How to Address Price Versus Fit Objections

“Your price is too high.” Coolio. Taco Bell has a dollar menu. Doesn’t mean it’s the better option. When buyers push back on price, it’s rarely about affordability. It’s about credibility. They’re not convinced the juice is worth the squeeze. And when that happens, reps panic. They discount. They stall. They hope. But here’s what the data shows across hundreds of SaaS deals: Most pricing objections aren’t budget-related: - Roughly 10% stem from actual budget constraints - 60%+ come from unclear ROI or unquantified value - The rest? Risk. Fear of change, churn, or complexity So when a buyer says “that’s too much,” they don’t mean too many dollars. They mean too much doubt. Keep this awesome equation in mind: Perceived Value ÷ Perceived Risk = Willingness to Pay If either side of that equation collapses, even a fair price feels inflated. Here’s a real example from a $40k ACV SaaS company we work with at Sales Assembly: Before: - 29% of closed/lost deals blamed pricing - Proposal-to-close rate under 10% - Reps discounting in nearly half of wins What changed: 1. Value was quantified early. - Reps added “Cost of Inaction” to discovery (via training Jen Allen-Knuth facilitates for us) - Focus on making sure the downside of doing nothing was clear (via business case creation training facilitated for us by Nate Nasralla). - Ex: Ops leader says 9 hrs/week spent compiling reports -> $43.2k/year in wasted labor. THAT became the anchor, not the price tag. 2. Deals were de-risked, not discounted - 30 day opt outs tied to onboarding milestones - CX led implementation previews - Timeline SLAs with shared accountability These weren’t gimmicks. They addressed the unspoken fear: What if this fails internally? 3. Objections were diagnosed, not debated Reps used a decision tree: - Budget -> FY timing, phased rollouts, flexible terms - Value -> Revisit pain model, add persona-specific proof - Risk -> Peer references, sandbox access, stakeholder plans Over time, they tracked objection types: - Budget = ~12% - Value = ~58% - Risk = ~30% Which meant 9 out of 10 pricing objections WEREN'T about price. Two quarters later: - Pricing related losses dropped from 29% to 13% - Proposal-to-close rate nearly doubled to 18.6% - Discount usage fell by 37% tl;dr = If you’re hearing “too expensive” at the end, the objection started at the beginning. It's more of a positioning issue than a pricing issue. So stop tossing discounts at doubt. Train your reps to: - Model ROI early - Address internal risk directly - Map pricing to value before numbers hit the table Because when buyers believe in the outcome, they’ll find the budget. When they don’t, no discount is deep enough. And if Taco Bell starts looking like the safer bet? It’s not your price. It’s your pitch.

After coaching the #1 sales reps at companies like Salesforce, HubSpot, and dozens of Fortune 500s…. I've noticed a pattern. Elite performers don't get better at handling objections, → They get better at preventing them. Here's how they handle the 7 most common deal killers. 1. "Your price is too high" This objection means one thing: perceived value < price. Average reps respond by desperately defending their pricing: "Well, we're more expensive because of X, Y, Z..." (creating more resistance). Elite reps prevent this by running a discovery process that quantifies: → True cost of inaction (what happens if they do nothing?) →Opportunity cost (what are they missing out on?) →Potential ROI (10X value compared to price) 2. "I need to think about it" This classic stall tells you nothing about what they're actually considering. Elite reps respond: "I completely understand. To make sure I'm giving you what you need, can you share specifically what you're thinking about?" Then they shut up and listen. The prospect's answer reveals the actual objection that needs addressing. 3. "I need to run this by my CEO first" If this surprises you, you missed uncovering all stakeholders early in your process. Elite reps ask: "If it was only up to you, would you move forward?" If they hesitate, they're not truly sold. If they are convinced, coach them for the conversation: "When you talk to the CEO, what concerns might they have? How will you address those concerns?" This transforms your champion into a prepared advocate who can sell internally for you. 4. "We don't have budget" When prospects truly see 10X value, they find the money. Personal example: When my parents found out I needed surgery for a broken finger as a teenager, they had zero budget for it. But the cost of inaction (permanent damage to my hand) was so high they found thousands of dollars. If your prospect truly believes your solution solves a critical problem, budget objections disappear. 5. "This isn't a priority right now" Average reps can only sell to prospects with active pain. Elite reps transform latent pain into active pain by helping prospects see the true consequences of inaction. If you're consistently hearing "not a priority," you're failing to elevate pain levels in your discovery process. 6. "We're considering Competitor X" Never trash talk competitors. Elite reps ask: "Based on what you've seen so far between us and them, which way are you leaning?" Their answer will reveal exactly what matters most to them and where you need to differentiate. 7. "I need to speak with your customers first" This is an uncertainty objection. Find out what they're really uncertain about: "I appreciate that. When you speak with our customers, what specifically do you want to find out?" Their answer reveals what you missed building confidence around earlier. When you thoroughly uncover pain, quantify impact, and build value upfront, objections rarely surface.

