Ask Customers For A Reason When They Ask For A Discount

You can’t blame customers for driving a hard bargain but sometimes it’s hard to say no when they ask for a discount for your goods or services. Often you don’t want to refuse as it may damage an existing relationship. One way to approach this situation is to ask your customer why they want a discount in the first place.

Money jar image from Shutterstock

Over at Entrepreneur, professional public speaker Jurgen Appelo said he often gets asked to speak at events for a special price. He said the best way to respond is to ask the client whether they had a specific reason to ask for a discount.

Appelo explained why he favoured this method:

” 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.

“… I merely ask them ‘Why’ because it’s quite possible that they have a very good reason! It all comes down to customizing the value exchange.”

It could be that the client who wants a discount could actively help you bring in new customers or can offer you other perks. By asking “Why?” you will then have more information to assess whether or not it is worth giving a discount to a particular customer.

You can read more about how Appelo deals with haggling customers over at Entrepreneur.

[Via Entrepreneur]


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