What to say when a buyer asks for a discount

The first ten seconds

The buyer says: can you do anything on the price? What you say next sets the pattern for the rest of the deal. There are two reflexes, and both cost you. One is to defend the price with a speech. The other is to offer something off to keep the conversation friendly.

Do neither. Do not say a number yet. Acknowledge the request and ask a question. The third question below matters most. If you give on price and then meet three more requests, you have paid for nothing.

• I understand. Help me see what is behind that. Is it the total, the timing of the payments, or something else?
• That is fair to ask. What number did you have in mind, and what is it based on?
• Before I answer, can I check one thing? Is price the last item between us and a signature, or are other things still open?

Find out what kind of request it is

A discount request is usually one of four things, and each needs a different answer. Your question in the first ten seconds is how you tell them apart. Listen to the whole answer before you choose a response.

• A habit. The buyer always asks. A calm no, or a small trade, ends it.
• A real budget limit. A fixed amount has been approved. This calls for a smaller scope, not a lower price for the same work.
• A doubt in disguise. The buyer is unsure about the timeline or whether their team will use it, and wants to pay less for the risk. This calls for evidence, not money.
• A message from someone else. Finance or procurement (the buyer's purchasing team) sent your contact back to ask. You need to know what that person needs to see.

Go back to the anchor

Anchor is the second move in The Salecopy Method. The buyer agrees, in their own figures, what the problem costs each month it continues. If you did that work earlier, use it now. Your price is then compared with the cost of waiting, not with zero.

Here is an invented example. Say the buyer confirmed the problem costs 5,000 a month. Your price is 30,000 and they ask for 15 percent off, which is 4,500. That is less than one month of the problem.

Say it as a check, not a trap. If their numbers have changed, you want to know.

• When we went through your numbers, this was costing you about 5,000 a month. Is that still right?
• Then the 4,500 we are discussing is less than one month of the problem. I would sooner put our effort into starting a month earlier.

If you move, trade

Concessions is the fifth move: every give has a get, and the trades are written before the call. When the buyer asks for something, you answer with a trade from your list, not an idea invented under pressure. The full move is in never concede, trade.

The line from the method is: I can do that if we can agree this. Which matters more to you? A fuller version: I can take 5 percent off if we move from a one-year term to two years and sign by the 30th. Would that work?

Stay inside your approval limits. If the request is beyond them, say so: I cannot agree that on this call. I will take it to the person who can and come back to you by noon tomorrow. Any change to contract terms, such as length or payment, is one to have your lawyer review. Things worth asking for in return:

• A longer contract term.
• Faster payment, or payment up front.
• Signature by a named date.
• A case study or a reference call once the work is delivered.
• A larger first order or more users.

When to offer a smaller scope

If the budget limit is real, a lower price for the same work is the wrong answer. It tells the buyer the first price was padded, and it leaves you doing the full job for less. Options, the sixth move, gives you the line: At that number I cannot do the full scope. Here are two versions I can do.

Have the two versions ready before the call, each with something real removed and a proper price. One site now and the other two next quarter. The core setup without the custom reports. Then ask: Which of these is closer to what you need?

A buyer with a fixed budget will pick one. A buyer who was testing will often return to the full scope at the full price. Either way, you have a deal you can deliver.

When to walk

Your walk-away is the worst deal you would still sign, written on the deal record before the pricing call. If the buyer's number is below it and no trade or smaller version closes the gap, say no. Say it kindly, say it once, and then stop talking. Do not fill the silence with a new offer.

Sometimes the buyer comes back. Sometimes they do not. Both are better than a deal below your floor, which costs you money and teaches the buyer how to negotiate the renewal.

• I do not want to agree to something we cannot deliver well. At that number we are not the right choice for this, and I would rather tell you now.
• If the budget changes, or a smaller first phase becomes useful, I would be glad to pick this up again.

Prepare once, practice often

None of these lines work if the first time your rep says them is on the live call. Keep three things on the deal in your CRM (customer relationship management system, the place your deals are recorded): the cost of doing nothing, the give and get list, and the walk-away. All three are filled in before price is discussed.

Then practice out loud. An AI assistant can play a buyer who pushes on price, and tell the rep afterward where they gave without getting. It is practice only. The rep speaks to the real buyer and decides what to offer. More in AI sales role play.

What to add to your CRM

A prompt to try

I want to practice responding to a discount request. Play a realistic B2B buyer. Stay in role until I type: end practice. Do not contact anyone. This is practice only.

What I sell: [your product or service]
The buyer you are playing: [job title, company size, sector]
My price and scope: [price and scope]
Cost of doing nothing the buyer agreed earlier, per month: [amount]
My give and get list: [what I can give, and what I want back for each]
My walk-away: [price and terms]
The real reason behind your discount request: choose one in secret from habit, a fixed budget, an unresolved doubt, or pressure from your finance team. Do not tell me which.

Rules for you in role:
1. Open by asking for a discount in one or two sentences.
2. Push back at least twice. Reveal your real reason only if I ask a good question.
3. Speak like a busy person, in short replies. Do not coach me while in role.

When I type end practice, leave the role and tell me:
1. Whether I named a number before asking a question.
2. Whether I returned to the cost of doing nothing.
3. Each thing I gave, and what I got back for it.
4. Whether I went below my walk-away.
5. One line I should have said, and what was missing from my preparation.