No Budget, No Problem: The New Definition of a Qualified Sale

It's 2001. You work for a new company in the search engine space. Let's call this company Schmoogle.

Schmoogle has this huge new idea—businesses are starting to grow based on getting found on the Internet. Why not have businesses pay per click to get found? Brilliant!

You're a sales person at Schmoogle, and you know pay per click will be huge. You start prospecting on the phone.

You: Hello Ms. VP of Marketing. This is Lamont Sanford with Schmoogle. I'd like to speak with you for a few minutes about our marketing program that's helping companies like yours generate a lot of leads and new business on the Internet.

Ms. VP (who pleasantly accepts cold calls): Sure. Let's talk.

You: OK, then, I think pay per click search engine marketing is perfect for you. How much budget do you have set aside for this?

Ms. VP: I don't have a budget for pay per click marketing—or a budget for marketing at all right now.

You: (Thinking to yourself: darn, not a qualified buyer.) Well, give me a call when you have one.

Of course, only a complete loon would finish a call like that. The wrong turn was the salesperson's fault, though, for asking the question about budget in the first place.

Would-be buyers stymie many salespeople when they say, "We don't have a budget for this" or "Our budget is spent for this year already." Sellers too often just accept that "no budget" means no sale. People with authority to make decisions in their organizations find money all the time for things that were not on their radar screens during business planning time, and so they can capitalize on opportunities as they arise.

But why do sellers always ask about budget, even when it's not appropriate?