Handle Every Response to "What's Your Purchasing Time Frame?"
By Rao Wu
One of the classic sales questions is, “What’s your purchasing time frame?”- which is really just a polite way of asking your prospect, “When are you going to buy?” The funny thing about this question is that, in many cases, their first response barely matters! Yes, you still have to ask the question on the off chance that you’ll get an accurate and true answer. But more often than not, their response to that question will not be definitive!
Have you ever talked to a sales prospect who says they’re researching a solution for something they’ll need two years from now? Most of us in B2B sales have. However, in today’s business environment, most business people do not have the time or luxury to research a product or service they might need that far out. So why have we all heard that kind of answer? And more importantly, how do you respond when you do?
In this article, you’ll see that asking the question, “What’s your purchase time frame?” is not a means to an end; it’s an opening to another set of questions. Here are some examples of how your prospect might respond to the time frame question, with suggestions on how you can take the conversation to the next level.
Scenario 1:
You: “Can you tell me when you plan to purchase, Catherine?
Catherine: “In nine months.”
In this scenario, the answer is probably true and accurate. In Catherine’s mind, it’s true, her company plans to purchase in nine months. Catherine may have ultimate financial decision making authority, or she may be close to the person in her organization who does. Scenario 1 is easy. You might follow up by asking,
“What other information can I provide to you today to help you as you weigh your decision?”
Scenario 2:
You: “Can you tell me when you plan to purchase, John?
John: “Three years out.”
Here’s the “not for a very long, long time” answer that we’ve all heard! And in this scenario, the answer is most likely neither true nor accurate. John is blatantly trying to deflect sales pressure. Possibly, John was asked to research your products and provide information to another influencer within the organization, but he does not want to talk with you now. (Be sure to check out the complementary article “The Buyers Behind Your Lead” to read about the variety of people within an organization who play a role in purchasing decisions.) Here’s one way you might respond to John:
“Ok, I understand that a system is a big decision for any organization. What business need caused you to begin the research process now?”
Or:
“Do you have some yearend goals that a new system might help you achieve?”
Or:
“Are there other stake holders in your organization who are part of your research process whom I can send information to?”
Scenario 3:
You: “Can you tell me when you plan to purchase, Teresa?
Teresa: “Probably not until next year. But we haven’t set a hard date.”
In this scenario, Teresa is guessing at what she knows. She’s not necessarily deflecting or avoiding, she’s simply not sure. Other influencers in the organization may know something different about budget, priorities, etc. In this scenario, you’ll want to help Teresa to help you get clarification. This may mean determining who the other influencers in the decision are. You might say,
“Yes, that’s the case in many organizations when it comes to making this kind of decision. I have some recent case study results that I’d like to share with you. Who else in your organization is part of this decision making process? I’d like to send this information to them as well.”
Scenario 4:
You: “Can you tell me when you plan to purchase, Lee?”
Lee: “Within six months. But that could change.”
In this case, the response Lee is giving you is probably true and accurate. While all the influencers in the organization are on board with purchasing in six months, any number of priorities or budgeting issues could come up that might delay (or even accelerate) the purchase. In this scenario (as well as in the others described here) you want to get to the valid business reason (“VBR”) behind any possible delays. You might ask questions such as,
“What are your main business goals for this year?”
Or:
“Are you looking at cutting costs?"
Or:
“If I could show you a way to help boost productivity while lowering your costs, would your team be interested in learning more?”
In summary, there are a number of scenarios that may be occurring when a prospect answers your time frame question:
- Prospect is telling the truth and timeframe is set in stone with no possibility of deviation.
- Prospect is telling the truth as they see it, but other business influencers and decision-makers may have a different idea in mind.
- Prospect is telling the truth as they see it and all influencers/decision makers are on board with that time frame, but priorities may shift as their business conditions change.
- Prospect is giving you their best guess.
- Prospect is blatantly telling you a lie, most likely to avoid sales pressure.
So, you can see that you need to take responses to “What’s your purchasing time frame?” with a grain of salt because your prospect’s responses may not always be cut and dry! The key is to not let the conversation end there. Follow up with additional questions to get to clarity, and hopefully stay close to business details as they unfold. This gives you more insight into the buying cycle at the organization and helps you get a leg up on the competition.
Let’s face it, as sales professionals we all want the answer to “What’s your purchasing timeframe?” to be “Immediately,” but the scenarios where this happens are rare. Jumping on sales opportunities who are looking to purchase “now” as you simultaneously fill your sales pipeline with those who are looking to purchase in the near and not too distant future, is the key to being successful with your leads, and more importantly, growing your revenue and sales commissions.