How to Justify Your Price and Why Reducing It Is Your Last Resort
Every seller faces the question sooner or later: “Can you do anything about the price?” Instead of flinching, step up. There’s a right strategy for every pricing conversation and it doesn’t involve panicking or caving in.
Hold Firm: Integrity Sells
Dropping price should always be the last option. Hold firm, and you instantly separate yourself from the stereotypical “slimy” salesperson. Selling with integrity means believing in the value you bring. Customers respect it, and it shows.
Your Biggest Competitor Isn’t Who You Think
It’s not the other company down the street, your biggest competitor is you. The real challenge lies in how well you prepare and position the value of your offer.
Before talking price, slow down and do the work. Is there genuine trust between you and the customer? In the absence of trust, price becomes everything. If the only thing a customer can latch onto is cost, value hasn’t been established.
“In the absence of trust, low price is everything.”
Frame the Investment in Outcomes
No one buys a drill for the sake of owning a drill; they buy it because they need holes. And sometimes, even customers don’t realize how many holes they’ll need down the line.
Ask questions. Get the customer to articulate their needs and, just as important, their desired outcomes. Sometimes they only see the immediate job in front of them, not the bigger picture stretching ahead.
When you guide them to explore future needs, you spotlight the real value of investing now. You’re selling outcomes, not products.
TCO and TBO: The Price Justification Superpowers
Two concepts help bring clarity: Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Total Benefit of Ownership (TBO).
- TCO looks at all the costs over time. Maybe a bigger investment up front actually saves money over the long haul.
- TBO zooms out to encompass all the benefits. Buying that drill isn’t just about drilling holes, it’s about the beauty of artwork hanging on the walls.
Connect price to long-term costs and benefits, not just the sticker price today.
Use Comparisons… But Strategically
Some customers love to weigh their options. Give them comparisons that put your solution into context. This lets decision-makers feel in control, rather than feeling boxed in.
Other buyers are paralyzed by choice. Stories work better here. Share specific cases of similar customers and the outcomes they achieved. This builds confidence and lets hesitant buyers see themselves in the narrative.
“If I can have a story for every type of situation I may encounter, it becomes very natural. And what happens here is I’m able to create a higher level of trust.”
Stories Build Trust, and Trust Justifies Price
People don’t just buy with their heads; they buy with their gut. Stories transcend facts and figures. Paint a vivid picture. Make them imagine not just owning the product, but experiencing the outcome. When a customer is engaged and sees themselves in the story, price resistance melts away. They’re not just buying, they’re investing in a result that matters.
Confidence Is Contagious
Confidence, yours and theirs, beats clever wording every time. If you don’t fully believe in your price, the customer never will. Every price conversation is built on your conviction. Bring evidence, bring stories, bring outcomes, and own your number.
A simple exercise: Write down the top ten outcomes you’ve helped customers achieve, then write your product price 10-30% higher. If you can’t say that number confidently, it’s time to revisit your own mindset.
Mindset Moves Mountains
Price is never just about math. It’s about what both parties believe. Anchor every price you quote around the results the customer wants. Confidence in value kills the urge to discount.
Prepare ahead. Focus on outcomes. Craft stories that stick. And remember: The strongest sellers rely on trust, not price cuts. Always.
“If you can’t state your price with confidence, eye contact, in a solid voice, you don’t believe in it.”
Stand behind your value, and watch how customers get comfortable doing the same.
Mark Hunter :
How to justify your price and should I reduce it? Hey, don’t kid yourself. Reducing your price is the last option you should look at. Holding firm on your price is how you don’t come across as a slimy salesperson. And, oh, by the way, it’s the way you sell with integrity. And the show begins right now. You’re listening to the Sales Hunter podcast with Mark Hunter, where the focus is to help you as a salesman, sell with confidence and integrity. And now here’s your host. How do you justify your price? Well, first of all, let’s get something straight right now.
Mark Hunter :
Your biggest competitor is not who you think it is. Your biggest competitor is you. And have to stop and ask yourself, what have you done to prepare the customer to invest the money that you’re looking for them to invest? Now, remember, you’re not asking them to buy. I don’t care what it is you’re asking them to invest. Why? Because they’re making a decision. Because they’re looking for an outcome. And the first question you have to stop and ask yourself is this. Have you established trust with the customer? Or really, the question is, does the customer trust you? Because in the absence of trust, low price is everything you see when customers don’t buy.
Mark Hunter :
When customers say, no, your price is too high, there’s really just saying one thing. The value that they’re seeing is not worth the price. So here’s the thing. You’ve got to stop and ask yourself this question. And don’t try to defend your price. Don’t, don’t. What you need to do is you need to begin breaking it down and explain that. Are you really clear as to what the need is that the customer has? Because chances are you’re not, and even more so, the customer may not be.
