When a Sales Call Goes Lukewarm, Ask What They Would Pay You to Do Right Now
A startup selling hiring software to governments tried the last-resort question and took on a job-description problem, which became its first contract.
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth · An 86-minute guide to finding PMF | Rob Snyder (Author, The Power of Pull)Rob Snyder, an author who advises early startups on finding product-market fit, says a sales call that feels lukewarm is an opportunity to throw what he calls the Hail Mary.
Ask outright whether there is a task they would pay to hand off, and watch whether the prospect tries to buy. The exact question is, "Is there anything on your to-do list that you would pay me to do right now?"
The point is not to save the original pitch. It is to learn what the person is actually stuck on, in their own words, and to see if they pull the offer out of your hands.
He says he has seen quite a few startups change direction after that question and grow quickly. One was selling an applicant tracking system, software for managing job applicants, to governments. The contact said it was kind of interesting, but when asked what he would pay to offload right now said what he would actually pay to solve was a job-description problem.
That answer became the startup's first contract and first customer, and the company has grown quickly since.
Use it as part of a routine. Snyder suggests doing about five calls on one idea, then assessing whether anyone is trying to buy. If no one is, throw out Hail Mary questions to generate new information, dig further into any answer that has energy, form a new guess, and run five more calls.
If there is still nothing, go back out, get firsthand knowledge, and test again until someone tries to buy. The signal to follow is someone trying to buy, not being polite.
Questions people ask
What does it look like when someone actually tries to buy?
Trying to buy means they move toward money or time right now, not praise for later. They ask how to get started, what it costs, or when you can do it, rather than calling it interesting and asking for more information to review.
How do I know if the Hail Mary answer is worth chasing?
Look for urgency and repetition. One person with a must-do task is a clue, but Snyder treats it as real only if several similar people say the same thing in their own calls. A one-off favor is not a business.
If they name something, should I go build it?
Do not build the full product yet. Offer to do the work by hand, make a rough mockup, or deliver it as a service first, then see if they pay and stay. You learn the real requirements faster and avoid months of building the wrong thing.