Issue 02: Strategies on how to tackle pricing pushback

Author

Peter Ahn
August 08, 2024

Earlier last week a startup founder asked me how I would react to a prospect pushing back on pricing. The pushback came in the form of an email and the founder mentioned this could potentially be an $84K deal if it closed. How would you react and respond?

As founders and sellers who are used to moving fast, your initial reaction might be to respond with a lengthy explanation around your price point, or to potentially signal that a discount might be possible, especially if you’re in a situation where your competitor is also involved.

Neither of these work because:

Email is one of the worst mediums to negotiate through

Even if a discount is possible, you want to be able to rapidly trade the discount live after considering multiple potential levers.

A better way to respond would be:

Respond with a question around what price point they would feel is reasonable.

Ask + push for a live call to talk through potential options to make the budget work. On that call I would ask about levers that can help you if you are going to go down in price. Some questions I would bring up on the live call:

Can they sign by a specific date?

Can they pre commit to a larger pool of tickets upfront?

Can we commit to a light legal process?

What else needs to happen to disqualify the other competitor - is it just price?

Responding with a question around price allows you to be prepared if they are able to answer the question clearly and a call allows you to re-frame your value effectively while being able to gauge the reaction of your prospect live. For the email that was sent and the screenshot of my advice check both out here!

PS. I’m launching my next Sales Sprint group coaching bootcamp September 18th, 2024. Reply to this email for a special discounted rate valid through end of the month!

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