On a call with a potential client yesterday, she was naming the various sales challenges they were dealing with, one of which was how to tell if a prospect is objecting to price just to get a better deal (forcing them to leave money on the table) or if it’s a true objection. Kudos to her for thinking to question the objection. Many people take objections at face value when they are often masking the real issue that might be solvable. So, I thought it might be helpful for me to share some #salestips for dealing with price objections. First of all, get ahead of this objection by qualifying the opportunity early on. In non-sales jargon, qualifying means finding out if they have a real need and are willing to commit budget to fixing the problem you want to solve for them. You want to do this before putting together a formal proposal. How to do this: Ask them questions like “Based on what you've shared, this sounds like it could range from $X to $Y depending on scope. How does that align with your thinking?” It’s a friendlier way of saying “Can you afford this before I put blood, sweat and tears into creating a gorgeous proposal?” If you’re past that and dealing with the prospect telling you your proposal is outside of their budget, dig into diagnosing the real issue. Ask: "What range were you expecting to see?" "What specifically feels high - the total investment or the monthly amount?" "How does this compare to what you've budgeted for solving this problem?" Then Choose Your Path Based on Their Answer: If they reveal a specific budget constraint: "Got it. If we were to work within [their range], what would be most important to prioritize?" (Then adjust scope, not price) If they can't give you a number: "What would need to happen for an investment at this level to make sense?" (Uncover if it's authority, timing, or value perception) If they seem genuinely shocked: "It sounds like we may not have aligned on expectations earlier. Let me understand what you were thinking this would look like." (Acknowledge your qualification failure) How do you typically deal with price objections? Are there other objections that are you typically dealing with? #salesobjections #b2bsales

#salesfam I saw some poor advice a few weeks back about how to handle the "objection" - "you all are expensive" Lots of the comments suggested replying to the buyer by saying "compared to what?!?!" This is not how I suggest approaching this reaction from a buyer. Its very combative. The buyer is experiencing something very natural and they are being transparent with you about that discomfort. But you punish that transparency with a combative retort like "well compared to what?" or " well that comparison is apples and oranges!" Its bad advice. Dont do that. So here is how I approach a little moment of sticker shock... 1. Align with the buyer "James thanks for being transparent with me, yes you're right, CoLab is not a small investment" 2. Let it sit. Let them work through it...you will get used to this awkward moment after a few times. You dont have to fill this moment with words. 3. Commitment Gain: Next I want to gain a commitment from the buyer. I dont need them to believe in the value of our solution right now and cut me a check. I am looking for a commitment to go on the journey necessary to build the business case to justify the investment. I also want to give the buyer a wide open door right now to walk away cuz I dont want to waste my time. Here ill ask a very forward question.."James knowing the cost..is the price in deal breaker territory or can we spend the next few weeks building a business case together? 99% of the time I gain a commitment here to continue the process by aligning with the buyer and not handling objections. "you are expensive" is not an objection its the truth and you should take it as a compliment and not be afraid of it. I love when a buyer shares a concern or a thought like this with me..it means im making progress on the relationship and they feel safe sharing with me. We have a good enough relationship to talk about the awkward stuff. And when you can do that with your buyer..then you can work through it. The last thing you want to do is punish their transparency with some stupid objection handle you read from the internet. ------- Once you get their commitment to go on the journey and you discover that the price is not really a deal breaker..then you can ask questions like.. + How have you gotten a large expense approved that wasnt budgeted before? + Who was apart of that decision? + If we were to take this to the CFO or the Board and they asked "whats the ROI" - what KPI's or priorities would they be most interested in us improving? See the difference? Im crafting a solution with them now...not fighting them with silly retorts. #enterprisesales #sales Happy Friday sales familia