“That's 30% more expensive than your competitor.” Every salesperson has heard this line. It isn't a harmless objection: it's a test. Defending your price against a client who compares means neither caving in nor clinging stubbornly to your figure. It means demonstrating, methodically, that what you sell and what they're comparing are not the same thing. Here's how to go about it.
Why the comparison is almost always rigged
When a buyer compares, they rarely compare identical offers. They line one price up against another, deliberately ignoring everything else: lead time, warranty, after-sales support, buy-back rate, the cost of risk. Your first job isn't to lower the price, but to reframe the scope. As long as the conversation stays on “your figure versus theirs”, you lose. The moment it turns to “what is actually included”, you take back control.
So refuse the question as posed. Don't answer “why am I more expensive”; answer “let's compare like for like”.
Never justify: get them talking first
The classic mistake is to defend yourself straight away with a flood of arguments. You then come across as someone afraid of their own price. Do the opposite: mirror back what the client says to force them to be specific, then let a genuine silence settle. A “30% more expensive, really?” followed by three seconds of silence forces the buyer to defend their comparison, and that's often where the cracks in their competitor's quote appear.
Add a calibrated question: “How did you arrive at that conclusion?” It turns an ultimatum into a conversation, and gives you the information to take the comparison apart.
The story: the £18,000 quote against £12,000
One of my clients, who runs an industrial SME, sells a maintenance service line at £18,000 a year. A competitor offers £12,000. The buyer, file open on the table, goes on the attack: “Explain this £6,000 gap to me, or I'm signing with them.”
My client doesn't justify himself. He asks a question: “How many emergency call-outs a year does their contract cover?” Silence. The buyer leafs through the pages: “It's not specified.” Second question: “And the guaranteed response time?” “72 hours.” My client then produces his own figure: 4 hours, contractual, with penalties if he fails to meet them.
Then he uses an unanswerable objective criterion: “Last year, how much did an hour of your line being down cost you?” The answer: “Around £4,000.” My client concludes, calmly: “A single poorly covered breakdown, and the £6,000 gap is absorbed in 90 minutes of downtime. The real question isn't the price of the contract, it's the cost of the risk you're accepting.”
He didn't drop a single pound. He signed at £18,000. The contrast between a £6,000 invoice and £4,000 per hour of breakdown made his price self-evident.
Anchor on value, not on the discount
If you do have to put a figure on it, never start from the competitor's price. Reposition your anchor point on what the client gains or avoids losing: time, risk, hidden cost. A price becomes acceptable the moment it's compared against the right denominator, the cost of the problem, not the neighbour's rate. Lean on targeted social proof: “Three clients in your sector ran this calculation and stayed with us.”
If the client pushes: concede intelligently or walk away
Sometimes the buyer insists regardless. Never grant a bare discount: apply give and take. “I can adjust by 5% if you move to 24 months and pay within 30 days.” Every concession must have a counterpart, otherwise it proves your starting price was inflated.
And when the relationship turns into an unfair tug of war, your best weapon remains your fallback option. Knowing precisely what you'll do if you don't sign gives you the composure for a slight withdrawal: “I understand that budget comes first for you. Perhaps this isn't the right moment.” That step back reframes faster than a long plea, because it shows you don't need to sell yourself short to exist.
Defending your price isn't about resisting. It's about shifting the debate from the figure to the value, asking the right questions, and refusing a dishonest comparison with the calm of someone who knows their BATNA. To train these reflexes, try the simulator or explore the library of techniques.
FAQ
What should you say when a client says “your competitor is cheaper”?
Don't justify yourself right away. Mirror it back, allow a silence, then ask a calibrated question: “On exactly which elements did you compare?” You'll almost always discover that the offers don't cover the same scope. Then bring the discussion back to objective criteria and real cost, not the headline rate.
Should you match your price to avoid losing the client?
Rarely. Matching outright means admitting your initial price was overvalued and triggering a downward spiral of discounts. If you must move, demand a counterpart through give and take (volume, duration, payment terms). And if the client is only after the lowest price at the expense of value, your BATNA allows you to decline without regret.
