Episode #341: Haggling Over The Sales Price In Japan

Executives in Japan know the consumer rule: the sticker price is the price. But in B2B—especially for services—price negotiation is normal, and poorly handled discounting can destroy margins, trust, and long-term positioning. If your sales team drops price before defending value, you’re not “accelerating deals.” You’re training buyers to attack your pricing forever.

Services are intangible. Unlike a physical product you can touch, weigh, or compare side-by-side, a service feels like a promise. That uncertainty makes buyers more sensitive to price and more likely to test how low you’ll go.

So the seller’s job is to remove the mystery by making value visible:

• What outcome will the client get?

• What risk will be reduced?

• What growth or savings will be created?

• Why is your approach uniquely reliable?

Mini-summary: Because services are harder to “see,” sellers must prove value before discussing discounts.

What goes wrong when salespeople discount immediately?

When a salesperson offers a discount too early, they signal three things—none of them good:

1. The original price was not real.

2. The service value is unclear.

3. The seller might be desperate.

That quickly shifts the buyer’s mindset from “Is this worth it?” to “How much lower can I push them?”

Mini-summary: Early discounting doesn’t close deals faster—it resets the buyer’s expectation that price is negotiable and value is vague.

How does a massive first discount destroy your pricing floor?

A real example: list price ¥400,000 becomes ¥250,000 without the buyer even pushing back. That’s a 37.5% drop right out of the gate.

At that moment, the buyer loses any anchor for value. The new price becomes the ceiling, not the deal. The buyer then starts searching for the real floor by counter-offering something extreme, like:

“This isn’t in my budget. Best I can do is ¥90,000.”

Now you’re staring at a 77.5% discount—because you gave away your authority before the negotiation even started.

Mini-summary: Big, unforced discounts erase your floor and invite aggressive counter-offers.

What is the right way to negotiate service prices?

Start at full price and defend it with value.

Only discount if the buyer pushes back after they understand the outcomes. And when you discount:

• Make it small

• Make it conditional

• Make the floor clear

A strong pattern looks like this:

1. Hold at ¥400,000 with value justification.

2. If pushed, offer 12.5% reduction → ¥350,000.

3. Next concession is tiny → ¥340,000.

4. Final floor → ¥330,000 (17.5% total).

5. Then you stop.

This protects margin and signals that your pricing is built on real worth, not improvisation.

Mini-summary: Sell value first, discount second, and never move without a clear floor.

Telling buyers there’s a deadline usually gives them more power, not you.

If you say, “This discount is only valid until X date,” the buyer thinks:

• “Am I in a hurry?” → No.

• “Do I care about your deadline?” → No.

• “So why are you discounting?” → Because you need it, not me.

Deadlines reveal seller pressure, which invites lower offers and delays decisions.

Mini-summary: Deadlines communicate weakness; value communication creates urgency without surrendering power.

When should you discount at all?

Discount only in exchange for something meaningful—typically volume or scope certainty:

• multi-year commitment

• larger rollout

• bundled services

• faster payment terms

• referrals or case studies

This keeps the negotiation balanced: give a little, get a lot.

Mini-summary: Discounts are acceptable only when they buy you something strategic.

What is BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and why does it matter?

BATNA is your minimum acceptable outcome—your walk-away point.

In Japanese business culture, walking away can feel uncomfortable, but without a BATNA you’ll keep conceding until profitability disappears.

Your sales team must know:

• the lowest defensible price

• when to stop negotiating

• how to exit confidently and professionally

Mini-summary: BATNA keeps you in control; without it, the buyer controls the whole game.

How do you handle a “sports negotiator”?

A “sports negotiator” is someone who negotiates for ego, not value. They want to “win,” and even small concessions won’t end the game.

If you’ve clearly communicated value and they still keep grinding you for symbolic cuts, stop.

Walking away is sometimes the only move that protects your brand and future pricing.

Mini-summary: If negotiation becomes a game, end it fast—profit and credibility depend on it.

• Don’t discount before you defend value—early discounts train buyers to demand more.

• Set a high floor and make concessions small and conditional.

• Avoid deadline pressure; it signals seller weakness.

• Use BATNA to walk away confidently when price no longer reflects value.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate client ever since.