OBJECTION HANDLING
"Can You Do Better on the Price?": 8 Things to Say When a Customer Asks for a Discount
November 10, 2026 · 3 MIN READ · THE DRILLO TEAM
The buyer likes the plan and asks if you can do anything on the price. They have usually decided to buy. They just want a better number. Lowering it on the spot tells them your first price was not real. Here are eight things to say instead, in the order you would use them.
1. Don't offer a discount nobody asked for
Offering a discount too early tells the buyer your first price was not real. Show what the plan is worth instead of moving the number. Point at what it does for them at the price you already named.
Here's what this is actually worth to you.
How to say your number flat, without a wind-up or an apology →
2. Answer the ask with a smile
A buyer who asks you to work on the price has usually decided to buy. A light tone breaks the tension. A flat delivery sounds arrogant. A light one gets a laugh and closes the deal at the kitchen table or the car lot.
I could do it for more.
3. Take the word "fair" head on
The buyer says "I just want a fair price." This statement implies your number is not honest. Stop on the word instead of defending the value. Make fairness something you both own rather than a card they hold.
I want this to be fair too. Is there something that feels off? Let's look at it together.
4. When they name their own number, get curious
A buyer calls their counter-offer fair when it is just an anchor dressed up as a virtue. Mirroring the word and asking how they reached the number shows what they are weighing. You can then address that concern instead of haggling over the price of the plan.
Fair? Walk me through how you got there.
5. When they point at a cheaper option, isolate the price
A buyer points to a cheaper quote and asks you to match it. Do not argue about your price or drop it. Isolate the real question first. If they say "yes", then price is not the issue. The difference is.
If I could do it for their price, would you go with us?
6. Let them say why you're worth more
You land a better result when the buyer lists your value out loud. Do not claim it yourself. Let them state why they like the plan before you discuss any numbers.
So what is it about us, or about the way we would do this, that has you leaning our way even before we talk price?
7. Close on the gap, not the whole number
Focus on the gap between two options instead of the total cost. The buyer told you exactly what that specific difference provides for them. Ask them to agree that those benefits are worth the extra amount.
Can you see why that difference is worth it?
When the pushback is the price itself, the fix without discounting →
8. If the price moves, move what's included with it
If the price must change, change what is included in the plan at the same time. Lowering the number alone makes your first quote seem arbitrary and hurts the value of your work. A trade-off keeps things honest for everyone.
Let's look at what we can adjust to bring the investment to what works for you.
The honest version is the one that works
Padding the price to give a discount later teaches the buyer to treat every number you say as a starting point. The honest version is one true number with what it buys attached. If that number moves then what is included moves with it.
Say it before you need it
The pen sits on the table and the buyer asks for a better number. The answer has to be there in a second, and that only happens when the words are already in your mouth. Drillo is a pocket sales trainer app where you drill one sales moment at a time and roleplay the conversation out loud against an AI buyer who hesitates like a real one. Run your first drill tonight, because the only thing that changes what you say in that moment is having said it before. Drillo is live on Google Play.
Not sure this is the moment that costs you most? The free Deal Diagnostic, 10 questions →