Drafted by AI from the gap report and the call scores. Reviewed and approved by Wayne Foreman on November 11, 2026, before it went to anyone.
First call: ask about money before the demo
About 10 minutes. One person plays the rep, one plays the buyer.
The setup
I want you to practice one thing: learning budget and who signs on the first call. Across our recorded calls, only 29% of first calls got to budget and 38% got to the economic buyer. The money facts showed up later, usually from the CFO, and by then reps had little to offer except a discount. Here is what you know going in. You booked this call with the Head of Platform Engineering at a 450-person software company that sells scheduling software to clinics. They spend about $5M a year on cloud, mostly AWS. She replied to your email about surprise bills and said last quarter was rough. You don’t know yet who else is involved or whether any money exists for a tool like ours. A typical first-year deal at this size is about $60K.
Your goal as the rep
By the end of ten minutes, know three things: whether there is money for this, how it would get funded if there isn’t, and who signs. Then set a next step that brings that person in or gets the request into next year’s plan.
The buyer
Laura Benning, Head of Platform Engineering. A 450-person software company selling scheduling software to clinics. About $5M a year on cloud, mostly AWS, with a small Google Cloud footprint. Growing fast and adding customers every month.
The AWS bill came in 22% over forecast last quarter. The CFO asked Laura to explain it, and she spent two weeks in spreadsheets. A part-time engineer is writing scripts against the billing export, and it covers reporting but nothing else. She took this call because she never wants that conversation with the CFO again. She is happy to talk about the pain. Her habit is to push money talk to later.
Shares if asked well:
There is no money set aside for a cloud cost tool this year.
She can approve up to $15K on her own. Anything bigger goes to the CFO, Janet Moore.
Next year’s budget requests are due to finance in five weeks.
Janet was the one who caught the overrun. She wants a forecast she can trust and has said so in two leadership meetings.
Security review is run by the IT lead and usually takes about two weeks.
If the rep gives a rough range like $50K to $70K a year, she says that’s more than she can sign but not crazy for the problem.
Holds back unless asked:
Janet has about $20K left this quarter for fixes tied to the overrun. Laura only mentions it if the rep asks how something could be funded this year.
She is worried Janet will see this as engineering asking to spend more while costs are already over. She would like help making the case to finance. She only says this if the rep asks what would make the CFO say yes, or what worries her about taking it to finance.
She looked at Nimbalance last month. It seemed cheaper and easy to set up, and Janet asked whether it would help with forecasting. Laura didn’t know. She only brings this up if the rep asks what else she has looked at.
How they react: Warm and talkative about the overrun and the spreadsheet work. When money comes up with no reason given, she deflects once, kindly. When the rep explains why they’re asking, like not wanting a surprise later or respecting her time, she opens up and answers plainly. If the rep accepts her deflection, she sounds relieved and goes back to talking about features. If the rep offers a discount, she says thanks and gives nothing new. If the rep ties a meeting with Janet to the forecast problem and the budget deadline, she agrees to set it up.
Opening line: “Thanks for making time. Honestly, your email landed at a good moment. Our AWS bill came in way over last quarter and I’m the one who had to explain it to our CFO.”
Notes for whoever plays the buyer
Be friendly and engaged the whole time. This buyer likes the rep and wants help.
Talk freely about the overrun, the two weeks in spreadsheets and the scripts. Give the rep plenty of pain to work with.
Don’t volunteer anything about budget, the CFO’s approval or the deadline. Make the rep ask.
The first time the rep raises budget or price with no reason given, deflect once: “I’d rather not get into price until I know it works on our data.” If the rep explains why they’re asking, answer. If they ask again plainly, answer.
If the rep says something like “we’ll get there” and moves on, let them. Don’t bring money back up yourself.
Release the details in layers. Answer what was asked and stop. A good follow-up question earns the next fact.
Only mention the $20K this quarter if the rep asks how the CFO could fund something this year.
If the rep offers a discount, say “That’s kind of you” and move on. Don’t reveal anything new because of it.
Agree to set up a meeting with Janet only if the rep connects it to her forecast worry or the five-week budget deadline. Otherwise say you’ll mention it to her.
Call time at ten minutes, even if the rep isn’t finished.
Scoring rubric (pass at 7 of 10)
What we’re listening for
Points
Strong
Weak
Asks about budget on this call, in plain words
3
Asks directly whether money exists this year or would need to go in next year’s plan. Follows up to learn there’s no line item and the five-week deadline.
Never asks, or hints at it so softly the buyer can ignore it. Talks about price only to offer a discount.
Asks who signs and how they buy
3
Learns that Laura’s limit is $15K and Janet signs above that. Asks what Janet cares about and hears about the forecast miss.
Assumes Laura can buy, or hears the CFO mentioned and doesn’t ask what role she plays.
Holds through the deflection with a reason
2
When Laura pushes price to later, the rep gives a short reason for asking now, like avoiding a surprise or respecting her time, and asks again. May test a rough range.
Accepts the deflection with something like “we’ll get there” and goes back to features.
Sets a next step that brings the money in
2
Asks for a dated meeting that includes Janet, or a plan to get the request in before the budget deadline. Ties it to the forecast problem.
Ends with a demo or trial for Laura only, or a loose “I’ll send some info.”
Debrief
When Laura said she’d rather not get into price yet, what did you say? Compare it to Marcus Bell on a real call: “Totally. Makes sense. We’ll get there.” What happened in his deal on call 3?
Maya Castillo asked this on a first call: “Let me ask the money question early, so I’m respectful of your time. Is there budget for a cloud cost tool this year, or would it need to be part of next year’s plan?” What part of that would you borrow?
What do you know now about who signs, and what that person cares about? What did you guess instead of asking?
Did you find out about the $20K this quarter? If not, what question would have uncovered it?
Imani Carter said: “I’m not quoting you anything, I just don’t want the number to be a surprise later. Does that feel like it’s in the range of something that could fit?” Would a range have helped you here?
If you ran this call again tomorrow, what is the one sentence you’d say differently?