??Coffee's for closers.

Has it been two weeks already?

Listen, I know what you’re thinking…

Well I know what Tom’s thinking.

“PLEASE STOP!”

We lost another one. ??

For the rest of you, here’s the stats:

??? Subscribers: 2,384

???Open rate: 50.13%

???Click Through Rate: 4.68%

Why is this important? Because content should be the foundation of your sales & marketing strategy.

And I’m not talking about the kind where you tell everyone in a boring email what’s going on at your company (spoiler: nobody gives a shit).

Folks want knowledge. They want to be entertained. They want actionable insights.

And they want to win.

Help them win. And you may just win too.

Hard pivot: Have you met Andrew Devlin (Outsourced Sales VP from SalesXceleration)?

We have. And he he’s pretty awesome… quite possibly a favorite human.

Here he is dropping knowledge bombs. ???

Here he is skiing ???

And here he is— you know what, never mind.

To the show.

??Your question…

?? I’ve been working with a great new prospect.

Or at least… I thought he seemed great.

I was just about to close him when all of a sudden, he hits me with this question out of left field: “What kind of discount can you give me if I agree to work with you?”

My first instinct was to laugh it off, but then I worried he wouldn't work with me if I didn't say yes on the spot. I did give in, but now I feel seller's remorse.

I wish I had put my foot down. Saying 'no' outright feels confrontational, but saying 'yes' feels like defeat—like I’m undervaluing myself.

How do I hold firm without sounding inflexible or greedy?

More importantly, how do I not surrender and still keep the sale?

James T., VP of Sales, San Francisco

???James, we feel your pain

Everyone here, not to mention everyone reading this, has likely set up the perfect deal. It seemed like a great opportunity for all involved—then the bottom dropped out.

The prospect asked for a discount. Ugh. It’s enough to drive you up the wall.

Our advice comes from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “Don’t panic!”

Asking for a discount is normal. Prospects usually don’t do it because they’re trying to swindle you.

They just want to feel like they got a deal.

Can you blame them in this economy?

Tried buying eggs lately? ??

You might need a second mortgage just to make an omelet.

Seriously though, the first time I was asked for a discount? It troubled me that the prospect misunderstood our value proposition.

Worse, I thought maybe the prospect didn’t think the deal was a good fit for her organization. (actually, the opposite was true)

The prospect valued our offering… she was just used to asking for a discount from … well, everyone.

What I learned to do over time is take a second and breathe. Before entertaining a discount, pause to reframe the conversation. Remind the prospect about what your pricing reflects in terms of results, expertise, and ROI. Bring them into that headspace, and you’ll often find objections vanish.

?? Maintaining your Core Price

Elana often works with salespeople on how to handle discount requests. The usual impulse of many a sales pro is to agree to a slight discount if it closes the deal immediately.

However, small discounts add up over time. ???

Imagine how it feels to miss your numbers by a margin that could so easily be covered by all the money you left on the table.

Trust me, it happens more often than you’d think!

One helpful strategy is to maintain your core price by turning the discussion into one driven by value.

Instead of agreeing to perform the same work or deliver the same amount of product for a lower price, a strong value-based discussion can slash the deliverables to accommodate the discount.

For example, if a prospect says, “It’ll be easier to get sign-off on this deal if you can come in 10% lower,” reframe your answer. Focus on a new way to lower the cost—by lowering value.

You could say: “I understand budget is a concern. How about we adjust the deliverables while staying within your goals?”

Your prospect is likely to backpedal here.

They don’t want to decrease the deliverables.

They’re in love with the value you’ll provide based on your skillful sales presentation.

Congrats!

You’ve skillfully shifted the conversation to value while making it clear—politely but firmly—that your price stands.

?? A Confidence Game

The key to dealing with prospects is to maintain your self-assurance.

Never deal from fear, i.e. give a discount because you’re scared your prospect will walk.

If you’ve done your job and they understand your value proposition, this will rarely happen!

Instead, project the confidence of a true sales pro. If your prospect knows you are self-assured in your offer and you act like your price is non-negotiable (in a professional way, of course) they are likelier to respect your stance and still sign off on the deal. Remember—many businesspeople have had it beat into their heads that they must always ask for a discount. Don’t take it personal, and don’t let it hurt your game.

Speaking of confidence, we are several months into providing this bi-monthly newsletter and feeling on top of the world by all of the great feedback. Here’s one message I recently got from a subscriber:

“Good job! You’re killing it with these helpful tips. Love, Mom.”

We are thankful to all of you who keep sending us positive messages. Please feel free to also send us more queries. You’ve got burning sales questions, we got amazing answers. Try us. You’ll see. Until then…

To your sales success, ??

Elana and Ryan