How to Make Unbudgeted Tech Sales Soar in Today's Economy!

When you’re selling a brand new technology to an industry with no budget allocated, particularly in today's high-cost-of-capital environment, how do you guide the ship through essentially uncharted waters?

In my experience of over 20 years as a sales leader at Healthee, Dailypay, and Paychex, introducing groundbreaking technology to industries that haven’t yet allocated budgets for it can feel like navigating a ship through uncharted waters. However, it's an exciting journey that, when navigated strategically, can lead to transformative outcomes for both the vendor and the client. Here’s how we’ve approached this unique sales situation at Healthee:

1. Educate and Inform:

According to a Gartner report, 73% of B2B buyers find the SAAS buying process complex and difficult. This complexity often stems from a lack of understanding of new technologies. Start by educating your potential clients about the value and impact of your technology with use case studies, whitepapers, and thought leadership content to showcase real-world applications and benefits.

When purchasing a solution you're unfamiliar with, embrace the fact that you don't know everything. Approach the process as a learning opportunity, and be open to seeing things from new perspectives. New technologies should change the way you look at things, and hopefully for the better. I have always taught my teams that if a company has never purchased a solution that you are selling, you need to “Teach them how to buy it.” The role we play in the process should be that of a trusted advisor, and our goal should be to make a significant positive impact on the business outcomes of our clients. 

2. Identify the Pain Points:

Every company and industry has pain points and inefficiencies. According to Apptension.com, by providing real-time data management and secure access to patient information, SaaS applications enable better decision-making and collaboration among healthcare professionals, leading to improved patient outcomes.

By understanding these pain points and aligning your tech’s benefits with these issues, you create a compelling reason for why they should invest in your solution, even without a preset budget. This targeted approach helps in demonstrating the direct value your technology can bring.

Every well-run company has key initiatives that the entire organization is working towards each quarter or year. Understanding those initiatives to see if your solution can impact them is key to getting organizational alignment around your offering. It is proven that companies and people buy with more consistency if they are trying to fix something that is broken.

If you work hard to find the measurable metrics that you can improve, it will dramatically increase your ability to get the correct people to approve the investment in your solution. Don’t make the mistake of “feature dumping” and thinking this will get the sale done. These reps usually have huge pipelines and little closed business. 

As a business leader introducing new technology, expect your account executive to provide thorough due diligence. If you believe in the potential impact of their offering, work together to craft a compelling message for your organization. This collaboration helps ensure the solution is well-presented and gains internal support.

3. Build Relationships with Key Decision-Makers:

Engage with influencers and decision-makers within the organization. According to Forrester, 59% of B2B buyers prefer to do their own research rather than interact with a sales rep. Understanding these decision-makers priorities, challenges, and goals is crucial. Building strong relationships helps gain their trust and support, which is essential for navigating budgetary constraints.

These relationships are earned.

You earn them by doing your homework, understanding their company, industry, and competitive challenges, and offering impactful solutions that align with the strategy of your prospects and clients. Great leaders don’t work in an echo chamber. They want to be challenged and offered different perspectives.

Don't hesitate to offer a well-informed, data-driven perspective when presenting to executives. Leaders at the top know the company's direction best and can approve new initiatives when others might hesitate. Being prepared with strong insights can help secure buy-in and drive innovation.

4. Highlight ROI and Long-Term Savings:

Emphasize the return on investment (ROI) and long-term cost savings your technology offers. According to SaaSWorthy, HealthTech SaaS solutions are not only making healthcare more accessible and affordable but also scalable. They support remote consultations, enabling healthcare providers to deliver high-quality care regardless of location.

Provide detailed projections and metrics to showcase how the solution can save money, increase efficiency, and drive growth in the long run. This data-driven approach helps make a strong business case for your technology. The internal stakeholder needs to own the data in order to use it internally to advance your offering through the decision-making process. Always construct an ROI validation collaboratively to ensure the highest level of accuracy. 

5. Collaborate on Budgeting Solutions:

Work with your potential clients to explore creative budgeting solutions. This could involve phased implementations, financing options, tech credits, or leveraging existing budget allocations in innovative ways. A report by PwC highlights that 67% of CFOs are open to creative financing solutions to adopt new technology. This flexibility can make your tech more accessible to budget-constrained industries. If your company/prospect truly believes your offering will have significant impacts on business results, budget is rarely what will get in the way.

Priorities on the other hand, will get you deprecated to the “nice to have” pile. If you have established need, implicated pain, agreed on the metrics, met and have the support of the economic buyer, money can usually be found by moving your solution to the top of the priority stack.

At this point in the process, your competitors aren’t vendors offering similar offerings; they are vendors that have also been selected and are competing for the budget dollars. The executive decision becomes which new expenditure will have the biggest impact on the success of the business. This is where your collaborative ROI process will help secure the relationship.

6. Leverage Success Stories:

Share success stories and testimonials from other clients who have benefited from your technology. A Nielsen study found that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from peers over advertising. Seeing tangible results from peers in similar industries can motivate potential clients to consider investing in your solution. Client referrals are worth their weight in gold. Make sure the client giving the reference is armed with the data to support the conversation. Also, make sure that you align personas on these calls (CFO to CFO or SVP of Benefits to a like title, etc.). What is important to each persona is different from the others. 

7. Be Patient and Persistent:

The Technology adoption curve tells us that not everyone wants to be an innovator or an early adopter. Identify those people as quickly as possible and put them in your funnel for a time when your technology has the appropriate amount of validation for people who are more pragmatic buyers or late adopters. 

Selling new technology without a preset budget requires patience and persistence. Stay engaged with your prospects, continuously provide value, and be ready to adapt your approach based on their feedback and evolving needs. Persistence is key to overcoming initial resistance and building long-term relationships.

At Healthee, we’ve seen firsthand how these strategies can turn initial skepticism into enthusiastic adoption. By focusing on education, relationship-building, and showcasing undeniable value, we’ve successfully navigated budgetary challenges and driven significant growth.

Lastly, you have to be an evangelist for your solution. If you don’t wholly believe in the impact it can have, you will never convince anyone to take a chance. 

Ready to navigate uncharted waters and revolutionize your healthcare benefits? Discover how Healthee.com can steer your organization toward unparalleled efficiency and ROI. Book a demo today and set sail on your journey to innovation.

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Reference Articles

Gartner Report on B2B Buyers' Complexity

Apptension.com SAAS for Healthcare

Forrester Report on B2B Buyers' Preferences

HealthTech SaaS: The Future of Healthcare through Software Solutions

Harvard Business Review Survey on Pilot Programs

Deloitte ROI from Advanced Analytics

PwC Report on CFOs and Creative Financing

Nielsen Study on Trust in Peer Recommendations

SalesHacker Statistic on Touches Required for Prospecting