Mark Hunter :
This is why it’s so important to have the discovery phase. This is why it’s so important that the person who calls you up and says they’re looking for a quick price quote is so dangerous. Because the quick price quote, you have no validation with which to understand as to whether or not it’s even right for them to buy. And you certainly don’t know the outcome that they’re looking for. You see, the key is this. You have to be able to explain to the customer the outcomes that they’re going to be able to see. Now remember, you’re selling future outcomes. This is why trust is so important.
Mark Hunter :
Because if you don’t have trust and you’re just selling future outcomes, they’re not going to believe you. This is why trust is so important. This is why many times you have to slow down the process to be able to speed it up. I’ve had this problem several times in fact, one just recently where it felt like I was going to be able to close this deal on one call, and I did, but then I lost it. Because the customer ultimately never found the value, never saw the value. So what you have to do is you have to stop and ask yourself this question. Has the customer explained the outcome to you in such a manner that the investment you’re asking them to make is warranted? In other words, put yourself into their shoes. You, you literally put yourself into their shoes.
Mark Hunter :
And when you do that, it’s amazing how it begins to change. Because here’s the question. If what you’re selling them, basically we’ll, we’ll say you’re selling them a massive power tool, the most unbelievable power drill you could ever possibly have. And yet really all they need is to have one little quarter inch hole drilled. That’s it. Well, your drill might be a great solution, but not for them. You see, this is why you have to get the customer to explain the outcome now. Now they may say that they have this quarter hole, this quarter inch size hole that they need, but they may have 500 more holes like that they have to do and bigger holes.
Mark Hunter :
So you see, you, you’ve got to be able to have the customer unpack the outcome enough. And maybe they haven’t thought through it because maybe they’re just looking at this immediate piece they’re just looking at, I just gotta get this immediate quarter inch hole drilled. But they don’t realize that they’re gonna have a need for many more holes in the coming months, in the coming years. So therefore investing the money might be the best outcome. See, this is where what I’m saying is, I’m going to link it to what I call TCO and tbo. Tco, total cost of ownership and tbo, total benefit of ownership. Understanding these and how to leverage them is going to go a long ways to helping you be able to justify price. Okay, total cost of ownership.
Mark Hunter :
We’ve all heard this before. Yeah, this is not a new term. But what is the total cost? In other words, if this person is going to need X number of holes over the next several years and what’s going to be the total cost to have all those holes drilled if every time they got to come and get something new versus buying one drill once? So it may be a bigger investment up front, but the total cost of Ownership is less. I look at total cost of ownership as very critical. Especially if I’m selling to companies that are basically taking what I’m selling them and they’re packaging it into something else to turn around and resell. Okay, then it’s total cost or they are using us to complete a project and they turn it over to somebody else. Total cost. Ownership is now tbo.
Mark Hunter :
Total benefit of ownership. This is bigger. This begins to go downstream and begins to look at their customers. This person who’s looking for these holes, well, it’s because they have a bunch of artwork to hang. So the benefit, the total benefit of ownership is they’re able to get all this artwork hung. It’s not just the holes. The total cost of ownership would cover the cost of the drill for the holes. The total benefit of the ownership is the beauty of the art hanging on the walls.
Mark Hunter :
You begin to see this and this really begins to come into play. Now you’re not going to use TCO and TBO every time you’re in a situation. No, they’re going to be times when you will really not even use tco, but you’ll use TBO because it’s a, it’s a one off experience. We’ll say that they need with your product, but the benefit is absolutely huge. The benefit, college education, we’ll say, or it’s a one time course that they’re going to take. So the total cost of ownership, okay, the cost of the course, yeah, I get it. But the benefit to the person who takes this course and gets this accreditation can last a lifetime. And what is that going to be? And so what you’re looking to do early on in the sales process, you need to understand and you need to ask them how, what it is that you sell, they’re going to benefit from it and how are they going to use it.
Mark Hunter :
And from that you’re going to be able to begin to understand as to whether or not I leverage the TCO or the TBO or both. I have found that when I can leverage both, it increases my probability of closing and it increases my probability of closing because the customer’s going to understand my price. Now there’s another great strategy that I want you to look at and that is using comparisons, using comparisons and putting them into context. In other words, go back to this drill, the quarter inch drill. They can have this type of drill or that type of drill. And so you can allow them to see comparisons. Go ahead and let them compare. This is especially critical if you are dealing with a Customer who wants to own the decision, they want to make the decision.
