Minute three. The buyer leans in.

"So.. what's the price?"

Your stomach tightens. Say it now and it sounds too big. Dodge it and you sound slippery. 🐯

Here's the short answer. You mention the price in Step 6 of the call, Investment. Only after the buyer has told you what doing nothing costs them, and what they want delivered. And even then, you talk time and people before you talk money.

Do it in that order and you land bigger deals at the price you want. Below are the exact words, the math, and the line to use when they ask in minute three anyway.

Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdfTcJFYH2A

Why your price sounds too big on B2B sales calls

A price never sounds big or small on its own. It always sits next to something.

Say it in minute three and it sits next to nothing. The buyer hasn't said a single word about what the problem costs. So 30,000 sounds like 30,000 out of nowhere.

Picture Marie. Made-up name, very common founder. She runs a consulting firm and she's hiring her first salesperson. A buyer asks "how much?" early, and she answers right away, because dodging feels rude.

The buyer goes quiet. Then: "Can you send something over?"

Two weeks later, a discount. The deal goes stale. Then nothing. Ghosted.

That's the old way. Price before value. The deal shrinks, or it dies quietly. And it isn't a Marie problem. It's an order problem. The right things, in the wrong order. From minute three on, the buyer's question is leading the call, and she's following it.

You know what that costs on your side. Same effort, smaller deal. So you need more deals for a target that's already slipping.

Step 4: let the buyer name the cost first

Before any number, the buyer needs to say two things out loud. The first one is Step 4 of the 8 Steps of the Repeatable Sale: Cost of Inaction.

Ask:

"What happens if you do nothing?"

Then:

"What does that cost you, in money, in time, and in energy?"

Then you stay quiet. Let them say the number. It tastes bitter coming out of their mouth.. and that's exactly why it sticks. 🌴

Maybe it sounds like this: "We lose about four deals a quarter. Around 30,000 each."

Do the math with them, out loud:

• 4 lost deals a quarter
• times 30,000 each
• makes 120,000 a quarter
• and almost half a million a year (480,000)

You didn't say that number. They did. That's the difference between a claim and a fact the buyer owns.

Step 5: let them define the deliverables

The second thing the buyer says out loud is Step 5, Deliverables.

Ask:

"What do you want achieved in the next 90 days?"

"How will you know it worked?"

Write their exact words down. Word for word. Those words become your proposal later.

Now picture a whiteboard.

On the left: 30,000, next to an empty space.

On the right: 30,000, next to 480,000.

Same price. Different deal. Which one do you want to be standing next to? 🐬

Step 6: time, people, then money (the exact words)

Step 6 is Investment. It has three parts, and the order matters.

Time first: "How much time can you put into this each week?"

People second: "Who on your team needs to be involved?"

Money last: "Given what doing nothing costs you, what investment makes sense?"

Why this order? Because time and people are easy yeses. The buyer pictures the work happening. Their team in the room. By the time money comes up, they're already living in the result.

Then you say your number.

Calm. Once. No apology. No "but we're flexible."

Then silence again. A calm silence. Hear the clock tick. Let it land.

Now picture the other vendor, your competitor. They said their price in minute three, next to nothing. You said yours in minute twenty-five, next to 480,000.

Same buyer. Same budget. Very different conversation. That's what pricing power looks like from the inside: you're the one leading the call, and the buyer feels it. 🐯

What to say when they ask the price in minute 3

They will still ask early. That's normal. Good buyers want to know if you're in their range.

Here's your line, word for word:

"Good question. You'll get a straight answer from me in a few minutes. First, can I ask a few questions so the number actually means something?"

It's hard to say no to that. Look at what just happened:

• You promised a straight answer
• You asked permission
• You took the lead back, politely

If they push again, don't hide. Give a real range: your lowest number and your highest number. Then go straight back:

"Where you land depends on what you tell me next. What happens if you do nothing?"

You answered. You didn't dodge. And you're back at Step 4, with the buyer talking about their cost instead of your price. 🌴

Before Strategy Sprints, I coached over 2,000 teams, including teams at Google, BMW and Airbus. The ones with real pricing power did this again and again. They answered the price question. Just not at the moment it would sit next to nothing.

Steps 7 and 8: close the loop in the buyer's words

Once Investment is done, two steps remain.

Step 7, Starting Date: "Which start date are we committing to?"

A real date. Not "soon." Not "after the quarter." A date on the calendar is the commitment.

Step 8, Statement of Work: send it written in their words. The deliverables they named in Step 5. The cost they named in Step 4. The date they named in Step 7. When the buyer reads the proposal, they recognise their own sentences. That's hard to ghost.

Your one move before your next B2B proposal

Here's the move for this week. Before you send any proposal, check one thing:

Did the buyer say, in their own words, what doing nothing costs them?

If yes: finish Step 6, ask the Step 7 starting date, then send the Statement of Work in their words.

If no: don't send it. Book a short call and ask Step 4 first.

It feels slower. It's faster. One clear yes beats three weeks of "let me think about it." 🐬

The short version

• Your price is judged by what it sits next to. In minute three, that's nothing.
• Step 4, Cost of Inaction: the buyer names the cost. Do the math with them.
• Step 5, Deliverables: write down their exact words.
• Step 6, Investment: time first, people second, money last. Say the number once, calmly, then go quiet.
• Asked early? "Good question. You'll get a straight answer in a few minutes. First, can I ask a few questions so the number actually means something?"
• Step 7 and Step 8: a real starting date, then a Statement of Work in their words.

Bigger deals at your price. Evenings back. The freedom to live your life on your terms, and a business that funds it. That's a Sprintlife. 🌴

Watch the full episode on The Sales Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdfTcJFYH2A

Want to practice the 8 Steps with tools, AI skills and a community of founders doing the same? 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 🐬⚡️🐆