Sometimes it happens that you’re looking for a solution, analyzing many websites and the information on them. After many hours, you find one that seems suitable, you want to know the price, and instead you see a “Contact Sales” button. Why do they do this? Why not just publish the prices on the website?
If you have ever felt the frustration of this situation, know that you are not alone. But from a business perspective, the “Contact Sales” button is not a barrier, but rather a form of qualification and the start of the work. Especially for complex B2B products like a CDN, hiding the price is a deliberate and often logical choice.
Let me try to explain why companies make you talk to a person before you get a price.
The Product is Not One-Size-Fits-All
Think of the difference between buying a car and building a house. The price of a standard car model is easy to find online (yes, there are different packages, but those are out of scope). But what about building a house? Its cost depends on size, materials, location, and other individual specifics.
A CDN is much more like building a house. The final price is not the cost of a single item, but the cost of an individual solution. Key pricing factors include:
- Data Transfer Volume: How many terabytes or even petabytes of data do you deliver per month? A small blog and a streaming service like Netflix have completely different needs.
- Number of Requests: How many times do users access your servers for content? This can seriously impact the cost.
- Geographical Coverage: Do you need points of presence only in North America or all over the world, including regions like India?
- Advanced Features: Do you need DDoS protection, a Web Application Firewall (WAF), Advanced Bot Management or image optimization? These add-ons significantly affect the price.
Publishing a single price would be meaningless, and a complex online calculator could easily confuse a potential buyer. A simple example: a terabyte of CDN traffic can cost $5 or $2500 and above. That’s a huge difference of 500 times, right?
The Sales Process is a Consultation, Not Just a Transaction
In high-check B2B sales, the goal is not just to take your money, but to guarantee a result. The “Contact Sales” button is an invitation to a dialogue, during which a manager can:
- Identify Your Needs: They will ask questions about your traffic patterns, technical infrastructure, and business goals. You might think you need “X,” but after a conversation, it may turn out that a different set of features (“Y”) would be more cost-effective and efficient for you. Trust me, I’ve seen this many-many times.
- Build a Relationship: This first contact is the initial stage of building a partnership. They want to become your trusted advisor, not just a vendor.
- Justify the Value: By understanding your pain points (e.g., “the site slows down during sales,” “we are constantly being DDoSed”), the manager can present the price in the context of the value and return on investment (ROI) it provides—revenue saved from prevented downtime, improved customer satisfaction due to high speed, etc.
It’s a Filter for Valuable Clients
This button serves as a perfect filter. A casual visitor or a very small business is more likely to leave the page upon seeing they can’t get an instant price. Those who fill out the form, however, tend to be:
- Serious and Vetted: They have a real need and a budget.
- Likely to be Enterprise-Level: They are accustomed to this sales model and have the resources for a dedicated contact.
This allows the company to focus its expensive human resources on leads with the highest potential LTV.
The Price is Negotiable
In the corporate world, almost everything is up for discussion. The price you get is rarely a fixed number from a public price list. The final price can depend on:
- Contract Term: Signing a contract for 1 year vs. 3 (or even 5) years will get you different rates.
- Level of Commitment: Agreeing to minimum monthly spending can unlock significant discounts.
- Competitive Landscape: If you come to the negotiations with an offer from a competitor, the sales department often has the authority to match it or offer a better deal to win your business.
Even the time of year matters. It’s much easier to get a better price in December than in February.
Publishing a cost would strip them of all ability to negotiate and create custom contracts.
The Client’s Dilemma: Is It a Trap?
The frustration is understandable. It can feel like a bait-and-switch or a tactic to lure you into a situation with aggressive salespeople.
The key for you, as a client, is to look at it from a different angle. You are not a passive buyer, but a potential partner conducting due diligence. After all, you reached out and are looking for a solution.
How to “Win” at the “Contact Sales” Process:
Be Prepared: Before the call, prepare key metrics: your current traffic volume, monthly number of requests, peak load times, and specific feature requirements.
Control the Conversation: It’s a dialogue. You are also evaluating whether their company, support, and culture are a good fit for you.
Compare Offers: Go through this process with 2-3 different vendors. This will give you a clear understanding of the market and leverage for negotiations.
The Conclusion
The next time you see a “Contact Sales” button on the website of a CDN or some other enterprise solution, don’t perceive it as a wall. Acknowledge that your needs are complex and valuable enough to deserve an individual solution and a personal approach.
While this model may seem opaque, it exists because the product itself is not a simple mass-market commodity. It is the beginning of a conversation about creating a solution that truly fits your business—a solution where the final price is just one part of a much larger equation of value.