Objections and Negotiating
An objection is engagement, not rejection — a disengaged customer just leaves. It’s the customer telling you what stands between them and yes, and the one they say out loud is usually not the real one.
Find the real objection
“Too expensive” often means “I don’t yet see enough value”; “I need to think about it” often means an unspoken concern or someone else to run it past. Dig gently before you answer — “help me understand what’s giving you pause” — because answering the wrong objection (discounting a price that was never the issue) wastes margin and closes nothing. Listen fully, understand the real concern, respond with value, confirm it’s resolved.
Price is a value conversation
Discounting a price objection comes straight out of thin gross, concedes the machine wasn’t worth the price, and trains the customer to push harder next time. Re-establish value — uptime, capacity, cost per acre, support — and reach for a program or the trade to bridge a gap before cutting your own gross.
Negotiate to protect the deal
Know your floor before you start. The difference is what matters, so manage price and trade together. Never concede for free — every concession gets something (a faster decision, a bigger deposit). Don’t negotiate against yourself in silence; make the offer and let it sit. And guard the throw-ins: first service, freight, and setup are real gross and the absorption work, and two or three casual ones erase the whole gross. Your strongest position is a genuine willingness to walk from a bad deal.
Where it goes wrong
- Answering the stated objection without finding the real one.
- Reflexively discounting instead of re-establishing value.
- Giving away first service, freight, and setup.
- Negotiating against yourself instead of holding the offer.
Related
Consultative selling · Financing · Pricing and protecting gross margin · Closing and writing the deal.