Make Yourself Discount-Proof (Part 2)

Last post we saw that some people — while realizing that your fee or price is more than fair — simply believe that as a matter of principle they should attempt to negotiate it. So that’s what they do.

We concluded by saying that in order to maintain your fee integrity and obtain your asking price, three things must be established:

1. You know you are — without question — worth what you are charging.

2. You have effectively communicated value that exceeds the price.

3. You phrase your response respectfully, confidently, and tactfully.

Here, let’s take a look at how our client “Brenda” — with the first two in place — effectively handles the third part.

Brenda owns a private-duty nursing company. She recently received a call from someone who’d seen her advertisement. It was a woman who, along with her siblings, felt it was time their 90-year-old mother had a professional nurse with her throughout the day.

Brenda did the “discovery session,” quoted her fee of $30 per hour, and provided a number of references. Her fee is a bit higher than many of her competitors, which she also communicated.

Two days later she received a text from her prospective customer saying:

“I discussed this with my brother and sister. We’d love to hire you. If you would agree to $25, we’ll go ahead and sign the contract with you right now.”

What did Brenda do? What would *you* do?

It’s important to recognize that while $5 per hour might not sound like much, lowering her fee by that amount actually has two effects:

First, over time, it *is* significantly less money.

Second, and more importantly…

Key Point: It tells you — and the marketplace — that your market value is $25 per hour, *not* $30.

Brenda texted back a very nice message that read...

“Good morning, Sue! Thank you, and I completely understand if my fee is not in your budget. Your mom sounds lovely, and it would be my pleasure to help out if circumstances change.”

Just moments later Brenda received a return text that read...

“Please don’t walk away. We will pay $30 an hour, and we’re so excited to have found you. We will make it work. Please reconsider.”

Notice what Brenda did...

1. Knowing her value, she made the decision to stand by her fee.

2. Rather than react with disgust, disappointment, or indignation, she responded with respect, confidence, and tact.

3. She thanked the person, complimented their mother, and shared that it would be her pleasure to work with them if circumstances change.

As Brenda suspected, it simply *was* a matter of them instinctively trying to get a better price.

With that in mind, her job was to handle the request correctly, which she did beautifully!

And the family will benefit greatly, as will Brenda’s company.

Today’s Exercise: In advance, create responses to similar situations which relate to your business. That way, in case you don’t have a lot of time to compose a response, you’ll have its basic essence top of mind.

Remember not to simply assume they’re just trying to negotiate a lower fee — there might be other issues. But when you feel pretty certain that it *is* the case, then you’ll want to handle it in a way that communicates your position with respect, confidence, and tact.