How to Handle Price Objections Without Dropping Your Price
Mike called me on a Tuesday afternoon, and I could hear the frustration before he even said hello. He's a roofing contractor out of Tampa, runs a small crew, does solid work. A homeowner had called him for an estimate on a full roof replacement. Mike walked the property, measured everything, put together a clean proposal. $14,000. Fair number for the square footage and the materials he was using.
Table of Contents
"Too Expensive" and "Can't Afford It" Are Two Different Calls
The One Question That Finds Out Which One You're Dealing With
The homeowner stood in the driveway, looked at the quote, and said, "That's a bit more than I expected."
And Mike panicked.
Before the guy could take another breath, Mike said, "I can knock off $1,500 if that helps."
The homeowner didn't say thank you. He didn't nod. He just looked at Mike and said, "Can you do $12,000?"
Mike had trained him in under ten seconds. The discount didn't build trust. It didn't close the deal. It signaled that the first number was a lie, so the prospect did what any reasonable person would do. He negotiated.
Here's the thing. The objection wasn't about the money. It was about Mike's confidence. The prospect smelled fear and pushed. That's not a character flaw on the prospect's part. That's human nature. If you show someone the price tag is flexible, they're going to flex it.
You need a system for this. Not a script you memorize and recite like a robot, but a way to think about the word "expensive" that lets you stay calm when you hear it. Because when you stay calm, you stay in control. And when you stay in control, you don't give away $1,500 you didn't need to give away.
We're going to break this into two problems. The first is finding out what "too expensive" actually means. The second is holding your number without being a jerk about it. By the time you finish reading, you'll know exactly how to handle price objections without reaching for the discount button.
"Too Expensive" and "Can't Afford It" Are Two Different Calls
Most reps hear "that's too expensive" and their brain translates it to "they can't afford it." That's a mistake. Those two phrases live in completely different neighborhoods, and if you treat them the same, you're going to lose deals you should have won and waste time on deals you should have walked away from.
"Too expensive" is a comparison. It's the prospect holding your number up next to something else. Maybe it's a competitor's quote they got last week. Maybe it's a number they pulled out of thin air based on what their buddy paid three years ago. Maybe it's just a feeling. Either way, it's a statement about value, not about their bank account. They're telling you the price doesn't match what they think they're getting.
"Can't afford it" is a statement about reality. Their checking account has a ceiling, and your number is above it. That might be true, or it might be a polite way to get you off the phone. But here's the important part: you can't argue with someone's checkbook. You can't persuade a bank balance.
When a rep treats both objections the same way, they do the one thing that works for neither. They drop the price. The "too expensive" prospect now thinks you were padding the number all along, so they push for more. The "can't afford it" prospect still can't afford it, and now you've cut your margin for no reason.
You have to know which one you're dealing with before you say another word about price. That means you need a question that splits these two apart, and you need the guts to ask it.
The One Question That Finds Out Which One You're Dealing With
The question is simple. "Is it the budget, or is it the value?"
Don't dress it up. Don't wrap it in fluff. When the prospect says some version of "that's expensive," you look them in the eye or you say it straight into the phone: "When you say it's too expensive, is that because you don't have the budget for this, or because you don't think it's worth that much?"
If that feels a little direct for your style, here's another way to say the same thing. "Help me understand. Is this a budget thing, or do you feel like you're not getting enough for the money?"
Both versions do the same work. They force the prospect to categorize their own objection. And most people will tell you the truth if you just shut up and let them.
The silence after the question is your friend. Do not fill it. Do not backpedal. Do not soften it with a nervous laugh. Just wait. The prospect is processing. They're deciding whether to be honest or to keep dancing. If you jump in and rescue them from the silence, you rescue them from the truth too.
If they say it's the budget, you have a completely different conversation. You're not arguing. You're problem-solving. Maybe you talk about a payment plan. Maybe you reduce the scope. Maybe you agree that the timing isn't right and you set a follow-up for three months from now when their situation might be different. Whatever you do, you don't push a number they just told you they can't hit.
If they say it's the value, now you know what you're actually dealing with. They have the money. They just don't believe the thing costs what you're asking. That's a discovery problem, and it's fixable. You need to go back to the "why" of the purchase. Remind them of the problem they called you to solve in the first place. Ask them what happens if they don't fix it. Let them feel the cost of doing nothing.
