When they ask what it costs

When a buyer asks what it costs in their first reply, answer the question. With a real range, in the same message.

Dodging it is the fastest way to lose a serious buyer.

What the question usually means

A price question this early comes in a few flavors.

Sometimes it's real interest. The buyer has a problem, a rough budget in mind and no time to waste on firms that don't fit. They want to know if you're in the same universe before they invest a meeting.

Sometimes it's a screen. They've been burned by firms that took three calls to reveal a number twice their budget. Asking early is how they protect their calendar.

And sometimes it's a polite brush-off. They expect you to dodge, and when you do, they'll have a reason to stop replying.

In all three cases, a straight answer helps you. The real buyer gets what they need. The screener sees you're honest. And the brush-off loses its excuse.

Why sellers dodge

Services sellers are trained to avoid naming a price before scoping. The logic sounds right. Every engagement is different, you don't know enough yet, a number now might anchor too low or scare them off.

But the buyer hears something else. They hear a firm that's either hiding a big number or doesn't know its own pricing. Neither one builds trust.

And the buyer already has a number in their head. If you don't give them yours, they'll keep theirs, and you'll find out in the proposal that you were never close.

The reply to send

Give a range based on engagements of similar shape. Explain what drives it to the low end or the high end. Then tie it back to the problem and ask one question that helps you narrow it.

Say you wrote to a VP of engineering about a stalled platform migration, and she replied asking roughly what a project like this costs.

Fair question. Migrations like the one you're describing usually land between $150K and $400K for us. The low end is when the scope is a handful of services and your team owns the cutover. The high end is when there are older systems with deep dependencies and we run more of it. Which of those sounds more like where you are?

That reply gives her a number she can take to her CFO. It shows you understand what drives cost. And it ends with a question that keeps the conversation on her problem.

What to avoid

Don't say it depends and stop there. Everything depends. That's not an answer.

Don't give a single number. A single number becomes a quote, and you'll be held to it before you know the scope.

Don't give a range so wide it means nothing. Fifty thousand to two million tells her you have no idea.

Don't bury the range under three paragraphs of credentials. Lead with it. The credentials can come later.

And don't apologize for the price. If the work is worth it, say the number plainly.

What happens next

If the range fits her budget, she'll tell you what drives her situation toward one end or the other. That's discovery, and she's doing it willingly.

If the range is above her budget, you've both saved weeks. She might come back with a smaller scope, or you might suggest a first phase that fits. Either way, the conversation is honest.

If she goes quiet, the range wasn't the problem. The problem wasn't urgent enough yet. That's useful to know too, and it tells you to look for stronger signals at that account before writing again.

There's more on bringing price in early in pricing conversations start in Stage 1.

Price is part of the hypothesis

A range is a guess, the same way your opening was a guess. You're saying here's what this usually takes, and inviting her to correct you on scope.

Buyers who get a straight number early remember it. It's one of the few things in a sales process that feels like respect. Name the range, name what moves it and get back to the problem.