Offer more, honestly · Every business
How to Talk About Price Without Apologizing
Customers take their cue about a price from the way it is said, so a plain number, given after the value and followed by silence, does more work than any discount offered before the customer has asked.
Say what the customer gets first, then say the price once as a plain number, and then stop and let the customer respond. Leave out the apology ("I know it's a lot"), the hedge ("it's usually around") and the discount nobody asked for, because each one tells the customer the price is a starting point rather than what the work costs.
The script to copy
| Moment | Instead of | Say |
|---|---|---|
| Giving the price | "So, um, it's going to be about [amount], sorry, I know that's a lot." | "For [what they get], the price is [amount]." |
| Right after the price | Filling the pause, explaining again or lowering it | Nothing. Wait for the customer to answer. |
| Customer says "That's more than I expected" | "I could probably knock some off." | "That's fair to say. It includes [the two things that drive the cost]. Would it help to see the options?" |
| Customer asks for a discount | "Sure, let's do [amount]." | "The price is set by [time, materials, licensing]. What I can change is the scope, for example [smaller option] for [amount]." |
| Price is a custom estimate | A single vague number given on the spot | "Jobs like this usually run [amount] to [amount]; I'll confirm a fixed price after I see [what you need to see]." |
| Customer is comparing with a cheaper quote | Criticizing the other business | "It's worth checking that both quotes include [warranty, cleanup, permits, follow-up visit]. Ours does." |
| Following up in writing | "Just checking in, let me know if the price works." | "Here's the quote for [what they get]: [amount], good until [date]. Reply here when you'd like to book." |
Habits that make the script work
- Write the price down before the conversation, on the menu, the quote or a card the front desk can see, so nobody is inventing it in the moment.
- Lead with the result and the two biggest cost drivers, for example the hours, a licensed specialist, the parts or the warranty.
- Give options instead of discounts. A smaller scope at a lower price keeps the rate intact; a discount on the same scope teaches customers to ask every time.
- Use a range only for custom work, and set the low end at a price you would be glad to get.
- Practice it out loud at a team meeting, because a price said nervously sounds negotiable whatever the words are.
Why it works
People judge a price as fair or unfair largely by the reason behind it. In telephone surveys published in the American Economic Review, 79% of respondents (101 people) said it was acceptable for a grocer to raise the price of lettuce when its own wholesale cost went up, while 82% (107 people) called it unfair for a hardware store to raise the price of snow shovels simply because a storm had raised demand. Naming what drives the cost gives the customer that reason, and an apology removes it. Negotiation research points the same way: across five studies published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, certain range offers, such as "$7,200 to $7,600", got better terms for the person naming the price without harming the relationship, which supports giving a confident range for custom work instead of a hesitant single guess.
Sources
- Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L. and Thaler, R. Fairness as a Constraint on Profit Seeking: Entitlements in the Market. American Economic Review 76(4), 1986. Telephone surveys; 101 and 107 respondents for the questions cited.
- Ames, D. R. and Mason, M. F. Tandem Anchoring: Informational and Politeness Effects of Range Offers in Social Exchange. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 108(2), 2015. Five studies.
Related reading: The Price Increase Announcement to Send Your Customers · How to Write a Service Proposal Customers Say Yes To (With a Template) · Good, Better, Best: How to Present Three Options in a Quote · How to Price a Service: Cost, Value and What the Market Will Bear
Email hello@osnovaops.com about how your team talks about price
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