This is the C.A.L.L.S. process in action. You're Asking relevant questions and Listening intently. You're not defending your price like it's a suspect in a lineup. You're diagnosing the objection like a doctor. You can't treat the symptom until you know what's causing it. If you want to get better at qualifying leads before you even get to this point, I wrote about that over on the blog.
Holding Your Number Without Getting Weird
Once you know it's a value problem, your job is simple. Hold the number.
You don't apologize for it. You don't explain it away like you're embarrassed. You don't rush to justify it with a dozen bullet points that make you sound desperate. You stand behind it like it belongs there.
The phrase I use is this: "I get it. That's a fair number for what you're getting. Let me show you why."
Then you walk them through the specific outcomes they care about. Not a list of features. Not a spec sheet. You talk about what changes for them after they buy. You paint the picture of the problem solved, the headache gone, the thing they told you they wanted during discovery now sitting in their lap.
Here's where the "base hits" analogy helps. You don't need a home run on every call. You don't need some perfect monologue that makes the prospect's jaw drop. You just need to get them to see that the price is the price, and the value is the value. If they can see it, great. If they can't, that's okay too. You're not begging for the sale. You're offering a solution. There's a difference, and prospects can feel it.
Don't get defensive. The moment you get defensive, you lose. You start sounding like you're trying to convince yourself as much as them. Stay relaxed. You know what your thing costs. You know what it does. You're not asking for a favor. You're making an offer.
If they push back again after you've walked them through the value, you have one more move before you consider walking. You say, "I hear you. I can't change the price, but I can change the scope. We can take out X to bring the number down."
That's a trade, not a concession. You're giving something up and getting something in return. They get a lower number, and you get to keep your margin on the work you actually do. It also tests whether they're serious. A serious buyer will talk about scope. A tire-kicker will keep asking for a discount with nothing in return.
This is where a solid follow-up system saves you. You don't have to close it on this call. You have to keep the conversation alive. Send them a summary of what you discussed. Remind them of the value you walked through. The fortune is in the follow-up, and I've got a whole article on how to do that right.
When to Walk Away
You can't close everyone. Some prospects don't want a solution. They want a deal, and they won't be happy until they feel like they won something. Those people are not your customers. They're a headache with a pulse, and they'll cost you more in time and energy than the margin you'd make on the sale.
If you've asked the question, explained the value, and offered a scope change, and they're still pushing for a discount, it's time to walk. You say it clean and professional. "I appreciate your time. I don't think we're a fit right now. If things change, here's my card."
That's it. No guilt trip. No last-ditch pitch. No awkward pause where you hope they'll change their mind. You mean it, and you move on.
Walking away is a power move. It shows you have other options. It shows your time is valuable. It shows you believe in your number enough to let a deal die over it. Sometimes that alone brings them back a week later, ready to pay full price. But don't count on it, and don't play games hoping for it.
The goal isn't to win every deal. The goal is to win the right deals at the right price. Time, energy, and effort are the only assets we can't get more of. Every hour you spend chasing a penny-pincher is an hour you're not spending on a qualified lead who actually values what you do.
You have a pipeline. You have other leads to call. So call the damn leads and find someone who gets it. If you need help building the daily habit of actually picking up the phone, I wrote something that'll help.
Your One Move for Today
Don't try to change everything at once. You'll overwhelm yourself and end up doing none of it. Just change one thing on your next call.
The next time someone says "too expensive," don't say a word about price. Ask the question. "Is it the budget, or is it the value?" Then shut up and let them answer.
Write the question on a sticky note and put it on your monitor. You're going to forget it in the moment because you're human and your brain is going to default to whatever you've always done. The sticky note helps.
Practice it out loud once before you pick up the phone. It feels weird the first time. It feels natural by the third call. By the tenth, you'll wonder why you ever did it any other way.
If you want the full system for handling this and every other objection that comes at you, grab my $97 training, Closing the Loop. It's the follow-up system I built that installs this stuff so you don't have to think about it in the moment. You just run the play.
The Next Call Is the One That Counts
You're going to mess this up the first time. You'll probably stumble over the question or forget to shut up after you ask it. That's fine. You'll get better. The reps who win are the ones who keep making calls, keep tweaking, keep showing up. Base hits win ball games.
So get off this article and go make a call. You know what to do now. You've got the question, you know how to hold your number, and you know when to walk. The only thing left is to use it.
And when you're done with that call, come back and tell me how it went. I've got another trick for the follow-up that'll make you smile.
Leave a comment