They negotiate because they’re scared of you.
“Price is high.”
“Let me think about it.”
Different words. Same root problem.
They don’t clearly see the ROI.
So stop pitching for a moment.
Change your role.
Your job is not to sell.
Your job is to de-risk and prove ROI.
De-riskification
Humans avoid loss before they chase upside.
Buyers worry about:
Money → “What if this doesn’t work?”
Time → “What if this drags on for months?”
Effort → “What if this eats 3h a day?”
Data → “What if my data gets messed up?”
Not every deal has all four.
Your mistake is trying to defend against all four.
Identify the real fear.
Neutralize only that.
Examples:
Time risk → “X outcome in Y days or you pay $0”
Money risk → “I’ll do X or I work free until it’s done”
Effort risk → “3 short inputs. No internal workload”
Data risk → Read-only access. Reversible changes. Clear scope
Prove ROI
We don’t sell AI by saying “trust us”.
We make ROI obvious before commitment.
Two entry paths. Different friction. Same goal.
28-day AI audit for fast movers
7-day AI sprint for cautious buyers
Both do the same thing:
expose growth constraints
identify real leverage
deliver a clear roadmap
By the time the main offer shows up:
risk is already reduced
ROI is already visible
trust is already built
The yes or no question turns into a strategy question.
TL;DR
Lower the barrier. Prove ROI first.
Once trust is built, the core offer sells itself.
Drop the objection you hear most.
Others should be taking notes here.