“IS THAT YOUR BEST PRICE?”
“I received a call back from my prospect (whom is the info gatherer) regarding a proposal we’ve been working on. She said her boss (read: decision maker) was interested in setting up a meeting with me to discuss the project further, and then she asked me if what I sent her was my “best” price… I wanted to get the meeting and was afraid if I said “Yes, that is my best price” that they would not agree to meet with me and would go with one of my cheaper competitors… So I said we could offer a little more off… Did I answer it correctly?”
The “is that your best price?” question can have many different responses. There isn’t a one size fits all rebuttal. You must consider the situation and understand the facts before selecting the response that would give you the highest % of achieving your desired outcome.
With that said, based on the information provided for this scenario of not dealing with the decision makers but rather the “information gatherer” here’s how you may want to responded the next time this scenario happens in order to make sure you aren’t leaving money on the table:
PROSPECT: We’ve reviewed your proposal and we’re interested in setting up a meeting with you and our (decision makers) however just a quick question for you… Is this your best price?
YOU: (Prospect Name) I’m glad your company is interested in setting up a meeting and I appreciate your question regarding price… Let me ask you this… Other than price, is there anything else standing in our way?
PROSPECT: No! We really liked (____, ____ and ____)
YOU: Great… And just so I understand, what would we be hoping to accomplish at this meeting?
PROSPECT: Select start dates and agreement of milestones.
YOU: OK so let’s do this… let’s have the meeting and once all the details are worked out, we can circle back and see what options may be available to us regarding the final price, fair enough?
PROSPECT: Yes. Can you meet with us on…
So What Did We Do Here?
1) We identified what the meeting would be about;
2) We secured the meeting;
3) We avoided negotiating with a non-decision maker;
Why Is This Response Better?
1) The danger with agreeing to a lower price up front is that you committed to offering a better price and received nothing in return other than a meeting. That’s not “negotiating” that’s “surrendering”.
2) For all you know, they were going to move ahead with your proposal at the current price and now you’ve left money on the table.
– Michael Pedone

“IS THAT YOUR BEST PRICE?”
“I received a call back from my prospect (whom is the info gatherer) regarding a proposal we’ve been working on. She said her boss (read: decision maker) was interested in setting up a meeting with me to discuss the project further, and then she asked me if what I sent her was my “best” price… I wanted to get the meeting and was afraid if I said “Yes, that is my best price” that they would not agree to meet with me and would go with one of my cheaper competitors… So I said we could offer a little more off… Did I answer it correctly?”
The “is that your best price?” question can have many different responses. There isn’t a one size fits all rebuttal. You must consider the situation and understand the facts before selecting the response that would give you the highest % of achieving your desired outcome.
With that said, based on the information provided for this scenario of not dealing with the decision makers but rather the “information gatherer” here’s how you may want to responded the next time this scenario happens in order to make sure you aren’t leaving money on the table:
PROSPECT: We’ve reviewed your proposal and we’re interested in setting up a meeting with you and our (decision makers) however just a quick question for you… Is this your best price?
YOU: (Prospect Name) I’m glad your company is interested in setting up a meeting and I appreciate your question regarding price… Let me ask you this… Other than price, is there anything else standing in our way?
PROSPECT: No! We really liked (____, ____ and ____)
YOU: Great… And just so I understand, what would we be hoping to accomplish at this meeting?
PROSPECT: Select start dates and agreement of milestones.
YOU: OK so let’s do this… let’s have the meeting and once all the details are worked out, we can circle back and see what options may be available to us regarding the final price, fair enough?
PROSPECT: Yes. Can you meet with us on…
So What Did We Do Here?
1) We identified what the meeting would be about;
2) We secured the meeting;
3) We avoided negotiating with a non-decision maker;
Why Is This Response Better?
1) The danger with agreeing to a lower price up front is that you committed to offering a better price and received nothing in return other than a meeting. That’s not “negotiating” that’s “surrendering”.
2) For all you know, they were going to move ahead with your proposal at the current price and now you’ve left money on the table.
– Michael Pedone