Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How One Sales Rep Won by Asking for a Price Match
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this moment in a negotiation that every sales rep dreads. The buyer leans back, looks at your proposal, and says: 'We love the product, but your price is way above what we're seeing elsewhere.' Luna: Classic procurement move. It's the 'we have a better offer' gambit. And most reps either drop the price or ask for a number to match. Lucas: Right. But today's story is about a rep who did something slightly different. He said, 'I'd be happy to match any competitor quote you can share with me. Could you send it over?' And the buyer couldn't produce one. Luna: Wait — the buyer claimed they had a lower price, but when asked to show it, they had nothing? Lucas: Exactly. The rep was selling a SaaS platform — let's call it a CRM tool — to a mid-market company. The list price was $50,000 a year for 100 users. The procurement director said they had a quote from a competitor at $40,000. The rep didn't flinch. He just said, 'If you can share that quote, I'll match it. We want to earn your business.' Luna: If it was a real quote, that's a huge risk. You're committing to discount before you even see the numbers. Lucas: It is a risk. But the rep understood something about procurement tactics. Often, especially in mid-market deals, the 'better offer' is a negotiation fiction. The buyer says it to test the seller's confidence. If you immediately discount, you validate their bluff. If you call it, you might find out they have no alternative. Luna: And in this case, the buyer never produced the quote. After two follow-ups, the procurement director admitted they didn't have a written proposal — just a verbal ballpark from a competitor. Lucas: That's the key detail. The rep didn't need to discount at all. The deal closed at full list price, $50,000. And the buyer actually respected the move — they felt the rep was being transparent, not defensive. Luna: Honestly, episodes like this are the reason people tell me they get real value from this show. If today's conversation helped you think about a negotiation differently, that's exactly what we're here for. If it felt worth a coffee to you, you can toss one our way at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Keeps this ad-free and focused on tactics like these. Lucas: Yeah, and no pressure at all. We're just glad you're listening. So back to that deal — the rep later told me that asking for the quote changed the power dynamic. Instead of defending his price, he put the burden on the buyer to substantiate the claim. Luna: That's a subtle but huge shift. The buyer is now the one who has to prove they have a better option. And in many cases, they don't. Lucas: Right. And there's a psychological principle here: reciprocation. By offering to match, the rep signals cooperation. The buyer feels obligated to reciprocate with honesty. It's a version of the 'door-in-the-face' technique — you make a concession by offering to match, but you're really holding your ground. Luna: But what if the buyer does have a real quote? Then you're on the hook to match a price that might be below your margin. Lucas: That's a real danger. So the rep had a rule: only offer to match if you believe the product's value is differentiated enough that the competitor can't truly replicate it. In this case, his CRM had a unique integration that the buyer's team needed. He knew the competitor's product didn't have it. So even if the buyer had a quote, he could argue that the feature set wasn't comparable. Luna: So it's not a blanket tactic. It works best when you have a clear differentiation. Lucas: Exactly. And there's a second scenario where this can backfire: if you're selling a commodity. Think hardware or basic supplies. I talked to a rep who sold industrial pumps. The buyer produced a competitor quote that was 15% lower. The rep matched it, but then the buyer asked for an additional 5% discount on top. The rep had no leverage. Luna: So the price-match offer actually weakened his position because the buyer knew the product was interchangeable. Lucas: Exactly. The rep ended up giving away margin and still almost lost the deal. So the lesson is: only use the 'match my competitor' move if you have a strong value wedge. Otherwise, you're better off anchoring on value rather than price. Luna: Let's talk about the wording. The rep didn't say 'I'll match any price.' He said 'If you can share the quote, I'll match it.' That's important — it invites the buyer to produce evidence. Lucas: Great catch. The phrasing matters. If you say 'I'll match any competitor's price,' you sound desperate. But if you say 'I'd be happy to match any written quote you have,' you sound confident and reasonable. And you're subtly challenging the buyer to produce documentation. Luna: What about the timing? When in the negotiation should you pull this card? Lucas: Late, ideally. The rep in our story only used it after the buyer had already been through demos, trials, and a final proposal. By that point, the buyer had invested time. The product was validated. So when the price objection came, it felt more like a last-minute squeeze than a genuine comparison. Luna: So the buyer's bluff was easier to call because they were already committed. Lucas: Right. If you do it too early, before the buyer sees the full value, they might take you up on the match and then still go with the competitor because of other factors. You need to have built enough value that the price match is the only remaining obstacle. Luna: One more nuance: what if the buyer says they can't share the quote because it's confidential? Lucas: That happens a lot. The rep in our story anticipated this. He said, 'I understand confidentiality. How about you black out the competitor's name and just show me the pricing page?' The buyer still couldn't produce it. But if they had, the rep would have seen the real numbers — and could then decide whether to match or not. You can always walk away from a deal if the price is too low. Luna: So the tactic is really about forcing the buyer to put their cards on the table. And if they can't, you've won without discounting. Lucas: Exactly. And sometimes the buyer will even admit, 'Look, I don't have a quote, but I need to get to a certain budget number.' That's a different conversation. Then you can negotiate on terms, not price. Luna: Are there any industries where this is standard practice? I know in enterprise SaaS it's common for procurement to ask for a price match. Lucas: It's very common in SaaS, especially at the mid-market level. But I've also seen it in professional services and even some hardware deals. The key is whether the product is differentiated enough that a pure price comparison is misleading. If you're selling a commodity, the buyer probably has a real quote and will show it to you. Luna: So the best defense against this tactic from the buyer's side is to actually do your homework and have a real competitor quote. Lucas: Absolutely. And from the seller's side, the best offense is to build value so high that the buyer doesn't want to play the price game at all. But when they do, asking for the quote is a low-risk, high-reward move — as long as you have a differentiator. Luna: I want to circle back to the psychological angle. The rep said the buyer seemed almost relieved when he asked for the quote. Like they were expecting a fight, and instead got a cooperative response. Lucas: That's a great observation. Negotiation is often about managing emotions. The buyer might be uncomfortable bluffing. By offering to match, you give them an easy out. They can either produce the quote, which may not exist, or drop the objection gracefully. Either way, the rep keeps control. Luna: So the takeaway for listeners: next time a buyer says your price is too high compared to a competitor, don't discount immediately. Ask to see the quote. You might be surprised how often it doesn't exist. Lucas: And if it does exist? Then you have real information to decide whether to match, negotiate on value, or walk away. Either way, you're making a strategic choice, not a reactive one. Luna: I think that's the core lesson here: don't assume the buyer's claim is real. Verify it. And if they can't verify, you've earned the right to hold your price. Lucas: Well said. That's all for this episode of Closing the Deal with Fexingo. We'll be back with another tactical story soon. Until then, keep closing.