By Simon Severino, founder of Strategy Sprints, where 2,400+ B2B founders have gone through our programs. Updated October 2026.

"It's too expensive" means your price is standing next to zero. Don't defend it and don't discount. Before any price, ask "What happens if you do nothing?" and let the buyer name what the problem costs. If the objection still comes, ask "Compared to what?", hand back their number, and offer to cut scope, never price. 🐬

Do that and you stop giving away five thousand dollars in two seconds. The buyer compares your price with their own number, not with nothing. And your new sales hires learn that your price is a price, not an opening bid.

What does "too expensive" really mean?

"It's too expensive."

Three words, and your stomach drops. You start calculating. How much can I take off and still get the yes?

A price is never big or small on its own. It's only big or small next to something.

Forty thousand next to nothing? Huge. Forty thousand next to a problem that costs the buyer three hundred thousand a year? Small.

So when a buyer says "too expensive", they're telling you one thing: "I'm comparing your price to zero."

That's not on the buyer. It's the order of the old sales call. Pitch, demo, price. The number shows up before anyone has put a number on the problem. And a price that walks into the room alone always looks too big. 🐯

What happens when you discount on the spot?

Picture Daniel. Made-up name, very common founder.

He runs a consulting firm, about four million a year, with two new sales hires starting next month. Thursday call. The buyer nods through the whole plan. Then Daniel says the number. Forty thousand.

The buyer leans back. "Hmm. That's too expensive."

And Daniel hears himself say, "I could do thirty-five."

In that second, control of the call moved across the table.

Do the math. Five thousand off, on ten deals a year, is fifty thousand dollars. Straight out of profit. For a sentence that took two seconds.. and leaves a bitter taste for the rest of the year.

And the money is the smaller loss. His new hires are listening. They just learned that the price is a suggestion. Every deal they run from now on starts with a discount already baked in.

A founder in our 200K Club said it plainly: "I priced the first few too low." The fix usually isn't a braver price. It's a better order.

Why does this happen even to founders who know their value?

It's not a confidence speech you're missing. It's a process gap. And process gaps close.

In our Sales Gym we run a drill on Step 6, Investment. The rep says the price out loud, at full value, then holds silence for 15 seconds. No filling it. No softening it. Just the number and the quiet.

Almost every rep breaks before 15 seconds. The number comes out fast, wrapped in "but you also get". When we debrief, the same feeling comes up: "I felt like an imposter. Like I was handing them something that wasn't good enough."

Then the question that does the actual work: "Do you believe your service is bad?"

"No. It's good."

"Then let's look at why the silence felt like exposure, not confidence."

That's a bottleneck, not a character flaw. You can drill it like a lift in the gym. 🌴

How do I get the buyer's number before I say mine?

This is Step 4 of the 8 Steps of the Repeatable Sale, Cost of Inaction. Word for word:

"What happens if you do nothing?"

Then stop talking. Count to five in your head. The air gets thick. Every instinct says rescue the call. Don't. The silence is the buyer thinking.

Then: "What does that cost you? In money, in time, in energy?"

Let the buyer say the number. Not you. Here's the rule: when you say the cost out loud, it's a pitch. When they say it out loud, it's a decision.

Back to Daniel, same illustrative buyer, done the right way:

Daniel: "What happens if you do nothing?"
Buyer: "If our reps keep missing quota, we lose maybe six deals this year. Call it three hundred thousand."
Daniel: "Three hundred thousand. Got it."

He writes it down, in the buyer's words.

No number? That's an answer too. Either the problem doesn't hurt enough yet, or you rushed past Step 2, Frustration. Go back there before you say any price.

Then Step 6, Investment, in this order: time, people, money.

• "How many hours a week can you give this?"
• "Who on your team needs to be in it?"
• "Given that doing nothing costs you around three hundred thousand, what investment makes sense?"

Now forty thousand sits next to three hundred thousand. Same price. Completely different conversation. If you want the full order of questions, here's what to ask on a B2B discovery call, and in what order.

What do I say when the buyer still says "too expensive"?

Sometimes it comes anyway. Don't flinch. Don't discount. Use these three lines, in order.

1. Ask, calm and curious:
"Fair. Too expensive compared to what?"

2. Hand back their own number:
"Earlier you said doing nothing costs around three hundred thousand this year. How does forty thousand compare with that?"

3. If it's a real budget limit, move the scope, never the price:
"I won't lower the price. I can lower the scope. Which part would you take out?"

Now the buyer is choosing what to lose. That's a very different question from "how much can you take off?"

And if they still say no? A clear no is fine. "I don't wanna waste my time nor yours" isn't arrogance. It's respect. You walk away with your price intact, and your new hires just watched how it's done. 🐬

Why does holding your price give you more control, not less?

Buyers smell neediness before you say a word. It's in the speed of the discount, the "but you also get", the follow-up that arrives too soon.

When you need the deal, you've already lost the room. When you hold the price calmly, the buyer relaxes. Someone in this conversation knows what they're doing. Meanwhile the vendor who knocked a tenth off to win is already chasing the next deal to make up for it.

Before Strategy Sprints I coached 2,000+ teams, including Google, BMW and Airbus. The people who hold their price all do the same thing. They ask the next question instead of defending the number.

The goal isn't a higher price for its own sake. It's what bigger deals buy you: fewer deals to chase, a target that stops slipping, evenings that are yours again. More on that in bigger deals at the price you want. That's a Sprintlife. 🐯

Your one move before the next proposal

Before any price goes out, write the buyer's cost-of-inaction number at the top of your notes. Their number, their words.

No number? Don't send the price. Book one more call and ask, "What happens if you do nothing?"

FAQ

Should I ever give a discount in B2B sales?
Not as an answer to "too expensive". If budget is truly fixed, reduce the scope and keep the price, so the value of your work stays the same in the buyer's mind.

What is the best response to "it's too expensive"?
"Compared to what?" Then remind the buyer of the cost of inaction they named earlier, so your price sits next to their number.

How do I stop price objections before they happen?
Ask Step 4, "What happens if you do nothing?", before you ever say a price. A buyer who has named the cost rarely calls your price too high.

What if the buyer won't put a number on the problem?
Then you're not ready to quote. Go back to Step 2, Frustration, and Step 3, Importance. Price comes after the buyer feels the problem.

When should I talk about price on a sales call?
In Step 6, Investment, after time and people, and only once the buyer has named the cost of doing nothing.

Want to practice the 8 Steps every week, with other founders? Join Sprint Club, 7 days free: https://www.strategysprints.com

Ready to accelerate now? Book a Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/strategysprint/discovery-call

Happy hunting.

Simon & The Sprinters 🐬⚡️🐆