5 Best Phrases To Use When Offering A Discount

No matter how good your discussions have been with a prospect, there will come a time when you simply have to talk about lowering your prices.

Even though you’ve built up your value, it still seems the prospect wants to shave a few pennies from your price in order to satisfy their innate desire to feel they have ‘made a deal’.

Make it clear, though, to the prospect that you are going to trade rather than concede.

In other words, make them aware that discounting comes at a price to them too.

If not, then they will see that your original price was not set in stone and that you had room to manoeuvre in the first place.

This erodes trust and sets a precedent for the future deals you make with the business.

If you do find it necessary to lower your price, use these phrases to ensure you still maintain the value in the prospect’s eyes:

1) ‘Just to be clear, can I ask you why you are requesting a discount? Do you not feel the product is worth the money?’

This obtains clarity as to why the prospect is requesting a reduction in price.

They might be just trying to pull a fast one, or there may be a genuine reason for asking for the reduction.

You need to clarify the reason.

2) ‘Are you telling me you don’t want to pay the price at all, or you don’t want to pay the price for this specific solution?’

This clarifies whether it is a budget issue, or whether they want to get a cheaper price for the specific product you are discussing.

Their answer will help you determine the next part of the discussions

3) ‘Ok, can you tell me how much discount you’re asking for, and why exactly that amount?’

This gets the real reason for their request out in the open.

If they haven’t stated an amount yet, you can ask what figure they have in mind and then ask why that amount.

Maybe it’s to be competitive against another company, in which case you can state your value against that different product

4) ‘All right, let’s see what changes we can make to the specification to match the price you are looking at’

This gets the prospect to determine whether any changes in spec will be suitable for the solution they want, or if the request for discount actually is a ploy

5) ‘I can offer a discount, but only if there’s an increase in volume or a change to the payment terms. Would you be willing to discuss changes to the deal so I have some room to look at the price again?’

This shows you are willing to move but only if there is movement in the prospect’s position too.

It shows your products are worth the price you are asking but can be adjusted if the prospect is willing to play ball with you on the deal.

These five phrases should help you determine how vital it is for the prospect to have the discount, and if they are willing to work with you to give you some room to move on price.

Hopefully, using these phrases will give you a good foundation for discussing the next stage of the Sales Process.

As an award winning Sales Training Provider in the UK, we offer a wide range of Sales Courses that can help you.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training