Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How One Sales Rep Won by Letting the Buyer Name the Price
Transcript
- Lucas: Okay, so you are in the final stretch of a deal. You've done the demos, you've handled the objections, the buyer likes you, but now you're stuck on price. They keep pushing for a discount, you keep holding your floor, and the thing is just… sitting there. Luna: Classic impasse. And usually the next move is either you cave a little or you walk away. Lucas: Right. But there's a third move that almost no one tries. I first came across this in a Harvard Business Review case from a few years ago — a B2B SaaS company called, let's call them CloudLogix, selling a data analytics platform to mid-market firms. Luna: I think I remember this. The rep basically handed the pen to the buyer, didn't he? Lucas: Exactly. The rep was a guy named Dan. He had a deal worth about $120,000 annual contract value sitting in procurement. The procurement director had already asked for a 15 percent discount twice. Dan had politely declined both times, citing the value of the product. The deal was deadlocked. Luna: So what did he do? Lucas: On a Friday afternoon call, Dan said something like, 'Look, I've shown you the pricing, I've explained the value, and we're stuck. So I'm going to try something different. I want you to write down the number — the total annual price — that you would feel comfortable signing off on. Not your ideal number, but a number you could defend to your CFO. If it's within a range I can work with, I'll take it to my manager and push for approval.' Luna: And the buyer actually did it? Lucas: He did. He paused for a few seconds, then wrote down $112,000. That's 8 percent below Dan's list price. But Dan's floor was $105,000. So the buyer had actually landed above Dan's minimum. Luna: So the buyer overestimated what Dan would accept. That's fascinating. Lucas: It's a classic anchoring reversal. Usually the seller anchors high, the buyer anchors low, and they haggle toward the middle. Here, Dan removed his own anchor entirely. He forced the buyer to become the anchor — without any reference point. And the buyer, being risk-averse, anchored closer to the seller's initial price than to a lowball. Luna: But doesn't that give away all your leverage? I mean, what if the buyer writes down $80,000? Then you're in a worse spot. Lucas: That's the fear. And it's legitimate. But the move only works under certain conditions. First, you need to have already established real value. Dan had done three demos, a proof of concept, and a reference call. The buyer knew the product solved a real problem. Second, you need a clear walkaway number in your head — your minimum acceptable price. If the buyer writes a number below that, you can still say, 'I appreciate that, but I can't make that work. Here's why.' You haven't lost anything. Luna: So it's not about giving up control. It's about changing the frame. Lucas: Exactly. The frame shifts from 'us versus them' to 'us versus the problem.' The buyer is now co-creating the solution. And psychologically, once they write down a number, they become invested in justifying it. They've staked their reputation on that number. Luna: I've seen a similar thing in consulting. A friend of mine, Sarah, runs a small strategy firm. She was negotiating a project with a mid-size retailer. They kept pushing her daily rate down. She finally said, 'You tell me what you think is fair, and if I can do it, I will.' They came back with a rate 15 percent higher than her minimum. Lucas: And this is not an isolated fluke. There's a 2019 study in the Journal of Marketing Research that tested this exact approach. In a series of negotiations, sellers who invited buyers to make the first offer — after establishing value — got outcomes that were, on average, 12 percent better than sellers who made the first offer themselves. Luna: Because the buyer, lacking a reference, tends to err on the side of fairness. They don't want to offend or risk the deal. Lucas: Precisely. And procurement professionals, in particular, are trained to extract concessions, not to lowball arbitrarily. They want a deal that closes. So they tend to pick a number that feels defensible. And 'defensible' usually means closer to the seller's initial price than to a number that would torpedo the relationship. Luna: Okay, but I want to press on the risks. What if the buyer is a hardliner who just writes down something insulting? Lucas: It can happen. But in Dan's experience, it's rare if you've done the groundwork. The key is the phrase 'a number you can defend to your CFO.' That reframes the exercise. They're not naming a price; they're building a business case. And if they do come in way low, you have an honest conversation. You say, 'I see why you'd want to be at that level. Let me show you what we'd have to cut from the scope to hit that number.' Suddenly you're back in a value conversation, not a price war. Luna: So it actually gives you an out. You can use their low number as a way to reintroduce the trade-offs. Lucas: Exactly. And that's actually a stronger