What to Say When a Customer Says Your Price Is Too High
You give someone a price for a job, and they respond with something you've probably heard a thousand times.
"That's too expensive."
Now what?
A lot of business owners get uncomfortable at this point. Some immediately start explaining why their prices are what they are. Others offer a discount before the customer has even asked for one.
And some just assume the customer is cheap and move on.
I don't think any of those should be your automatic response.
When a customer tells you your price is too high, the first thing you need to understand is what they actually mean.
Because not every price objection is the same, and how you respond should depend on what's behind it.
This applies to window tinting, detailing, window cleaning, and just about any other service business where customers request estimates and compare their options.
"Too Expensive" Can Mean Several Different Things
Think about the last time someone told you your price was too high.
What were they actually saying?
Maybe they received a cheaper quote from another company.
Maybe they had no idea what the service normally costs and your price surprised them.
Maybe they understand your pricing but simply can't afford it.
Or maybe they don't understand what makes your service different from the less expensive options.
Those are four very different situations.
And there's another possibility that business owners sometimes overlook.
Maybe your price really is too high for what you're offering.
I think it's important to be open to that possibility, too.
Not every customer who questions your price needs to be educated about why you're better. Sometimes they're giving you useful information about how your business compares with the market.
The challenge is figuring out which situation you're dealing with.
What I Would Actually Say First
I wouldn't start with a long explanation about quality, experience, warranties, or why my employees cost more.
I'd ask a simple question.
"Is that more than you were expecting, or are you comparing it to another quote?"
That's it.
Then I'd listen.
You don't need some elaborate sales technique to handle this conversation.
You're trying to understand what's making the customer hesitate.
If they're comparing you to another company, that's one conversation.
If they were expecting the service to cost half as much, that's another.
And if they simply don't have the budget right now, that's something different again.
I think too many business owners treat every pricing objection as something they need to overcome.
Sometimes you can help the customer make a better-informed decision.
Sometimes you can offer a different option.
And sometimes they're just not going to buy.
That's okay.
When the Customer Has a Cheaper Quote
Let's say you're quoting a residential window film project for $2,800.
The customer tells you another company quoted $2,200.
That's a meaningful difference.
But before assuming the other company is underpricing the job, I'd want to understand what they're quoting.
Is it the same type of film?
Are they including the same windows?
Are there differences in film performance, warranty coverage, installation requirements, or project scope?
And are those differences important to the customer?
There's nothing wrong with helping someone understand what they're comparing.
You could say something like:
"That's a pretty big difference. Do you know if they're quoting the same type of film? I'm happy to go through what we've included so you can compare them properly."
I wouldn't automatically criticize the competitor.
And I definitely wouldn't invent reasons their work might be worse.
If the other company is offering a genuinely comparable service for less money, you should be willing to acknowledge that.
You might still have advantages in reputation, responsiveness, experience, or the overall customer experience.
But if there isn't a meaningful difference, you shouldn't pretend there is.
You can explain what your price includes and let the customer make an informed decision.
They might choose you.
They might not.
Either way, I think that's a much better approach than immediately matching the other price without understanding anything about it.
When the Customer Doesn't Have the Budget
This is where I think having options can make a big difference.
Imagine someone contacts your company because their home gets unbearably hot in the afternoon.
You visit the property and quote window film for the entire house.
The total comes to $4,500.
The customer tells you they were hoping to spend closer to $2,000.
You could try to convince them that $4,500 is worth it.
Or you could ask a better question.
"Which rooms are giving you the biggest problems?"
Maybe most of the discomfort is coming from the west-facing windows in the living room and kitchen.
Maybe treating those windows first would address the customer's biggest concern, assuming the appropriate film is suitable for the glass.
Now you have something useful to offer.
Instead of discounting the entire project, you can prepare an estimate for those windows.
The customer gets help with the problem that matters most.
You still charge a price that makes sense for the work you're performing.
