The Scarcity trap – The deadly game of enterprise software presales!

Visioning and Selection

Here is a proposal from the Sales team during the Enterprise Software sales meeting:

I spoke with Asia Pacific Sales Head; we can offer you a massive 60 percent discount on the software licenses. You will be saving $200K. To save this amount, you must approve the contract by the end of this month. We are expecting a new pricelist from next month, and we will not be able to secure such a big discount again.

One of the other prospects is likely to sign with us. I would strongly suggest reviewing and authorising the contract as soon as possible. I will make sure you get our Team A on the project.

I am sure you have come across many such time-bound sales pitches and proposals. The basic principle is to push the prospect to decide; otherwise, the prospect will lose out.

As a Project Sponsor, understand the purpose and objective of such proposals. There is no need to rush to make a rash decision. Instead, ensure the team follows the plan and does the required due diligence before signing the dotted lines.

The scarcity trap is there to intimidate you into signing the contract/Statement of Work so that the vendor can celebrate the sale closure. But, there is nothing for you. So, negotiate for more time with the vendor and do not fall into the Scarcity trap!