Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How One Sales Rep Won a Deal by Asking for a Non-Monetary Cost
Transcript
- Lucas: There's a story I keep coming back to about a SaaS rep named Daniel. He was selling a compliance platform to a mid-sized bank. The deal was around seven figures annual contract value. The prospect had been kicking the tires for six months, endless calls, multiple demos, legal review. But they would never set a start date. Luna: The classic 'interested but not committed' dance. I've been there. Lucas: Right. So Daniel does something unusual. At the next meeting, he says to the VP of Compliance: 'Look, I think we both agree this solution is a good fit. To move forward, I need you to assign two of your engineers to our implementation team for the first four weeks.' Luna: He asked for engineers, not dollars. That's a non-monetary cost. Lucas: Exactly. The VP paused. He said, 'That's a big operational lift.' Daniel replied, 'It is. But if you're not willing to dedicate the people to make this successful, the software alone won't fix your compliance gaps.' The VP agreed. They assigned the engineers. The deal closed within two weeks. No discount, no extra concessions. Luna: What Daniel did was force the buyer to put skin in the game. It's a psychological commitment mechanism. Once the VP committed his team's time, backing out became much harder. Lucas: And it's not just psychology — it's economics. The cost of those two engineers for four weeks is real. For a bank, maybe $40,000 in salary and lost productivity. But that's a fraction of a $1 million deal. And it signals that the buyer believes the implementation will succeed. Luna: So Daniel basically used a non-monetary ask as a filter. If the VP had balked, that would have told him the deal wasn't serious. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the core insight for today: sometimes the most effective concession you can ask for isn't a price increase or a longer term — it's a non-monetary cost that proves commitment. Luna: Let's unpack that. What kinds of non-monetary costs actually work? Because asking for something too trivial won't filter anyone, and asking for something too onerous might kill the deal. Lucas: The sweet spot is a cost that's meaningful to the buyer but low-marginal-cost to you. For Daniel, having two engineers on the implementation team actually made his job easier — it increased the likelihood of a smooth rollout. So he got a commitment signal and operational benefit. Luna: Other examples: I've seen consultants ask for a letter of introduction to the CEO's peers in other divisions. That costs the buyer a few minutes of writing, but it gives the consultant warm access to new accounts. Lucas: Right. Or in enterprise software, asking the buyer to provide test data from their production environment. That takes IT time, but it proves they're serious and makes the demo more accurate. I've also seen reps ask for a public testimonial or a case study commitment before the deal is signed. Luna: The risk is asking too early. If you ask for a non-monetary cost before you've demonstrated value, it feels like a demand. The buyer thinks, 'Why should I give you anything before I know this works?' Lucas: Absolutely. Timing is everything. In Daniel's case, he had already built value over six months of discussions. The ask came at the decision point, not at the discovery stage. So the buyer understood it as a logical next step. Luna: There's also a framing lesson here. Daniel didn't say, 'I need you to give me engineers.' He said, 'To make this successful, we need your engineers.' The ask was framed as a prerequisite for joint success, not a concession to him. Lucas: That's crucial. The language should always tie the non-monetary cost to the outcome the buyer wants. If you say, 'I need you to provide X before I can proceed,' that sounds self-serving. But if you say, 'To ensure this implementation hits your deadline, we'll need your team to allocate Y,' it's collaborative. Luna: I want to bring up a counterpoint. Some buyers might resent being asked for non-monetary commitments. They might think, 'I'm paying you a lot of money — why should I also give you my people's time?' Lucas: That's a fair pushback. And it happens most often when the seller hasn't sufficiently differentiated their solution. If the buyer sees you as a commodity, any extra ask feels like a tax. But if you've built enough value, the buyer understands that their own effort is part of the investment. Luna: So the prerequisite is strong value demonstration. You can't use this tactic as a crutch for a weak pitch. Lucas: Right. And one more thing — it's important to calibrate the ask to the deal size. For a $10,000 deal, asking for