{"id":12891,"date":"2022-02-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/we-don-t-discount-and-neither-should-you\/"},"modified":"2022-02-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T00:00:00","slug":"we-don-t-discount-and-neither-should-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/2021\/we-don-t-discount-and-neither-should-you\/","title":{"rendered":"We don’t discount – and neither should you"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

How many times have you heard (or said), \u201cCan I have a discount?\u201d We hear it all the time, as do many members of the sales teams we work with. This is one of the most common questions buyers ask. In fact, if they aren\u2019t asking for pricing considerations, they\u2019re not doing their job. However, your answer doesn\u2019t have to be \u201cyes.\u201d When you say \u201cyes,\u201d\u00a0you\u2019re giving in and setting a precedent that\u2019s difficult to roll back. Instead, you may want to do what we do \u2014\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0give a discount.<\/p>\n

\u201cEasy for you to say!\u201d you might be thinking. Actually, it\u2019s not an easy thing to say when you have nothing else to say. If your response is \u201cno discounts\u201d and nothing else, you\u2019re setting yourself up for an argument. The buyer will inevitably see this as competitive, and the conversation will turn into a battle of wills until someone blinks. Unfortunately, the sellers usually blink. When that happens, they lose credibility, which makes it difficult for them to hold their ground in the future. In addition, they\u2019ve unintentionally trained the buyers to ask for a discount again (and again), which makes future negotiations more tenuous than they need to be. But it doesn\u2019t have to be that way.<\/p>\n

Before someone sends me a note and tells me that their organization got a pricing concession from us, let me clarify what I mean by \u201cwe don\u2019t give discounts.\u201d As negotiators, we focus on trading value. When someone asks for something from us, we think about what we need in return in order to say \u201cyes.\u201d Therefore, if we were to discount our pricing without asking for something in return, we\u2019d be going against everything we believe in as negotiators.<\/p>\n

Discounts imply a reduction without a return, but that\u2019s not always the case. Many of you have traded a discount for something in return, and that\u2019s exactly what a skilled negotiator would do. However, words matter, and, unfortunately, not everyone is a skilled negotiator. Therefore, the word \u201cdiscount\u201d does not always imply a trade. That\u2019s why we offer incentives.<\/p>\n

An incentive implies a quid pro quo, and it\u2019s universally understood that one side will have to do something in order to receive the offered incentive. Whenever someone asks for a discount, our simple response is, \u201cWe don\u2019t offer discounts. However, we do offer incentives.\u201d We offer incentives for a variety of points, such as volume, duration of the contract, and referrals. The incentive is based on the value of the trade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This process sets a different precedent and expectation. First, we\u2019re not being unreasonable and just saying \u201cno,\u201d only later to be badgered into a \u201cyes.\u201d So, it helps avoid competitive arguments. Secondly, we\u2019re setting expectations upfront regarding what we need in order to provide a pricing concession. This gives both sides a path to follow in order for everyone to get what they want. Lastly, it supports our belief regarding how skilled negotiators create value for all parties involved.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re already stuck in a discount practice and want to change it, you can \u2014 it just takes a little bit of time. Here are some tips for how to do it:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Know what to trade.<\/strong>\u00a0Before you can offer incentives, you need to understand what\u2019s valuable to you. Think about all of the discounts you\u2019ve offered and ask yourself, \u201cWhat would have been good to get in return?\u201d That will help you identify potential incentives.<\/li>\n
  2. Pivot.<\/strong>\u00a0For all new customers, stop discounting and move toward incentivizing. This will ensure that discounting is relegated to existing customers, not new ones.<\/li>\n
  3. Set a timeline.<\/strong>\u00a0Give existing customers a timeframe for when your discounts will end and the new incentives will begin. The more notice you can give, the easier it will be for the other side to adjust and adapt.<\/li>\n
  4. Be flexible.<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019ll run into customers who will have a hard time with this transition. Understand their issues and be flexible regarding your solution \u2014 your longtime customers will appreciate that.<\/li>\n
  5. Be upfront and manage expectations.<\/strong>\u00a0When negotiating with customers (particularly new ones), tell them early on about how they can get pricing incentives. This will help you get more productive conversations faster.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You certainly don\u2019t have to change your practice if it\u2019s working for you. Just keep in mind that whatever you give away today will become the expectation in the next negotiation.<\/p>\n

    We Can Help You Pivot From Discounting to Incentivizing.<\/strong>Are you offering pricing discounts without getting anything in return? Have you considered pivoting from discounting to incentivizing, where the other side has to do something in order to receive the offered incentive? We can help!\u00a0Drawing on nearly 50 years of real-world negotiating experience, we\u2019ll assist you with getting better deals, saving time, and creating value for all involved \u2014 not to mention preserving and even strengthening relationships. Let us partner you with one of our advisers, ensuring that you\u2019ve got the broadest view of your deal.<\/p>\n

    Call one of our experts today:<\/p>\n

    P: 042979069<\/p>\n

    E: info@scotwork.co.nz<\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    How many times have you heard (or said), \u201cCan I have a discount?\u201d We hear it all the time, as do many members of the sales teams we work with. This is one of the most common questions buyers ask. In fact, if they aren\u2019t asking for pricing considerations, they\u2019re not doing their job. However,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":12892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_legacy_url":"blog-nz\/2021\/we-don-t-discount-and-neither-should-you\/","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWe don't discount - and neither should you | Scotwork NZ Negotiation Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"World leaders in business negotiation training and consultancy with experts across 120 countries, with negotiation courses taught in 29 languages.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/2021\/we-don-t-discount-and-neither-should-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We don't discount - 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