How do I price an enterprise deal with an unknown user count?
Don't guess. Use a tiered pilot: 3-5 users at $[X/month] for 90 days, then ramp to actual user count at [Y% of list price based on adoption]. Get a commitment that expansion happens 60 days into pilot. Never discount heavy upfront—earn discounts through adoption and expansion.
Pricing Unknown User Count: The Pilot-Based Approach
Most enterprise buyers ask "what's the price?" before they know how many users they need. If you quote a number without definition, you lose leverage and invite scope creep.
THE PRICING TRAP: You: "It's $10K/month for up to 25 users" Buyer: "We might need 50 users, but we don't know yet" Now you're in a conversation about $20K/month before they've even used it.
THE FIX: Tiered Pilot Pricing
Tier 1: Pilot (90 days)
- User count: 3-5 core users (usually: 1 manager, 2-3 reps)
- Price: $[X/month] (typically 30-40% of full-scale price)
- Terms: Month-to-month, not locked in
- Example: $3K/month for 5 users (vs $8K/month for 25)
Tier 2: Expansion Commitment (Day 60 decision point)
- Based on pilot adoption/success, buyer commits to user count
- Pricing: Stepped model (5-user, 15-user, 25-user tiers) at [Y% of list]
- Example: "If adoption is 80%+ and you expand to 15 users, price is $6K/month"
- Key: They commit at day 60, not day 1 (they know what they need by then)
Tier 3: Negotiated Price (if deal requires custom terms)
- Volume discount: 15+ users = 10% off, 25+ users = 15% off
- Commitment discount: 12-month contract = 5% off, 24-month = 10% off
- Support tier: Standard support included, premium support = add-on
PRICING TEMPLATE (for a $50K ACV enterprise deal):
| User Tier | Standard Price | Pilot Price | Ramp Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-5 users | — | $3K/mo | — | 90-day pilot, month-to-month |
| 5-10 users | $6K/mo | — | $5.2K/mo (13% discount) | After pilot, expansion commit |
| 10-20 users | $10K/mo | — | $8.5K/mo (15% discount) | Volume tier |
| 20-30 users | $14K/mo | — | $11.9K/mo (15% discount) | Enterprise tier |
| 30+ users | $18K/mo | — | Call for pricing | Custom deployment |
HOW TO PRESENT IT:
"Here's how we typically structure this: We'll start with a 90-day pilot with your core 5 users at $3K/month. At day 60, if adoption is strong, you'll expand to [X users] at $[Y] based on the tier below. This way you're not paying for users you don't need, and we're not pricing based on guesses."
EXPANSION TRIGGER (the key clause):
In your contract, write: "Pilot convert to expanded contract at day 60 based on:
- Adoption rate ≥ 80%
- Executive approval of ROI
- User count commitment (no longer TBD)"
If they don't meet it by day 60, pilot ends and you start fresh. Serious buyers will commit.
DISCOUNTING RULES (avoid these):
- Don't discount on the pilot ($3K is already a deal)
- Don't lock in a deep discount "if they expand later" (you lose leverage)
- Don't do "blended" pricing ("let's say 15 users average, $9K/month") → they'll use 25 and claim "we thought 15 was average"
- Don't discount because "we don't know user count yet" (that's their problem, not yours)
WHAT TO DISCOUNT ON:
- Long-term commits (12+ months = 5-10% off)
- Multi-year contracts (24+ months = 10-15% off)
- Adoption benchmarks (if they hit 90%+ usage, they earned a tier discount)
- Related products (selling 2 products at once = package discount)
EXPANSION MATH (example):
- Pilot: 5 users @ $3K/month × 3 months = $9K
- Expansion: 15 users @ $6K/month × 9 months = $54K
- Annual value: $63K (pilot + expansion)
- Net ACV: $63K
- If they'd bought 15-user contract upfront: $72K (15% discount = $61.2K)
- You "left money on the table" by $0, and they felt like they got a good deal
TAGS: enterprise-pricing, user-count, pilot-pricing, tiered-deals, pricing-strategy