Introduction

Most buyers don’t walk away just because of price. Real reasons are often buried beneath the numbers.

What's the problem it solves?

Many teams blame lost deals on price without digging deeper. This article shows that price is rarely the true reason and explains how to uncover what really drives buyers' decisions.

Quick Summary

When deals are lost, people often say it’s because the price was too high. But interviews with over 3,400 buyers show that pricing is not usually the main reason. Most of the time, problems with the product or sales experience are what actually cause buyers to walk away.

Enterprise buyers especially care less about price. Even in smaller deals, price wasn’t the top concern. In fact, only a small portion of “lost due to price” cases were truly about budget. What “price” really means is often something deeper: the buyer didn’t see enough value, the product didn’t meet their needs, or the pricing was unclear.

To win more deals, reps need to ask better questions, clearly show business value, and simplify how pricing is explained. This approach helps buyers understand the value they’re getting, making price less of an issue.

Key Takeaways from the article

• “Too expensive” is often a surface-level excuse, not the real reason deals are lost
• Product fit and sales experience matter more than price in most cases
• Less than 10% of price-related losses are due to actual budget limits
• Big companies are less sensitive to price, and often care more about product quality
• Sellers should ask deeper questions when a buyer brings up price
• Building a clear business case helps buyers see the value and justify the cost
• Clear and simple pricing models reduce confusion and remove barriers
• Anchoring pricing in business outcomes keeps the focus on results, not cost
• Winning deals requires understanding what value means to the buyer, not just offering a lower price

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