Never present a price in a vacuum. Just before revealing the investment amount, explicitly summarize the customer's key challenges and pains. Gaining their agreement on the severity of the problem anchors the price to the value of the solution, making the cost seem more reasonable in comparison.
Related Insights
When selling to enterprises, founders can feel intimidated asking for large contract values. A powerful yardstick is to frame the price relative to a fully-loaded engineer's salary (e.g., 'is this worth half an engineer to you?'). This contextualizes the cost against a familiar, significant budget item.
Instead of stating a single number, introduce price as a range based on what similar customers invest to solve comparable problems. This normalizes the cost, provides a clear budget anchor, and frames the conversation around investment and partnership rather than a transactional price tag.
Customers don't care about your P&L or that a competitor is a "side hustle." To justify a higher price, you must clearly communicate tangible benefits like better organization, time savings, or superior staff, which directly improve their experience.
To quantify a problem without being confrontational, use a "push-pull" approach. First, "push" by suggesting a number ("This probably costs you $45k..."). Then, "pull" back by offering an out ("...or is this pennies in the barrel?"). This relieves pressure and encourages an honest, quantitative response.
Price objections don't stem from the buyer's ignorance, but from the seller's failure to establish clear economic value. Before revealing the cost, you must build a business case. If the prospect balks at the price, the fault lies with your value proposition, not their budget.
To make a high price seem reasonable, anchor it against a different, more expensive component of the customer's total budget that delivers less long-term value. For example, compare a $100k entertainment package to a $300k flower budget, arguing budget should align with memorability.
Discussing pricing early doesn't mean you're in the proposal stage. True proposal and negotiation begins only after you have secured explicit agreement on the problem, the solution, and from the key decision-maker. At this point, the deal would close if it were free; price is the only remaining variable.
Effective pricing is not just a number; it is a value story. The ultimate test is whether a customer can accurately pitch your product's pricing and value proposition to someone else. This reframes pricing from a simple number to a compelling narrative.
CFOs respond to numbers, not just pain points. Instead of focusing only on your solution's ROI, first translate the prospect's problem into a clear, granular dollar amount. Show them exactly how much money their current challenge is costing them annually.
Instead of hiding price until the end of the sales cycle, be transparent from the start. Acknowledge if your solution is at the high end of the market and provide a realistic price range based on their environment. This allows you to quickly qualify out buyers with misaligned budgets, saving your most valuable asset: time.
