How service firms should answer "can you do it for less"

Why cutting the rate is the wrong first answer

In a service firm the price is mostly people's time. If you take 15 percent off the fee and deliver the same scope, the hours do not change. You have only agreed to be paid less for each of them.

It also tells the client something about your first number. If the fee can drop because they asked, they will reasonably assume it was padded, and they will ask again on the next project. A rate cut given once tends to become the starting point from then on.

The better rule comes from the Concessions step of The Salecopy Method: every give has a get. The fee can go down. Something has to change with it.

Before the call, make sure the fee has something to stand against

A request for a lower price is often a sign that your fee is being compared with the wrong thing: another firm's day rate, an employee's salary, or zero. The Anchor step fixes this earlier in the deal. You work out with the client, in their figures, what the problem costs each month it continues.

If that number is on the deal record with the name of the person who confirmed it, you can bring it back calmly when price comes up. If it is not there, go back and get it before you negotiate anything. Defending a fee with no agreed cost behind it is hard work.

Write your give and get list

Before the pricing call, write two columns. On the left, what you could give. On the right, what you want back for each. For a service firm the list usually looks something like this.

• Lower fee, in exchange for a deliverable removed from the scope
• Lower fee, in exchange for the client's team doing part of the work, such as data preparation or internal training
• Lower fee, in exchange for fewer revision rounds or fewer review meetings
• Better monthly rate on a retainer (a fixed monthly fee for ongoing work), in exchange for a longer commitment
• A small reduction, in exchange for payment in advance or shorter payment terms
• An extra piece of work included, in exchange for a case study or a reference call

Write your walk-away and two smaller versions

The Options step asks you to decide your limit in writing before the call: the lowest fee you will accept for the full scope, the smallest project worth taking, and the payment terms you need. Then draft two versions of the scope that cost less. There is more on this in write your walk-away before the pricing call.

Here is an invented example. Say your proposal is $40,000: $6,000 discovery, $22,000 build, $7,000 data migration and $5,000 training. The client asks for $34,000.

Version two removes training, which the client's own team will run from your materials. That is $35,000. Version three also has the client clean their data before migration, which you price at $3,000 less. That is $32,000. Now you have two honest answers on either side of their number, and neither one touches your rate.

Give each version a number and keep them on the deal. When extras appear after kickoff, you can point to the version that was signed.

What to say on the call

When the client asks, do not answer with a number straight away. First find out what is behind the request. Ask whether the issue is the total budget, the timing of the payments, or a comparison with another quote. Each one has a different answer.

Then offer a trade, not a discount. These are lines you can use as they are.

• I can get to that number if we take this part out, or if your team handles it. Which matters more to you?
• At that number I cannot do the full scope. Here are two versions I can do.
• I can hold the full scope and come down a little if we move to payment in advance. Would that work on your side?
• If the test goes well, what happens next, and by when? I am happy to start small if we agree that now.

When the client wants a small test first

A small first project is a reasonable request. Treat it as a scope version, not a favor. Price it properly, define what counts as success, and agree in advance what the client will do if it succeeds. A test with no agreed next step is a way of delaying the decision.

The same goes for a request to match another firm's day rate. You do not know what is in their scope, and usually the client does not know in detail either. Ask to compare what each proposal delivers. If the client only wants the cheapest day, your walk-away tells you when to say so politely and step back. There are more lines for these moments in discount requests and what to say.

End with a date, then record it

Whichever version the client prefers, finish with the Yes step: a named person, a specific action and a day. Ask who signs and when you should expect it. If the answer is that they will get back to you, the deal is not agreed and your forecast should not say it is.

Then write it down in your CRM (the system where you keep clients and deals): the version chosen, what you gave, what you got and the next date. Next time a client asks for less, you will have a record of which trades were accepted. AI can help here by checking a planned concession against your list and flagging what is missing from the record. You decide what to offer and you say it.

If the people selling in your firm are also the people delivering, the professional services training program covers all eight moves with practice on your own deals.

What to add to your CRM

A prompt to try

I run a professional services firm and I am preparing for a pricing conversation. Help me prepare. Do not write messages to the client and do not contact anyone. I will decide what to offer and I will say it myself.

My proposal: [deliverables, with the fee for each line if you have it]
Total fee and payment terms: [fee and terms]
What the client has asked for: [for example, a lower total, a matched day rate, a small test first]
What the problem costs the client each month, in their figures: [number and who confirmed it, or 'not known']
My lowest acceptable fee for the full scope: [number, or 'not decided']

Do these four things:
1. Draft a give and get list with at least five rows: what I could give, roughly what it costs me, and what I should ask for in return. Put scope and terms trades before any rate reduction.
2. Draft two smaller versions of the scope that reach a lower fee. Show the arithmetic for each using only the figures I gave you. Do not invent prices.
3. Write three short lines I could say on the call to offer a trade instead of a discount.
4. List everything that is missing from my brief that I should know before the call, such as an unconfirmed cost of doing nothing or a walk-away that is not decided.

If a figure is missing, say so and leave a placeholder. Do not guess.