When Clients Ask for Discounts, Ask Them ... Why?

"I bought several new vests recently. One was from G-Star, another from Banana Republic. They were not cheap, but not unreasonably expensive, either. I paid the price the shop asked from me. What I did not do was haggle over the price with the vendor. As a professional public speaker, I have fees, as well, which are listed publicly on my website. I am not cheap, but I'm also not unreasonably expensive. And I always try to be transparent in my pricing. That means that I prefer not to waste my time on price negotiations. Sometimes, though, potential clients contact me and say, "We'd love to hire you as a speaker. But can we get a discount?" I've found a great way to deal with these discount requests: I ask my customers, "Why?" My usual reply also includes something alone the lines of, "Is there a specific reason you believe you are entitled to a discount?" Without my directly saying yes or no, I've thus bounced the question back to the customer(s), forcing them to consider what they're asking and to give them a chance to point out something that could be of value to me." Jurgen Appelo, Entrepreneur, 14 April 2016 Read more