What I do when prospects start haggling on price

Pricing is always a dance, and when a prospect starts pushing back, here’s how I keep things focused, comfortable, and in my control:

Step 1: I don’t drop the number. I reduce the scope.

Instead of negotiating against myself, I ask: “What would you like to remove from the scope to reach your target budget?”

This puts the ball in their court and keeps the value of my work intact.

Step 2: I define clear tiers for reduction.

If they want to shave cost, I already know how to trim. From a recent example:

1st reduction: Build on n8n native cloud instead of self-hosted on AWS, faster setup, fewer moving parts.
2nd reduction: Stick to rule-based or simpler templated replies first. Delay fine-tuned LLM or RAG integration.
3rd reduction: Start with just 2–3 email categories, not 10. Scale once results are proven.

Step 3: I make it about outcomes.

I remind them: “The more we reduce, the less automation you get up front. Totally fine, we just want to be intentional about the tradeoffs.”

This shifts the conversation from “how much can I squeeze you” to “what’s the real goal and how do we build toward it?”

Keeps things clean. Keeps me in a trusted position.

Hope this helps someone out there! 🙏

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