Discounting

Question 1

HubSpot strives to operate from the standpoint of transparency. So what is HubSpot’s policy towards discounting. Prospects qualify for discounts based on the following:

Answer 1

• Volume: How much HubSpot is being bought? Consider the number of Hubs, Contacts, Seats, Add-Ons, and Professional Services.
• Commitment Length: How long is the Prospect committing for in terms of contract length?
• Up Front Payment: How are they paying? Is the payment being made at once or in installment (monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually)?

Question 2

Give & Get

Answer 2

• Always look to discount onboarding first, instead of MRR.

Question 3

Asking for referrals

Answer 3

• Avoid using the generic “do you know anyone else who could use my services?”
• Be specific with your request. Based on the criteria of your target prospect, prepare a short description of the type of referral you want.
• Ask for permission to use the prospects name: “Juan said I should call you…” “John uses our services and thought you might be interested in hearing about how they have helped her…”
• Better yet, ask the prospect to make the initial introduction

Question 4

Keep these best practices in mind when you talk about discounting in closing a deal.

Answer 4

• Sell on value and business implications when presenting pricing.
• Never talk about discounting or price leveraging before getting the full buy-in from the prospect. Until you understand if HubSpot is their preferred solution, there is nothing much that should be done outside what is displayed on our pricing page.
• Avoid talking discounts with anyone who can’t make the final decision. You’ll agree something they don’t have the power to agree, and the ultimately agree more with the person who does.
• If offering a discount, ask your prospect if there is any reason they wouldn’t be able to execute the agreement within 48 hours. Is there is hesitancy or the answer is no, you’ll insistent that you’re talking about discounting too soon. Go back to how you can get the full buy-in first.

Question 5

Objection Handling Frameworks

Answer 5

1. LADS
2. Reverse
3. Negative Reverse
4. Monkey’s Paw

Question 6

LADS

Answer 6

Listen - listen to what the prospect is saying and understand where they’re coming from

Acknowledge - emphasize with them and communicate without immediately agreeing or countering. (i.e. I can certainly understand why you might have a concern)

Discover - It’s time to have a conversation to get to the reasoning behind the objection. The purpose is to identify and understand the specific issues underlying the prospect’s resistance, lack of understanding, or reluctance to make a buying decision in the salesperson’s favor. Pay attention to what and how things are said.

Solution - based on what concerns are shared, connect everything back to their desired outcome. The response is an appropriate answer to the prospects objection: a recommendation, an alternative, a solution, or a next step designed to address their concerns and close the transaction.

When do you use it? You can use this strategy for objections based on price/budget, risk, quality of service, trust, the need to consult a higher authority or if there is a stall because of an unspecified or uncertain business case.

Question 7

Reverse

Answer 7

You start with a softening statement and pair it with a clarifying question. For example, during your discussion, the prospect keeps mentioning the competition and their features. Instead of getting frustrated or thinking it’s a lost cause, you can try something like this:

Question: I heard you bring up (competitors name) a few times. Why not go with them?
Reason: By asking this question, you are thing to uncover a pain point or something missing from the competitors solution.

Why use it?
Using this tactic helps uncover hidden pain points, clarifies why a prospect asked a question and helps you discover what the prospect is actually asking about.

When to use it?
Reverses are helpful when your prospect asks you a vague question or misdirecting question (known as a smokescreen question)

Question 8

Monkey’s Paw

Answer 8

• A tool used in helping overcome the objection of customers on the fence. To get straight to the point, this strategy essentially means using a small deal to get a big deal.

Example: you have a prospect that is skeptical about committing the time and money to signing a long-term contract. You might suggest that they invest in a piece of the service or offer a shorter term for a 90-day study of evaluation for a smaller investment in the software. The initial investment can then be applied to the balance of the agreement if the prospect decides to onboard.

Why use it? The Monkey’s Paw is another way to create a give and get situation.

When to use it? This should be a last resort, when to their options are exhausted and you determine there really is an impassable blocker to get the proposed deal over the line. It’s a fallback position to try and get some return from the time invested in the process to date. Be sure not to use this strategy often. You will end up with smaller deals which can negatively impact ASP.