And the remaining windows can be addressed later if the customer wants to.
This applies to other industries, too.
A detailing customer may not need your most comprehensive package.
A window cleaning customer might want exterior glass cleaned now and additional services another time.
A business owner hiring a consultant may have one specific issue they need to work through rather than committing to a larger engagement.
You don't always need to make the same service cheaper. Sometimes you need to offer a different service or a smaller scope.
Of course, that alternative still needs to make financial sense for your business.
When the Customer Doesn't Understand the Value
This is probably the most frustrating situation because you might know that you're delivering something genuinely better.
But the customer doesn't see it.
Let's say two companies are quoting the same vehicle.
One charges $350.
The other charges $500.
To someone who doesn't know much about window film, those might look like two prices for the same thing.
After all, both companies are tinting the windows.
But there may be meaningful differences in the products, installation process, warranty, customer experience, or other things included in the service.
If those differences are real, they should be easy for the customer to understand.
Not because you deliver a ten-minute speech about how great your business is.
But because you've built a sales process that explains the options clearly.
What film are you recommending?
What are the relevant performance characteristics?
What does the warranty actually cover?
What should the customer expect during and after installation?
Why are you recommending that particular option for their needs?
I think the best sales processes make the customer feel informed rather than sold to.
When we were building Window Tint LA, one of the things we worked on was making the quoting process more consistent and getting proposals into customers' hands while we were still speaking with them.
I've written about that in Why "I'll Send It Later" Is Costing You Sales.
But getting a quote out quickly is only part of it.
The customer also needs to understand what they're being offered.
If all they receive is a number, you shouldn't be surprised when all they compare is the number.
Should You Offer a Discount When Someone Says You're Too Expensive?
Sometimes a discount makes sense.
Maybe combining two projects saves you a second trip.
Maybe the customer is flexible with scheduling, allowing you to fill otherwise unused capacity.
Maybe there's a legitimate commercial reason to adjust your price.
I wouldn't say you should never discount.
But I would be careful about discounting simply because someone questioned your price.
Here's a simple example.
You sell a service for $650.
Your direct variable costs are $400.
That leaves $250 to cover fixed overhead and profit.
Now a customer asks for $50 off, and you agree.
You're charging $600 for the same job.
Your costs haven't changed.
But instead of $250, you now have $200 left.
A $50 discount reduced the amount available to cover overhead and profit by 20%.
To generate the same total contribution, you'd now need to sell 25% more of those jobs.
That's a significant difference for what might feel like a relatively small discount.
And if your employees get accustomed to offering discounts every time someone hesitates, that can become a much bigger problem across the business.
The point isn't that discounts are bad.
It's that you should understand what you're giving up and what you're getting in return.
If you're changing the price, I'd want there to be a reason beyond being uncomfortable with the conversation.
I've covered the broader economics in Still Charging 2015 Prices? Here's What That's Costing Your Business.
When Someone Asks, "What's the Best Price You Can Do?"
I think this is where a lot of salespeople negotiate against themselves.
A customer asks for your best price, and you immediately start lowering it.
But what if the original price was already fair?
What if you had properly calculated the labor, materials, overhead, and margin needed to complete the work?
Why would that number suddenly change?
I wouldn't be offended by the question. People ask for better prices all the time.
I'd simply explain that the quote reflects what the job includes.
If there are legitimate alternatives that cost less, I'd offer them.
Something along the lines of:
"That's the price for the work we've quoted. If you want to get the total down, we can look at some other options."
That's a perfectly reasonable answer.
You don't need to apologize for your pricing.
And you don't need to make the customer feel bad for asking.
You're both just trying to determine whether there's a way to do business that makes sense.
Sometimes the Problem Started Before You Gave the Price
This is worth thinking about.
Imagine a customer contacts three window tint shops.
The first replies with a price.
The second takes two days to respond, then sends a price.
The third asks a few relevant questions, explains the film options, provides a clear proposal, and answers the customer's questions.
