“… but I guess you guys are too expensive”

"I'd like to bring you in for a review/training/coaching, but I guess you guys are too expensive" is something that I hear quite often when conference attendees approach me after a speech and ask me for assistance with problems they have. In fact, we likely aren't. We know the circumstances in quite a few markets in the EMEA region very well and know about the budget constraints of small and mid-size software companies. Don't make a guess, ask.