position than if you had made a counteroffer. Because now you're not negotiating against yourself. You're responding to their proposal with a scope conversation. Luna: That is a total mindset shift. Most reps are terrified of giving up the pen. They think it makes them look weak. Lucas: And I get that. But look — if these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps them going. Buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: Yeah, it's such a small thing that adds up. And it keeps us ad-free, which is nice. Lucas: So back to Dan's story. He took the $112,000 number to his manager, who approved it within the hour. The deal closed the next Monday. Total time from the 'name your price' moment to signed contract: about 48 hours. Luna: And the buyer felt great about it. He got to set the price, he got a deal he could defend, and he didn't have to go through another round of haggling. Lucas: That's the hidden benefit. The buyer becomes an advocate internally. He's not just signing a contract; he's championing a deal he helped shape. Dan later said that account expanded by another $40,000 the following year. Luna: So when should a rep try this? Only at the end? Lucas: Not necessarily. There are variations earlier in the process. I've seen reps use it during the proposal phase. Instead of sending a price, they say, 'Based on everything we've discussed, what budget range do you have in mind?' That's a softer version, but it still flips the dynamic. Luna: But that's more like asking for a budget range, which a lot of reps do already. Lucas: True, but there's a difference. Most reps ask 'What's your budget?' in a way that signals 'I'm going to try to fit my price into that.' That's reactive. The frame I'm talking about is more like 'You tell me what you think this is worth, given the value you've seen.' It's a confidence move. Luna: It requires a lot of swagger. You have to truly believe in your product. Lucas: You do. And you have to be willing to walk away. If you're desperate for the deal, your fear will leak through, and the buyer will sense it. They'll lowball you because they know you can't say no. Luna: So the tactic works best when you have a strong BATNA — best alternative to a negotiated agreement. Lucas: Exactly. Dan had a full pipeline. He could afford to lose that deal if the number came in too low. That gave him the confidence to try the move. If you're one bad quarter away from your quota, I wouldn't recommend it. Luna: Let me ask you this: does it work in every industry? I'm thinking about commoditized products where price is the only differentiator. Lucas: Probably not. If you're selling a commodity — let's say office supplies or basic cloud storage — the buyer knows the market price to the penny. They'll anchor to that. The move loses its power because they have a clear external reference. It works best when the product is differentiated, when the value is somewhat subjective, and when the buyer has a genuine need. Luna: So it's really about shifting from a transactional negotiation to a trust-based one. Lucas: Yes. And trust-based negotiations tend to produce better outcomes for both sides. There's a great book by William Ury called 'Getting to Yes' that talks about principled negotiation. This move is a perfect example: you separate the people from the problem, you focus on interests not positions, and you insist on objective criteria. By asking the buyer to name a number they can defend, you're inviting them to apply their own objective criteria. Luna: I want to circle back to Sarah, the consultant I mentioned. She said the buyer's initial proposed rate was actually higher than what she would have asked for. She was stunned. Lucas: That happens more often than you'd think. We tend to underestimate how much buyers are willing to pay when they see clear value. Our own fear of rejection causes us to anchor low. By flipping the script, you let the buyer reveal their true willingness to pay — which is often higher than your estimate. Luna: So the takeaway for our listeners: next time you're stuck on price, consider handing the pen to the buyer. But only if you've done the prep, you know your floor, and you're not desperate. Lucas: And be prepared for them to say 'I don't know, you tell me.' That's a stall. You can respond with, 'I understand it's uncomfortable. But I trust you to come up with a number that's fair for both of us. Take a day if you need.' That shows confidence and respect. Luna: It's a gutsy move. But when it works, it works beautifully. Lucas: It does. And it's one of those rare tactics that can actually strengthen the relationship while closing the deal. I think we'll see more reps try it as the market gets more competitive. Luna: I'm going to try it on my next car negotiation. Lucas: Just make sure the dealer doesn't already know the invoice price. Otherwise you're giving up the advantage. But in a B2B context where value is subjective? Go for it. Luna: Alright, Lucas. Great episode. That's all for today. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. And thanks to our listeners. See you next time.