Latest / Sales Leadership with Fexingo: Quota Carriers, Sales Managers, and Revenue Teams / How to Sell When the Prospect Says Your Product Is Too Expensive
Transcript
- Lucas: ‘Your product is too expensive.’ If you've been in sales longer than a month, you've heard that line. Probably right when you thought the deal was about to close. Luna: And it stings every time. Especially when you've spent weeks building a relationship. Lucas: Yeah, it feels personal. But here's the thing — in my experience, ‘too expensive’ is almost never the real objection. It's a symptom of a value gap. The prospect hasn't connected your price to a measurable business outcome. Luna: So you're saying they're not saying ‘I can't afford it.’ They're saying ‘I don't see how it's worth it.’ Lucas: Exactly. And that distinction matters, because you handle them differently. Let's use a real case I came across recently — a cybersecurity company selling a fifty-million-dollar deal to a large financial institution. The rep got hit with ‘too expensive’ six weeks into the process. Luna: Ouch. What did they do? Lucas: They didn't panic. They didn't drop the price. Instead, they asked a diagnostic question: ‘Help me understand — is this a budget issue, or a value issue?’ That single question reframed the conversation. Luna: Because if it's a budget issue, you can talk about timing or phasing. But if it's a value issue, you need to rebuild the business case. Lucas: Right. In this case, the prospect admitted it was a value issue. So the rep went back to the drawing board. They didn't re-pitch features — they built a dollar and cents impact model tied to the client's own data. Luna: That's the part most reps skip. They stay at the feature level. Lucas: Exactly. So the rep asked the prospect: ‘What does a single data breach cost your organization? In the last twelve months, how many near-misses did your team catch? How many hours of manual remediation did that require?’ They didn't guess — they made the prospect do the math. Luna: And suddenly the price tag starts to look small compared to the risk. Lucas: Precisely. They calculated the cost of inaction — the expected losses from breaches over three years — and compared it to the investment in the solution. The ROI was something like eight to one. The prospect went from ‘too expensive’ to ‘can we start next quarter?’ Luna: That's a beautiful pivot. But not every rep has that kind of data handy. What if you're selling a lower-ticket item, say a ten thousand dollar SaaS tool? Lucas: Same principle, smaller scale. You don't need a spreadsheet. You can ask: ‘What's the cost of the problem you're solving today? How many hours does your team waste? What's that in salary dollars?’ Most prospects will give you rough numbers. Luna: So the trick is to move the conversation from price to impact. Make them feel the pain of not buying. Lucas: That's the core. There's a framework I like for this — I call it the three-step value reframe. Step one: diagnose — is it budget or value? Step two: quantify — build a mini business case with the prospect's own numbers. Step three: elevate — introduce a consequence question that shifts their frame of reference. Luna: What's a consequence question? Lucas: Something like: ‘If you don't solve this problem in the next six months, what's the worst-case scenario for your team?’ It moves them from ‘this costs too much’ to ‘what happens if we do nothing?’ Luna: That's powerful. And it takes the focus off your price and puts it on their risk. Lucas: Exactly. Now, I want to be clear: this doesn't work if the product genuinely isn't a fit. If the value isn't there, no reframe will save you. But in most cases, the prospect just hasn't connected the dots. Luna: So when you get the ‘too expensive’ objection, don't default to discounting. Dig into the why. Lucas: One more thing: the timing. In that cybersecurity deal, the rep got the objection late in the process. If you can preempt it earlier — say, in the first or second call — by asking about budget and expected ROI, you reduce the chance of it popping up at the eleventh hour. Luna: That's a good point. A lot of reps avoid talking money until the prospect brings it up. But being proactive can save you headaches. Lucas: It's a discipline. And honestly, if today's episode helped you think about that one objection differently, that's kind of the whole point. We keep this show ad-free, and if you ever feel like it's moved your work forward in some small way, you know where to find us — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a small gesture, but it really does keep these conversations going. Lucas: So let's get back to that consequence question. I want to give you a specific script you can use next time. Luna: I'm all ears. Lucas: You say: ‘I understand the price feels high. Let me ask you this — if you could wave a magic wand and solve tomorrow, what would that be worth to your organization in terms of cost savings or revenue?’ Then pause. Let them answer. Luna: And they'll usually give you a number that's bigger than your price. Lucas: Often, yeah. Then you say: ‘So if we can deliver that outcome for, does that feel like a fair trade?’ You're asking them to justify their own valuation. Luna: That's a lot better than saying ‘our price is competitive.’ Lucas: Way better. The minute you defend your price, you lose. You want the prospect to defend the value of solving the problem. Luna: What about when the objection is legitimately a budget constraint? Like, they literally don't have the money this fiscal year. Lucas: That's different. Then you explore options: can they shift budget from another line item? Can you phase the implementation? Can you offer a pilot at a lower entry point? But you only go there after you've confirmed it's not a value issue. Luna: So the first move is always diagnosis. Lucas: Always. Ask: ‘Is this a budget limitation, or do you feel the value isn't there yet?’ Their answer tells you everything. Luna: And what if they say it's both? Lucas: Then you address value first. Because if they don't see the value, no budget conversation will matter. Fix the value gap, and suddenly budget becomes a negotiation, not a brick wall. Luna: That makes sense. I've seen reps try to negotiate price before they've established value, and it never ends well. Lucas: It creates a race to the bottom. You train the prospect that every objection gets a discount. Instead, treat the objection as a signal that you need to go deeper. Luna: Alright, so let's recap: when you hear ‘too expensive,’ first diagnose. Then quantify the impact. Then use a consequence question to elevate the conversation. Lucas: That's the playbook. And if you practice it, you'll find that objection gets easier to handle over time. Luna: And maybe you'll even start to welcome it, because it gives you a chance to prove your value. Lucas: That's the goal. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.