Mark Hunter :
I have found that if I can give them comparisons, they can feel like they’re in control. If, however, I’m dealing with a customer that just can’t make a decision, I’m not going to use comparisons, but I’m going to share a story. I’m going to share a story of another customer similar to them, maybe this similar type of situation and how they handle it. Because the person who is having a hard time making a decision will find comfort in you sharing a story of another person that they can relate to and connect to. Now, I can also use the story in conjunction with the person who absolutely wants to make the decisions, and you can share the story. You know, it’s fascinating, but I was dealing with a person recently and they just could not make up their mind. It was amazing. They just couldn’t make up their mind.
Mark Hunter :
And what is this doing? This is playing that person’s ego. That. Oh, but I can’t. I can make up my mind. I want to be in charge, you see, critical to whatever it is that you sell to justify the price. And I almost hate the term justify. I almost hate that term to validate the price. Because really, you should almost be charging a higher price.
Mark Hunter :
Because if they achieve such a great outcome, why would you not charge more? But we’ll put that aside. Let’s come back to this. I want to have a story for every type of situation. Because if I can have a story for every type of situation I may encounter, it becomes very natural. And what happens here is I’m able to create a higher level of trust. Now go back to what I said at the beginning. In the absence of trust, low price is everything. Absolutely spot on.
Mark Hunter :
But what I’ve also found is this, that if I can share you stories and I can work you. In other words, you can relate to stories, you can be connected to the stories. You suddenly begin to block out all other options. You just naturally become engulfed as to this is what it is. Stop and think about this. This is like you walking into a restaurant and you’re giving a menu and there’s a lot of options with which to pick from. And the waitstaff comes to your table and you ask them, what are tonight’s specials? And the waitstaff begins to. To share with you three specials.
Mark Hunter :
Why is it it’s always three specials? It’s always three things, and they share with you one, and they just eloquently tell the story about it. And what does it do? It Just pulls you in and suddenly you no longer looking at the menu, you’re suddenly saying, I want this person. Because what’s happened is they’ve been able to paint a picture as to what this meal is and how you’re going to enjoy it. So you get done. You may take another quick look at the menu, but you’re just taking a quick look at the menu to confirm that that’s what I want to buy. It is amazing how that story, now, even if you don’t wind up taking that wait person’s selection, but you pick something off the venue, you still feel better. You still feel better about the decision. You see, you’re doing this because why you felt you were engaged more in the selection process.
Mark Hunter :
You also gained a level of confidence in the waitstaff. This is why many times when I’m speaking with a customer and I’m training salespeople, I’m speaking at a sales kickoff, whatever, I’m sharing examples like this. You may share with them the example of what it is that you want them to buy, but they’ve still got the. They’ve still got other options here that, that you’ve put on the table to them. And they come, that’s okay. It’s okay. However you do it, it increases their confidence in making the buying decision. Which brings me to the next piece.
Mark Hunter :
Confidence matters much more than words. And by the way, confidence cuts two ways. It’s your level of confidence and the customer’s level of confidence. In fact, in the end, it’s really, it’s not your confidence, it’s the customer’s level. But the customer gets their level of confidence based off of you. This is why I say, when the waitstaff person comes over the table and says, hey, you know, these are the recommendations and they eloquently share with you. You’re gaining confidence. Your confidence is increasing that you’re dining at the right restaurant tonight.
Mark Hunter :
Here’s something else regarding price justifying price. If you don’t believe in your own price, your customer never will. More discounts are given based on the false beliefs of the customer than are given based on the demands of the customer. I firmly believe that. So what I want you to do is I want you to take a piece of paper and write down the 10 greatest outcomes that you’ve helped your customers achieve. Then I want you to take the main products that you sell and write them down and write down a price that’s 10, 20, 30% higher, higher than what you sell for now. And you just get yourself into that mindset that that’s what that price should be. Because if you can’t state your price with confidence, eye contact, in a solid voice, you don’t believe in it.
Mark Hunter :
I encounter this all the time with customers as I’m personally selling my services, but I encounter this a lot when I’m training salespeople. It’s amazing that if I can get salespeople to have the right mindset, it’s a believe me, it how the mechanics of pricing just fall away. It’s the right mindset because whenever I state my price, I always wrap it around the outcomes that you, the customer, expected to receive. This is so key and I’m doing this for two reasons. One, I want you to okay, yeah, you’re right. This is why I’m buying this. But it helps me because I feel more confident because I see the outcome that you’re going to achieve. How do you justify your price is by creating more value for your customer through the trust and confidence that you create.
Mark Hunter :
Hey, do me a favor, leave me a review on your favorite podcast app, would you? This podcast is just blowing up. It’s amazing the number of people that are finding value in this episode. I drop each Monday single topic like this. Share it with a friend. And hey, pick up the book Integrity First Selling. And of course, if you’re having a sales meeting, any kind of training, reach out. Because that’s what I do. I get to come in and work with companies like you, salespeople like you.
Mark Hunter :
I’m Mark Hunter, the sales center great selling.
