Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How a Rep Won by Asking the Buyer to Audit Their Own Spend
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this move I keep seeing in complex B2B sales, and it's almost the opposite of what you'd expect. Instead of pitching harder or discounting, the rep asks the buyer to audit their own spend. Luna: Audit their own spend? You mean like, 'Hey, go look at your invoices and tell me what you find'? Lucas: Exactly. And it sounds risky because you're essentially inviting the buyer to scrutinize the category you're selling into. But when it works, it reframes the entire negotiation. Luna: I can see why. If the buyer finds waste on their own, they own the problem. You're not telling them they're wasting money, they discover it. Lucas: That's the psychological core. There's a concept called 'self-generated evidence' — people are far more convinced by facts they uncover themselves than by facts someone presents to them. And in sales, that's gold. Lucas: Yeah, a SaaS company I know — let's call them OptiSoft — was selling a spend management platform to a mid-market manufacturer. The procurement director was skeptical. Their existing system worked fine, they said. Price was the only issue. Luna: Classic 'we're happy with what we have.' Lucas: Right. So the rep, a woman named Priya, didn't push back. Instead, she said, 'I'd love to help you validate whether this is worth it. Could you pull the last twelve months of invoices across all the software categories you manage? No strings attached.' Luna: And the buyer actually did that? Lucas: It took some trust-building. Priya offered to sign an NDA and a mutual non-disclosure. But the buyer agreed. And what they found was eye-opening: about $200,000 in redundant licenses, unused seats, and tools that overlapped. Luna: So the buyer essentially discovered they were bleeding money. Lucas: Exactly. And Priya's platform cost $150,000 per year. Suddenly, the conversation wasn't about whether $150,000 was too expensive. It was about whether the buyer wanted to save $50,000 a year — a 25 percent net saving — while also cleaning up their stack. Luna: That's a huge reframe. How long did the audit take? Lucas: About two weeks. But here's the thing: Priya didn't do the audit herself. She gave the buyer a simple spreadsheet template with columns for vendor, contract value, renewal date, number of users, last login date. The buyer's own finance team filled it in. Luna: So the buyer's team did the work. That makes the discovery even more powerful. It's their data, their conclusion. Lucas: Right. And Priya didn't even need to point out the redundancy. The finance team saw it themselves. They brought it to the procurement director. By the time Priya came back for the next meeting, the buyer had already flagged the waste. Luna: So the rep's job shifted from convincing to facilitating. That's a much stronger position. Lucas: Completely. And this approach has a second-order benefit. By asking for the audit, Priya signaled confidence. She wasn't afraid of what the buyer would find. That's a trust signal that's hard to fake. Luna: But there's a risk, right? What if the buyer does the audit and sees that their current setup is actually fine? Then you've just disarmed yourself. Lucas: That's the fear. And it can happen. But in Priya's experience, most companies in that segment have at least 10 to 20 percent waste in software spend. It's a known industry statistic. So the odds are in your favor if you've done your homework. Luna: Still, you have to be confident that your solution actually does solve the problem they'll find. Otherwise, you're just exposing a problem you can't fix. Lucas: Exactly. And that's why this move is best for reps who truly believe in their product's ROI. If your product doesn't deliver real savings, don't ask for the audit. Luna: I want to pause on something you said earlier — about how asking for the audit builds trust. On today's show, that kind of genuine, non-pushy approach is exactly what we try to model. And I know a handful of listeners have told us they appreciate that we keep this show ad-free and focused on real tactics. Lucas: Yeah, and that's only possible because a small group of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's not a big thing, but it literally covers the hosting and production. So if these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, that's the button. Luna: Totally. And we don't do ads, we don't do sponsors. It's just the work. So thanks to those who already support it. Now back to the audit move — you mentioned the spreadsheet template. How detailed was it? Lucas: It was surprisingly simple. Vendor name, contract value, renewal date, number of users, and last login date. That last column was the killer. When the finance team saw that half the users hadn't logged in for over six months, they immediately flagged it as waste. Luna: So the rep didn't even have to interpret the data. The buyer's team saw the pattern themselves. Lucas: Right. And that's the beauty. The rep just provides the framework. The buyer fills in the evidence. Then the conclusion is inevitable. Luna: What about the negotiation after the audit? Did Priya still have to negotiate on price? Lucas: A little. The procurement director tried to use the $200,000 figure to ask for a discount. But Priya held firm. She said, 'You're not spending $200,000 today. You're wasting $200,000. My platform costs $150,000. You'll save $50,000 year one and more in subsequent years as you optimize.' Luna: So she framed the discount request as irrelevant because the baseline was waste, not spend. Lucas: Exactly. And the buyer agreed. They signed a three-year contract at full price. The audit cost Priya two weeks of time and a spreadsheet template. That's a pretty good return. Luna: I can see this working in other categories too, not just software. Anywhere there's recurring spend and potential waste. Lucas: Absolutely. Think about office supplies, marketing services, even logistics. Any category where the buyer might not have a clear picture of total spend. Asking for an audit is a way to become a partner, not just a vendor. Luna: One thing I wonder about is timing. When in the sales process do you ask for the audit? Before the demo? After? Lucas: Priya did it after the initial discovery call but before the formal demo. She wanted to establish the problem before showing the solution. That way, the demo became a response to a problem the buyer already owned. Luna: That makes sense. If you demo first, the buyer might think you're trying to sell them a solution to a problem they don't have. The audit flips that. Lucas: Right. And it also preempts the price objection. If you've already quantified the waste, you're not negotiating on cost, you're negotiating on value capture. Luna: I'm curious about the objection handling. What if the buyer says, 'We don't have time to do an audit'? Lucas: Good question. Priya's response was to offer to do a preliminary audit using just three months of data, or focus on one category. She'd say, 'Let's start with your software subscriptions. It should take your finance person about an hour.' She broke it down into a small ask. Luna: So lower the barrier. Instead of a full-year audit across all categories, just one category for a quarter. Lucas: Exactly. And once the buyer sees the waste in one area, they often want to expand the audit themselves. It becomes self-reinforcing. Luna: That's a great entry point. I think a lot of reps are afraid to ask for this kind of access because it feels intrusive. But Priya's story shows it's actually a trust builder. Lucas: It is. And it positions you as the expert who's there to help the buyer make a smarter decision, not just to close a deal. That's the kind of rep who wins in the long run. Luna: So for anyone listening who wants to try this, what's the first step? Draft an email asking for an audit? Lucas: I'd start with a conversation. After the discovery call, say something like, 'I'd love to help you see if there are savings opportunities in your current setup. Would you be open to a quick audit of your last few months of spend? I can provide a simple template.' Make it a collaborative offer, not a demand. Luna: Collaborative, not demanding. I like that. And if they say no, you haven't lost anything. You can still sell the traditional way. Lucas: Exactly. It's a low-risk, high-upside move. And if it works, you've transformed the relationship from vendor to strategic partner. Luna: Priya's deal closed at full price, three-year term. That's the dream scenario. Thanks for sharing that case, Lucas. Lucas: Of course. Next time, we'll talk about a different counterintuitive move: what happens when you ask the buyer to publicly commit to a timeline. That one's wild.