Actually, the implication that charging a price makes it more likely you'll buy once the pilot is over is spot on. There's swaths of research, both theoretical

Actually, the implication that charging a price makes it more likely you'll buy once the pilot is over is spot on. There's swaths of research, both theoretical and empirical, that supports this. Think sunk costs, change of mindset in the user's mind because they're now a customer rather than some random end-user (it's easier to sell to an existing client, even if the initial sale is symbolic), etc. Adding a price only makes it less likely that some leads don't move forward with a pilot. Specifically, self-entitled businesses that expect to get the moon for free; organizations that are price sensitive enough that working with them will end up earning you very little or worse; and users without a budget or influence on those who have one. You'll of course lose some potentially good clients along the way as well. A free tier can make good sense sometimes. Most of the other times, more than a few execs will go: "Yes, please! Let's price our less profitable clients out of existence."