Episode #52: Dealing With Buyer Push Back

Why do so many sales teams lose confidence in their own pricing?

In many companies, the boss sets the price and then tells the sales team to “go out and sell.” Sometimes that price is based on careful calculations of direct and indirect costs plus a reasonable profit margin. Other times… it’s more like a wet finger held up to the wind.

Here’s the real problem: salespeople don’t believe theories of pricing. They believe the market.
If the moment a client pushes back, leadership immediately folds and drops the price, every salesperson learns one thing: “This price was never real.”

When salespeople don’t believe in the value behind the price:

• They default to discounting “just to win something”

• They train buyers to wait for last-minute discounts

• They damage the brand and positioning their own boss cares about

Mini-summary: When leadership doesn’t defend the price, salespeople lose faith in it—and once confidence disappears, discounting becomes the default behavior.

Once buyers learn that pushing hard at the end produces a big discount, they will repeat that behavior every time. This is especially true in Japan, where long-term relationships and consistency matter.

Typical pattern:

1. Seller is under pressure to “make the month.”

2. Buyer says, “The price is too high. We can’t afford this.”

3. Seller panics and offers a steep discount right before the deadline.

4. Buyer learns: “If I push, I win.”

Some buyers even treat this as “sports negotiating”—they enjoy testing how desperate the salesperson is, how far they can push, and how low the price can go.

Mini-summary: Discounting under pressure doesn’t just hurt one deal; it teaches buyers to treat every negotiation as a game to force the lowest possible price.

Why is discounting especially dangerous in Japan?

In Japan, once you drop the price with a specific client, that lower price becomes the new baseline—often permanently.

Even if you insist, “This is a one-time special offer, a never-to-be-repeated opportunity,” the Japanese buyer hears something very different:

“I got it for this amount once. Next time I might get it for even less.”

Practically speaking:

• When you cut the price, that number becomes the client’s reference point.

• Raising the price later is extremely difficult and often requires being ready to walk away from the relationship altogether.

• Your own salespeople also internalize the lower price as “what this is really worth.”

Mini-summary: In Japan, discounting locks in a new, lower price level in the buyer’s mind—and often in your sales team’s mind too—making future price increases extremely difficult.

There are two parallel consequences:

1. On the buyer side:

   • They assume the original price was fiction.

   • They believe they “won” by pushing harder.

   • They will push even more in the future.

2. On the seller side (your team):

   • Salespeople believe, “This is the real price; the official price is fake.”

   • They lose confidence to defend value.

   • They become price-cut operators instead of value-creating professionals.

Over time, both sides end up in full agreement that:

“The listed price is not real.”

At this point, only decisive leadership can reset expectations by drawing a firm line:

“If they won’t accept this price, we are prepared to burn that deal.”

Mini-summary: Discounting convinces both buyer and seller that the official price is a fiction; leadership must be willing to walk away from bad deals to restore pricing credibility.

Most salespeople react the wrong way. They immediately:

• Apologize for the price

• Offer a discount (for example, dropping 20% on the spot)

• Start “telling” all the reasons why the price is justified

This is a major mistake. Instead, train your team to follow this sequence:

1. Agree first, don’t argue.

   • Say something like:

     “You’re right, it is a considerable investment.”

   • This keeps the buyer listening instead of going into mental “combat mode.”

2. Ask a clarifying question.

   • For example:

     “You mentioned the price is too high—may I ask why you feel that way?”

3. Stay silent and listen 100%.

   • Don’t interrupt.

   • Don’t justify.

   • Let the buyer fully explain their constraints, budget cycles, and internal pressures.

By doing this, you switch the burden of explanation. Instead of you justifying the price, the buyer now has to justify why it supposedly doesn’t work for them.

Mini-summary: Don’t argue or rush to discount when you hear “too expensive”—agree, ask why, and listen deeply so you can uncover the real barrier.

Once the buyer explains why they feel the price is too high, you gain valuable information:

• Budget timing (this quarter vs next quarter)

• Internal approval limits

• Volume potential

• Cash flow constraints

With these insights, you can design flexible solutions that protect value while supporting the client:

• Structuring payments over two budget periods

• Extending payment terms instead of cutting price

• Offering volume-based discounts rather than “one-off” cuts

• Adding value rather than subtracting price

The key is to never stop asking focused, respectful questions. If the buyer digresses into unrelated topics, bring them gently back to the core issue. If their answers are vague, keep digging—professionally and calmly.

Mini-summary: Deep questioning uncovers the real constraints behind price objections, allowing you to design solutions that protect profitability while genuinely helping the client.

Both 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (foreign-capital / multinational companies) operating in 東京 (Tokyo) face similar pricing challenges:

• Local customers expecting lifetime discounts once the price drops

• Global headquarters demanding margin protection and brand integrity

• Sales teams caught between “global list price” and “local discount pressure”

This is where structured 営業研修 (sales training) becomes critical. When salespeople are trained to:

• Defend value instead of collapsing on price

• Handle price objections through questions, not arguments

• Recognize “sports negotiating” and respond strategically

…they become trusted advisors rather than “discount dispensers.”

Mini-summary: In Japan, both local and multinational firms need sales teams trained to protect value, manage Japanese pricing expectations, and align with global brand and margin requirements.

How does Dale Carnegie Tokyo support leaders and sales teams?

Dale Carnegie Training has more than 100 years of global experience and over 60 years in Tokyo helping companies build confident, value-driven communicators.

For executives and managers in Japan, we support:

• リーダーシップ研修 (leadership training):
  Equip leaders to set and defend clear pricing strategies, and coach their teams to stay strong under pressure.

• 営業研修 (sales training):
  Develop questioning skills, objection handling, negotiation strategies, and value-based selling for Japanese and multinational clients.

• プレゼンテーション研修 (presentation training):
  Help sales and leadership teams clearly present value, ROI, and pricing logic to senior decision-makers.

• エグゼクティブ・コーチング (executive coaching):
  One-on-one support for senior leaders to balance growth, profitability, and long-term client relationships.

• DEI研修 (DEI training):
  Build inclusive, high-trust cultures where diverse sales and leadership teams can perform at their best.

Mini-summary: Dale Carnegie Tokyo aligns global best practices with Japan’s business culture to help leaders and sales teams defend value, protect margins, and build stronger client relationships.

1. Defend your price point—even if you lose some business.
   Protect the brand and long-term positioning instead of chasing every discount-driven deal.

2. Make sure the price–value equation is crystal clear.
   Both the salesperson and the buyer must understand why the price is set at that level.

3. Recognize that once you discount, you reset the baseline.
   In Japan, that lower number becomes the new standard—or a step toward an even lower one.

4. Don’t argue—ask questions.
   Replace immediate discounting with well-designed questions to uncover the real reason behind resistance.

Mini-summary: Strong pricing requires both leadership courage and skilled sales behavior—clarity on value, disciplined refusal to collapse, and expert questioning at moments of pressure.

• Pricing is a belief system. If leadership doesn’t defend the price, salespeople and buyers will quickly decide it is not real.

• Discounting trains the market. Once buyers see last-minute concessions, they will expect and demand them in every future deal.

• Japan makes price resets harder. With Japanese clients, a lower price often becomes a permanent reference point, making future increases extremely difficult.

• Questions beat discounts. The most powerful response to “too expensive” is not a price cut, but a thoughtful question and deep listening to truly understand the client’s situation.

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 clients ever since through world-class リーダーシップ研修 (leadership training), 営業研修 (sales training), プレゼンテーション研修 (presentation training), エグゼクティブ・コーチング (executive coaching), and DEI研修 (DEI training).