There's a critical question most salespeople never ask - and it's costing them deals they could have saved.
The Question:
"If money wasn't an issue, would you want to move forward with this?"
The Strategic Timing:
This question comes after you've:
- Demonstrated your solution thoroughly
- Connected benefits to their specific problems
- Differentiated your approach from alternatives
- Built value comprehensively
But before you've discussed specific pricing.
What This Question Accomplishes:
It isolates the money objection from all other concerns. When you ask this, you're essentially testing: "Have I successfully sold you on everything except the investment?"
The Two Possible Responses:
Response 1: "Yes, if money wasn't an issue, we'd move forward."
Perfect. Now you know that any hesitation moving forward is purely financial. This allows you to:
- Explore budget constraints specifically
- Discuss payment terms and options
- Identify creative financing solutions
- Understand their true financial situation
- Focus negotiations on investment structure, not value
Response 2: "Well, even if money wasn't an issue, I'm not sure..."
This is valuable intelligence. Money isn't the real obstacle - something else is. Now you can probe:
- "What concerns remain?"
- "What would need to be different?"
- "What am I missing?"
This reveals the actual objection you need to address.
The Clarity Advantage:
Without this question, prospects often hide behind price objections when the real issue is:
- Lack of trust in your solution
- Uncertainty about implementation
- Internal political challenges
- Competing priorities
- Unclear ROI understanding
The Conversation It Enables:
When you've isolated money as the only remaining obstacle, you can have direct conversations:
"I understand budget is a concern. Help me understand your constraints so we can explore whether there's a way to make this work."
This is far more productive than guessing whether price is the real issue or just a convenient excuse.
The Qualification Function:
This question also qualifies whether you're dealing with a genuine prospect or someone who was never going to buy regardless of price.
Your Implementation Challenge:
In your next three presentations, after establishing value but before discussing price, ask: "If the investment wasn't a factor, is this something you'd want to move forward with?"
Pay close attention to their response and what it reveals.
Remember: You can't solve objections you haven't identified. This question brings the real obstacle into focus.
Comment HELP if you want advanced techniques for handling the responses to this question.
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