Sales & Customer Growth
Most owners know what they would like to charge. Fewer know what they can afford to accept.
A price is set once and then defended, or given away, in a hundred small conversations. This session puts a practitioner beside owners to work through both halves: how a price is arrived at, and what to say when a customer says it is too high. Participants bring a real quote and leave with a sharper one.
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A discount given in the first minute is rarely recovered later.
Many small businesses set prices by looking at what others charge, adding a little, and adjusting downwards whenever a customer pushes. The result is a price nobody can quite explain, including the owner. When a customer asks for a reduction, there is nothing firm to stand on.
Good pricing and calm negotiation come from the same place: knowing your numbers, knowing what the customer gets, and deciding in advance what you will and will not trade. This session is about preparing that ground before the conversation, not about clever phrases during it.
What the session covers
35 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts, from the arithmetic to the conversation.
Knowing Your FloorThe lowest price that still works.5
- Direct cost of delivering one job or one unit
- The owner's and staff time actually spent, including selling and follow-up
- A share of rent, tools, marketing and other overheads
- Payment delays, returns and rework
- What margin the business needs to be healthy
A price below the floor is not a discount. It is a decision to be paid less than it costs to do the work.
Pricing Against ValueWhat the customer gets, not only what it costs you.5
Participants test their current prices against both views and see where they have been charging for effort when they could be charging for result.
- What problem the customer is paying to solve
- What the alternative costs them, including doing nothing
- Which customers value you most, and why
- Why the lowest price is rarely the only thing customers compare
- When cost-based and value-based pricing point to different numbers
Presenting a PriceA quote is a piece of selling.6
- Writing down exactly what is included and what is not
- Offering two or three options instead of one number
- Saying whether the price includes GST, and showing it clearly
- Payment terms and advance, stated up front
- How long the quote is valid
- Why the price should be said aloud before it is emailed
For packaged goods sold to consumers, MRP rules apply. Check the current rules for your product category before you quote.
When the Customer Says It Is Too HighFind out what the objection really is.5
- Too high compared to what?
- A budget limit, a comparison with a rival, or a doubt about value
- The customer who is simply testing whether you will move
- The person who cannot decide and uses price as the reason
- Questions to ask before saying anything about the number
Trading, Not CuttingEvery concession should buy something.5
The practitioner shows the same request handled three ways: a straight cut, a refusal, and a trade. Participants discuss what each would have cost.
- Reducing scope instead of reducing price
- A better rate for a larger order or a longer commitment
- A discount for advance or quick payment
- Fixing the date, the quantity or the terms in return
- Writing down what was agreed, immediately
Walking AwayThe option that gives the others weight.4
- Deciding the limit before the meeting
- Recognising a customer who will cost more than they pay
- Leaving the door open without lowering the price
- What it costs to lose the deal, and what it costs to win it badly
Walking away is a decision, not a bluff. Do it only when you mean it.
Holding and Changing PricesBecause prices must move eventually.5
- When to raise prices, and how often
- Explaining an increase to existing customers
- Protecting your best customers while others pay the new rate
- Keeping a record of what each customer was quoted
- Reviewing discounts given, once a quarter
What participants work on
- A real quote they bring, rewritten in the room
- Their own price floor, calculated on a simple sheet
- Three discount requests they have actually received, with a prepared response to each
- A short list of things they can trade instead of price
- A date for reviewing prices in their own business
What this session is not
- Tax or legal advice on pricing, GST or contracts
- A set of scripts that win every negotiation
- A promise that higher prices bring more profit
- A comparison of what competitors charge
How the session runs
Two to three hours, in a small group. An owner or sales practitioner who negotiates for a living first walks through how they arrive at a price and what they trade. Participants then calculate their own floor, rewrite one quote, and role-play a discount request in pairs, with the practitioner giving feedback on what they heard. Bring a recent quote, a cost list if you have one, and an example of a deal where you gave in.
What your students leave with
- Their own price floor, worked out from real costs and time
- A quote rewritten so the customer can see what they are paying for
- A clear way to tell a price objection from a different objection
- A habit of trading something for every concession
- A decision on when to walk away from a deal
- A plan for the next price increase, and how to explain it
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Know your floor, say the price calmly, and trade before you cut.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.