Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How One Rep Won by Letting the Buyer Set the Price
Transcript
- Lucas: This episode starts with a sales rep named Jenna. She was selling a mid-market B2B software platform to a VP of Marketing at a retail company. They'd been going back and forth on price for three weeks. Luna: Three weeks? That's a long time for a mid-market deal. Lucas: It was. Jenna had already done demos, a proof of concept, even brought in her VP. But every time they talked price, it hit a wall. The buyer kept saying 'we need more budget approval' or 'can you come down another ten percent?' Luna: So what did she do differently? Lucas: On the next call, after some small talk, Jenna said: 'You know what, Linda? Just tell me the number that would make this an easy yes for you. If it works for us, we shake hands today.' Luna: Wow. That takes guts. What happened? Lucas: The buyer paused, then said a number fifteen percent below list price. Now, Jenna's authorization went down to twenty percent below. So the buyer's number was actually above her floor. Luna: So she got a better deal than she might have if she'd kept negotiating down. Lucas: Exactly. But the key is why the buyer chose that number. She felt a responsibility to be fair because Jenna had shown trust. The buyer later told Jenna: 'I didn't want to start the relationship by lowballing someone who was being straight with me.' Luna: That's the psychological shift — the buyer stops thinking like an adversary and starts thinking like a partner. Lucas: That's exactly right. And here's the second move Jenna made: she said, 'I can accept that price if we structure this as a three-year agreement with quarterly business reviews.' The buyer agreed immediately. Luna: So she traded a bit of discount for commitment and stickiness. Smart. Lucas: The whole call took forty minutes. Jenna closed the deal right there. She later said it was the fastest close she'd had all quarter. Luna: I love this story. But let's talk about the risk: what if the buyer had said a number that was too low? Lucas: Then you have a moment to pivot. You can say, 'I appreciate that, but we can't make that work at that price. Could we adjust the scope or the timeline?' The point is you've invited them into the problem — you're solving together, not fighting. Luna: So it changes the whole dynamic from adversarial to collaborative. Lucas: Exactly. And in Jenna's case, she actually used this tactic again two more times that quarter. One of those deals came in at a higher price than she expected because the buyer wanted to feel like they were being generous. Luna: Interesting — so letting the buyer set the price can sometimes lead to a premium. Lucas: It can, because buyers have a psychological need to be fair. Especially if the rep has built genuine rapport and demonstrated value. Luna: This feels like a real-world application of what negotiation experts call 'reciprocal concession.' You give them control, they give you a fair offer. Lucas: That's a great way to frame it. And it's a technique that works best when you've already done the hard work of building trust through discovery and demos. Luna: So this isn't for a cold call — it's for late-stage deals that get stuck on price. Lucas: Exactly. Use it when you're at an impasse and you've got nothing to lose. It's a powerful way to break the logjam. Luna: I want to try this. But I'm still nervous about the lowball scenario. Lucas: That's fair. But think of it this way: if you're already stuck, what's the worst that could happen? They give a number that doesn't work, and you're back where you started. Luna: True. And you can always walk away or reshope. Lucas: Right. These are the kinds of real-world moves we talk about here, and we keep the show ad-free because we think that matters. Luna: It does. If you're getting something out of these conversations, you can support that choice at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Even a small thing helps us keep going. Now, back to Jenna — she also found that asking the buyer to set the price gave her a clearer sense of their budget constraints. It opened up a more honest conversation. Luna: So it's not just about closing one deal; it's about better relationships long term. Lucas: Exactly. So if you're in a price deadlock, consider handing the pen to the buyer. It might be the fastest way to close. Luna: Or at least start a better conversation. Lucas: For Fexingo Business, I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna.