Woah — that’s expensive

“Wow, that’s expensive!”

It’s an uneasy moment when a client reacts this way to seeing the price you worked so hard on putting together for them. Instinctively, you feel the urge to explain yourself.

You start rattling off justifications — breaking down line items, explaining the time and expenses, or even offering up some kind of discount.

While that’s a natural response, I don’t think it actually helps (you or your client).

What if, instead, you just agreed?

“Yes, it is.”

Sounds crazy, right? That’s what I thought too when I heard Mike Killen suggest this idea a few years back. His approach is slightly more abrasive than mine, but, having done it several times now, I feel like I’ve seen the light.

When a client says something is expensive, they’re not necessarily asking for justification or looking for a discount… And offering those things up is their sign you’re asking them to negotiate.

The first time I tried this, I thought I had made a massive mistake. The silence that followed felt like it lasted forever, and my skin started crawling. I was a millisecond away from caving in when the client said, “When can we start?”.

Had I launched into my justification campaign, I would have been handing them opportunities to negotiate and question if that was my “real” price. Instead, by agreeing, I disarmed them and let them ‘win’. They’re right — it is expensive… So what’s there to argue about?

Clients can sense our nervousness when we’re not confident in our delivery. But when you own it — when you say “Yes, it is” with calm confidence — it reassures them that your pricing is intentional.

We have to remember, we’re there to help our clients — we’re on their side. We’re offering to give our time and talents to help them succeed — not trying to squeeze every last penny out of them.

If your price instantly drops the moment it’s questioned, what does that say? Were your numbers inflated? Were you just making it up? They’d have every right to question your intentions and if they are getting screwed.