHHHHHHH. Get me outta here.
It doesn’t have to be that way! Here, we’re giving you some tips to talk about budget without anyone wanting to run in the other direction or fake a bad internet connection.
Let’s break this down so that you can go into this conversation feeling confident and ready to get to work.
Why should you ask for your client’s budget up-front?
Before you begin working together, you’re going to want to establish certain expectations. In this way you’ll be able to sort the project scope and timelines that you can both agree on. Knowing their budget will save you both time and wasted energy if their budget doesn’t align with the overall scope they are searching for.
You definitely don’t want to be hours in to the lead process with a client only to have them realize your pricing is way out of their budget. That’s no fun for anyone.
How to ask for a client’s budget:
There are a lot of ways to go about this, but here a few tried-and-true methods we recommend:
📋 Have a general sense of your pricing on your project inquiry form.
This way, before someone even reaches out as a lead or potential client, they’ll be able to see what type of budget they’ll need. You can certainly keep this open-ended by using a dropdown of ranges, but it will still give someone an idea of your prices.
👬 Ask key questions during the consultation.
When you’re chatting with your potential client, you can ask questions that don’t put them in a what’s-you-budget corner, like:
What is your business model?
How does your business currently make money?
What are your revenue goals in the next year?
📖 Have a lookbook or a service menu that includes your pricing.
Using a lookbook, you can go into more detail about your services, what each service entails, and the prices, before they even book a consultation with you! Put this on your website, or have it auto-send anytime a client reaches out to book a consultation (hello WillowSpace automations - let the platform do the work for you)!
💻 Share previous client work.
By sharing case studies of previous work, you can show the value of your work before you share your estimate or ask for your client’s budget. The potential client can see just how amazing your work is, the results you’ve achieved in the past, and then figure out whether you’re the right fit for them.
But what if a client doesn’t want to share their budget?
Yes, this might still happen. And if it does, there is only so much you can do. But here are a few recommendations for you to navigate an awkward situation:
🗣 Help educate them on why it's important to share.
Let them know that when you are aware of their budget, you’re better able to help align the project scope to their expectations so that everyone walks away happy.
💰 Do not lower your prices to accommodate.
If a client isn't receptive to your costs or does not want to reveal their budget, you can give them a few options to choose from, or take things out of the project scope to meet a lower budget. It’s never a good idea to provide the same work/deliverables at a lower cost. This sets up the expectation with this client, and any future clients they refer to you.
🛑 Turn them down if it's a deal-breaker.
This is a totally personal decision. But if you’re feeling a red flag from this, it’s okay to cut and run. You and your client must be on the same page to have a great end result and a fantastic client experience.
WillowSpace helps you facilitate your client relationships, seamlessly & beautifully. It can be easy.
We don’t just make your internal process simple. We deliver on exceptional client experiences, too. Use WillowSpace to get more time and energy back in your day. Sign up for a FREE trial to see just how we can help you navigate some tricky client situations.
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