5.3 The discount conversation

Somebody asks for a discount. Maybe they say it straight. “Is there any flexibility on the price?” Maybe it’s softer. “That’s a bit more than I was hoping.”

Your stomach drops a little. You want to say yes, because you want the work, and because saying no feels unkind. Let’s take that feeling apart.

First, a discount isn’t only between you and this client. Everybody who didn’t ask paid the full price. A discount for the person who pushes is a higher price for everybody who doesn’t. That’s not fair to them, even if they never find out.

And they might find out. Clients talk. The price this client paid is the price they’ll mention to the friend they refer. Now you’ve got two people expecting it.

Second, a discount teaches the client that your price was never really your price. If it bends once, it bends again. The next package, the renewal, the add-on. Every one becomes a negotiation.

So keep the price. But don’t just say no. Change what they get.

Here’s how it sounds. “My rate is the same for everyone, so I can’t take anything off the six sessions. What I can do is three, which covers the planning part we talked about. If you want to carry on after that, the rest is there.”

Listen to what that does. It says no to the discount and yes to the person, in the same breath. It gives them a real option at a number they can manage. And the price stays true for everybody else.

Sometimes the client genuinely can’t afford you. That’s different. It’s not haggling, it’s circumstance. For that, a concessionary rate works better than a private discount. One lower price, on your page, for anybody who needs it. Students. People on a low income. No questions asked, because asking somebody to prove they’re poor costs them more than the discount saves.

The difference is that anybody can choose it. It’s a rule, not a favor, so it doesn’t depend on who pushed hardest.

One more thing. Answer quickly. A long pause before replying reads as a maybe, and a maybe invites a second push. Decide what you’ll say before anybody asks, so when they do, the answer is ready, kind and final.

And if they walk away over it? Then they were looking for a price, not for you. Let them go, warmly. The time you’d have spent working for less is time for the client who values it.