two engineers is absurd. But for a $1 million deal, it's reasonable. A good rule of thumb: the non-monetary cost should be roughly one to three percent of the deal value in terms of time or resources. Luna: That's a helpful metric. Let's talk about how to actually bring this up in a conversation. What's the script? Lucas: I like a simple structure. First, reaffirm the buyer's desired outcome. Second, state what you're providing. Third, frame the non-monetary ask as the missing piece. For example: 'You've told me your goal is to reduce audit findings by 40 percent in Q3. Our platform gives you the automation to do that. To hit that timeline, we'll need your compliance team to provide sample audit reports from the last two quarters. Can you commit to that?' Luna: That's clean. And the buyer can say yes or no. If yes, they've invested. If no, you have a real objection to explore. Lucas: Exactly. And if they say no, you haven't lost anything — you've gained information. You know the commitment level isn't there yet, so you can adjust your approach. Luna: I also think non-monetary costs can be used to replace discounts. Instead of dropping the price by ten percent, you could say, 'If you want the ten percent discount, I need a signed case study and a referral to your peer at Company X.' Lucas: That's a great application. It's trading value for value. The buyer gets a lower price, you get a marketing asset and a warm lead. Everyone wins. Luna: This whole approach aligns with the idea that the best deals involve both sides investing. It's not about extracting — it's about co-investing. Lucas: You know, that's actually a good place to mention that if today's episode gave you a new lens on your own sales conversations, these conversations stay free and ad-free because of listener support. If you've gotten something useful out of this, you can help keep it going at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: It's a small gesture that makes a big difference for us. And it means we can keep diving into these specific, tactical angles without any sponsors. Lucas: Exactly. So back to the tactic — I want to share one more example. This one is from a consulting friend who sold a six-month engagement to a retail chain. At the last minute, the client said, 'We need a discount or we walk.' Luna: Classic end of quarter pressure. Lucas: Right. So instead of discounting, my friend said, 'I can't lower the fee, but I can add two additional workshops at no charge — if you let me record them and use them in my marketing.' The client agreed. The non-monetary cost was the recording rights. The consultant got a valuable asset, and the client got extra value without a price cut. Luna: So the recording rights were a non-monetary cost that had high value to the consultant and low cost to the client — just a permission slip. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the framework in a nutshell. Identify something that is low-cost or no-cost for the buyer to give, but high-value for you to receive. Then ask for it as part of the deal. Luna: I think the key is to be creative. It's not just engineers or testimonials. It could be a seat at their annual conference, a joint press release, early access to their product roadmap. Anything that builds your business while advancing the deal. Lucas: Right. And the beauty is that non-monetary costs often have a higher perceived value than their actual cost. A testimonial might take the buyer ten minutes to write, but it's worth thousands in marketing. That asymmetry is what makes this tactic so powerful. Luna: One caution: don't get greedy. If you ask for too many non-monetary concessions, the buyer feels nickel and dimed. One per deal is usually enough. Lucas: Great point. The ask should be singular and concrete. Not 'a few things' but one specific thing. And it should feel like a natural part of the partnership, not a separate negotiation. Luna: So to sum up: non-monetary costs can filter tire-kickers, build commitment, replace discounts, and create value for both sides. The trick is to time it right, frame it collaboratively, and match the ask to the deal size. Lucas: And always tie it back to the buyer's desired outcome. If you do that, you're not asking for a favor — you're inviting them to co-invest in success. Luna: I'm going to try this in my next negotiation. I have a prospect who's been dragging their feet for months. Maybe I'll ask them to assign a project lead. Lucas: Let me know how it goes. I bet it'll shift the dynamic. And if it works, you'll never look at concessions the same way again. Luna: Alright, that's a wrap for today. Thanks for listening, everyone. Lucas: Yeah, go try it out and see what happens. We'll be back with another angle soon.