We Don’t Discount — and Neither Should You by Brian Buck
How many times have you heard (or said), “Can I have a discount?” We hear it all the time, as do many members of the sales teams we work with. This is one of the most common questions buyers ask. In fact, if they aren’t asking for pricing considerations, they’re not doing their job. However, your answer doesn’t have to be “yes.” When you say “yes,” you’re giving in and setting a precedent that’s difficult to roll back. Instead, you may want to do what we do — not give a discount. “Easy for you to say!” you might be thinking. Actually, it’s not an easy thing to say when you have nothing else to say. If your response is “no discounts” and nothing else, you’re setting yourself up for an argument. The buyer will inevitably see this
negotiations more tenuous than they need to be. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Before someone sends me a note and tells me that their organization got a pricing concession from us, let me clarify what I mean by “we don’t give discounts.” As negotiators, we focus on trading value.
as competitive, and the conversation will turn into a battle of wills until someone blinks. Unfortunately, the sellers usually blink. When that happens, they lose credibility, which makes it difficult for them to hold their ground in the future. In addition, they’ve unintentionally trained the buyers to ask for a discount again (and again), which makes future
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