Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How One Sales Rep Closed a Deal by Giving a Price Increase
Transcript
- Lucas: So you're in the final stretch of a big deal. The prospect loves the product. The demo went great. References checked out. Then the procurement email lands: 'We need a twenty percent discount to move forward.' Luna: Classic. And most reps feel like they have no choice. They either cave or risk losing it all. Lucas: Right. But there's a third option that sounds completely backwards — and it just closed a six-figure deal at a company called GridSync. The rep raised the price. Luna: Raised the price? When the prospect was already pushing for a discount? That sounds like a sure way to get ghosted. Lucas: That's exactly what makes it interesting. The rep — her name is Dana — was selling a SaaS platform to a mid-market logistics firm. The deal was stuck at around a hundred and eighty thousand dollars per year. The prospect wanted it down to a hundred and forty-four thousand — that twenty percent haircut. Luna: And what did Dana do? Lucas: She came back with a counter-proposal: two hundred and seven thousand dollars per year — a fifteen percent increase. But she bundled in an additional module, dedicated onboarding support, and a guaranteed go-live date that was four weeks earlier than the original timeline. Luna: So she gave them more and charged more. That's not the same as just raising the price on the same thing. Lucas: Exactly. That's the nuance. She didn't say 'the price is now higher for the exact same package.' She said 'here's a better package at a higher price.' And the psychology behind that shift is really powerful. Luna: Walk me through the psychology. Because my first instinct is that the prospect would just say no. Lucas: Sure. First, it reframes the conversation from cost-cutting to value-maximization. When the prospect says 'give me a discount,' they're asking you to justify why your product is worth less. When you say 'I can offer you more, but it costs more,' you're asking them to justify why they should invest more to get more. Luna: So it flips the burden of proof. Lucas: Exactly. Second, it activates loss aversion. The original package — the one they were negotiating — suddenly looks like a better deal compared to the premium option. It anchors them to a lower reference point, making the original price feel more reasonable. Luna: Interesting. So by offering a higher-priced option, you make the original price look like the discount. Lucas: That's exactly what happened. The prospect's procurement team looked at the two options and realized the original package at a hundred and eighty was actually a pretty good value compared to the premium at two-oh-seven. They ended up signing the original deal — no discount — plus they added the premium onboarding. Luna: Wait — so they didn't even take the premium package? They just agreed to the original price? Lucas: Correct. They paid full price. And they felt good about it because they got the faster go-live, which was actually the thing they cared about most. Dana had discovered during the sales process that the prospect's biggest pain point was a tight internal deadline. The discount was a red herring. Luna: So the price increase served as a diagnostic tool. It revealed what the prospect actually valued. Lucas: That's the third layer. A well-constructed price increase forces the prospect to reveal their true priorities. If they say 'no, we just want the original package cheaper,' then you know they're purely price-driven. But if they engage with the premium option, you know they care about speed, scope, or outcomes. Luna: But doesn't this only work if you actually have something meaningful to add? If your product is a commodity, you can't just invent a premium tier. Lucas: That's the key condition. You need to have genuine differentiation to bundle. In GridSync's case, they had a module that the prospect's competitor was already using with great results. They had a dedicated onboarding team. They could compress timelines. If you're selling undifferentiated widgets, a price increase will just get you laughed out of the room. Luna: So what's the framework? When should a rep consider this move? Lucas: Three conditions. One: you have a clear value driver that the prospect has signaled is important — speed, integration, training, whatever. Two: you have enough margin or scope to create a genuinely better offer without wrecking your own economics. Three: the prospect is engaging in classic negotiation theater — asking for a discount without a strong justification. Luna: And the risk? If you misread the situation, you could blow up the deal entirely. Lucas: Absolutely. The biggest risk is that the prospect feels manipulated or that you're playing games. That's why the premium offer has to be real and valuable. If you just slap a higher price on the same thing, you lose trust. Dana's offer was credible because the extra module and faster timeline had real cost and effort behind them. Luna: So the move requires confidence. You have to be willing to walk away if they say no to both options. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the fourth psychological effect — signaling confidence. When you raise the price, you're telling the prospect 'we know what we're worth.' That can actually increase their perception of your value. There's research showing that in certain contexts, a higher price increases desire because people associate price with quality. Luna: But isn't there a fine line between confidence and arrogance? How do you deliver the proposal without sounding like you're trying to push them around? Lucas: Tone matters enormously. Dana framed it as a discovery: 'Based on our conversations, I think there's a way to get you even better results. Let me show you an option that might actually solve your core problem faster.' She didn't say 'you're wrong to ask for a discount.' She said 'let me offer you something more impactful.' Luna: So it's about repositioning the conversation from price to outcomes. Lucas: Right. And the beauty is, even if they don't take the premium option, you've changed the frame. Suddenly the original price feels like a compromise they're getting. They feel like they've won something. Luna: I've seen this work in reverse too. A friend of mine sells consulting engagements, and when a client pushes back on price, she offers a stripped-down version at a lower price — but the stripped-down version is so bare-bones that the client realizes they actually need the full package. That's the same psychology but in the opposite direction. Lucas: That's a great point. The good-better-best structure is a classic pricing tool, and this is just a dynamic version of it. But the key insight in Dana's case is that she used the premium offer to reset the negotiation, not just to upsell. Luna: So what's the takeaway for reps who are in a deal right now and getting squeezed on price? Lucas: Don't just say no to the discount. Say 'yes, but here's what else I can do for you' — and make that 'else' something that costs you less than the discount would. Faster timeline, extra training, a pilot program, a dedicated support contact. Whatever you have that creates value for them but doesn't kill your margin. Luna: And if they still say no to both? Lucas: Then you have your answer. They weren't a great fit anyway. But in many cases, you'll find that the discount was a test, not a hard constraint. Dana's prospect had the budget the whole time. They just wanted to see if they could get a better deal. By offering a premium option, she gave them a face-saving way to pay full price. Luna: It's a high-skill move. Not for every rep or every deal. Lucas: Agreed. But if you have the right conditions, it's one of the most powerful levers in negotiation. And it forces you to really understand what your prospect values — which is always a good exercise anyway. Luna: You know, Lucas, I think this conversation actually ties into something bigger. If today's episode helped you rethink how you approach price pushback, that's exactly the kind of practical insight we try to deliver here. Lucas: And if it moved your thinking forward in some small way, the reason we can keep having these conversations ad-free is listener support. It's a simple equation — you find this useful, you can buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep the show going. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. And now back to the tactics — because I want to dig into one more angle. What about the timing? When exactly do you spring this kind of counteroffer? Lucas: Great question. The timing is critical. You don't want to do it too early, before you've built enough value. And you don't want to do it so late that the prospect feels like you've been hiding options. The sweet spot is after they've made the discount request but before you've responded with any concession. Luna: So you let them make the first move. You don't proactively offer a premium option before they ask for a discount. Lucas: Exactly. Because if you offer it proactively, it looks like you're just trying to upsell. But if you offer it in response to a discount request, it feels like a thoughtful solution to their stated concern. 'You want to pay less? Here's a way to get more for more — but actually, let me show you why this might be better.' Luna: I can see how that would work with sophisticated buyers. But what about the procurement professional who's just following a script? They have to get a discount, or they lose their bonus. Lucas: That's a real challenge. In those cases, the premium option gives procurement a win too. They can go to their boss and say 'we didn't get a discount, but we got faster implementation and an extra module.' That's a tangible deliverable they can point to. It's not a cost saving, but it's a value gain. Luna: So the premium option becomes a negotiating chip for both sides. Lucas: Right. And that's the ultimate goal of any negotiation — both sides walk away feeling like they got something they needed. The prospect needed to show they fought for a better deal. Dana gave them a way to do that without actually reducing price. Luna: I think the biggest barrier for most reps is just the courage to try it. It feels risky to raise the price when the buyer is already pushing back. Lucas: It is risky. But the alternative — giving a discount — is also risky. You train the buyer that pushing hard works. You compress your margin. And you set a precedent for every renewal. Dana's approach protects her margin and actually strengthens the relationship, because the buyer feels like they got a tailored solution. Luna: Alright, so to sum up: when a buyer asks for a discount, don't say no. Say 'let me show you something that might actually serve you better.' Have a premium option ready that addresses their unspoken needs. And be willing to walk if they reject both. Lucas: That's the framework. And if you do it right, you might just close the deal at a higher price than you expected. Dana did.