All three might provide excellent installations.
But the customer doesn't know that yet.
They're forming an opinion based on what they've experienced.
When customers have very little information to compare, price becomes one of the easiest things to compare.
That doesn't mean you need to turn every quote into a complicated presentation.
In fact, I think the opposite is usually better.
Make the process easy.
Respond promptly.
Ask the right questions.
Explain the options.
Send a clear quote.
Follow up when appropriate.
Give customers a reason to feel comfortable doing business with you.
A good customer experience doesn't guarantee that you'll win the job.
But it can give people something to consider beyond the price.
And unlike your competitors' pricing, much of that process is directly within your control.
What If Everyone Keeps Telling You You're Too Expensive?
Here's where I'd stop thinking about individual objections and start looking at the bigger picture.
One customer saying you're expensive doesn't tell you much.
Twenty customers telling you the same thing might.
But even then, I'd want to look deeper.
Are the objections coming from one particular service?
One advertising campaign?
Customers in a certain area?
People looking for the least expensive product?
Or customers who genuinely want the service you're offering but consistently find similar options elsewhere for less?
I'd review your estimates, conversion rates, and the reasons customers say they didn't proceed.
And I'd be careful about assuming that everyone who doesn't buy is rejecting the price. If they stop responding, you might not actually know why.
If you're consistently losing comparable jobs on price, there may be something worth changing.
Maybe you're targeting the wrong customers.
Maybe your team isn't explaining the options clearly.
Maybe you have too much overhead.
Maybe there's a more efficient way to perform the work.
Or maybe your price really does need to come down.
Confidence in your pricing is important.
But confidence shouldn't become an excuse to ignore what the market is telling you.
What I'd Have My Team Do Starting Tomorrow
If you have employees handling estimates or sales conversations, I think this is worth discussing with them.
Not so they can memorize a script.
But so everyone understands what you're trying to accomplish when someone questions the price.
I'd want them to do four things:
Ask one useful question before responding. Find out whether the customer is comparing another quote, working within a budget, or simply surprised by the cost.
Explain the relevant differences, not everything about the business. Focus on what actually matters to that customer. Don't overwhelm someone with features they didn't ask about.
Offer a legitimate alternative when one exists. A different product, a smaller scope, or another appropriate service can be more useful than a discount. Never promise the same result if the alternative can't deliver it.
Be comfortable when the answer is no. Not every customer is going to choose you, and that's fine. Thank them for considering your business and leave the door open.
Then I'd look at the results over time.
Are customers responding better?
Are we winning more of the right jobs?
Are discounts going down?
Are we maintaining healthy margins?
Those results matter far more than whether your team followed a particular script word for word.
You Don't Need to Win Every Price Conversation
I think one of the biggest changes a business owner can make is getting comfortable with the fact that some customers aren't going to buy.
That's not necessarily a failure.
You can do everything right and still lose a job.
You can respond quickly, provide a fair price, explain your service clearly, answer every question, and deliver an excellent proposal.
And the customer might choose someone else.
What matters is that you've given them a reason to choose you and a clear understanding of what they're paying for.
If they still prefer another option, that's their decision.
You don't need to chase every job until the price is so low that winning it barely makes sense.
At the same time, don't dismiss every lost sale by telling yourself the customer was just shopping for the cheapest price.
There's usually something worth learning.
When someone tells you your price is too high, don't automatically defend it, discount it, or dismiss them.
Find out why.
Sometimes the right answer is a better explanation.
Sometimes it's a different option.
Sometimes it's an adjustment to how your business operates or prices its services.
And sometimes the right answer is simply letting the job go.
The goal isn't to convince everyone that you're worth what you charge.
It's to build a business that knows what it needs to charge, communicates its value clearly, and earns enough from the work it wins to keep delivering that value.
If pricing or sales conversations are something you're struggling with, I also work one-on-one with service business owners to help them think through those kinds of decisions.