Offering a discount

Offering a discount is the crutch of a bad salesperson.

However, I am certainly guilty of offering ‘mates rates’ to win a new customer.

As a blanket rule I would say don’t offer discounts unless there is absolutely no other way to get the customer over the line. Even then, it is often times better to walk away from a single deal, than to lower your brand value.

50% off, end-of-season-sales, are really for marketing. They succeed at getting new customers quite well with it. As a salesperson, I tend to think of this activity as old stock clearance, or preparation for a new product. I think a lot of these net-new customers are fair-weather-friends and not really part of our 1,000 loyal customers or ideal.

I would always hold the brand and price high, create the perception of quality in the market, then if there is a market disaster, like lockdown, or an economic collapse you can lower your price and soak up the market share. It’s a great tactic to get rid of your competition.

Offering a discount can be an appealing tool to capture a new customer, but nearly always they will not value your brand, constantly want more, and they want it cheaper. If you traced back the negotiation tactic of all your most painful customers I bet you a crisp twenty dollar bill that a discount was involved.