\u201cI see the same product at a much lower price.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Then comes the question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan you match this price?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, I had exactly this situation with a customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The customer found a similar product online at around USD 2.56\u20132.79 and asked whether we could offer USD 2.67 for 200 pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My answer was simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, we cannot do this price.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n I was not worried about saying no. We knew our cost, our manufacturing process, and the value of our product. We also believed that the products were not necessarily exactly the same just because they looked similar in a picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I tried to explain this to the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I told him that there would always be cheaper products in the market. I also mentioned that customers may not always choose the cheapest product. They may care more about quality, functionality and overall value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of these points were reasonable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But looking back at the conversation, I realized something important:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being right does not mean you need to prove that you are right immediately.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And this is a lesson I want to remind myself of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is nothing wrong with defending your price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, sometimes saying \u201cno\u201d is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the customer’s target price is below our reasonable production cost, blindly reducing the price may create bigger problems later. We may have to reduce material quality, packaging, production standards or service just to make the numbers work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is not a healthy business relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem was that I became too eager to explain why our product was worth more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I started talking about what the customer’s end customers might want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I said that customers may go to a store not only for a cheaper product, but also for a premium and functional one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, the idea itself was not wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there was something missing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had not verified the facts yet.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I had only seen a screenshot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I did not know whether the competitor’s product had exactly the same material, structure, dimensions, packaging, quality standard, or manufacturing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So instead of asking questions, I started making assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is where a salesperson can easily become defensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And worse, we may accidentally make the customer feel that we are teaching them how to do their business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is not what we want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most interesting part of the conversation came later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The customer said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will get a sample from them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n And I suddenly realized:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was actually the best possible response.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of continuing to discuss the price, we could simply compare the two samples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Put them side by side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at the material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check the structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check the thickness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check the finishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check the functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check the packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then we can discuss whether the price difference is reasonable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is much stronger than saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur product is better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Because we don’t have to tell the customer what to believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can let the products speak for themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is something I want to remember in future negotiations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you don’t have enough facts, don’t rush to explain. Ask.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n When there is a price difference, don’t immediately argue. Compare.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n When you believe your product has higher value, don’t force the customer to agree. Give them evidence.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Sometimes when a customer challenges our price, we subconsciously treat the conversation like a negotiation battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The customer says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour price is too high.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n And we think:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI need to prove that my price is reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n But the customer is not necessarily trying to attack us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They may simply be doing their job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A buyer needs to compare suppliers, control costs and make the best purchasing decision for their company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From their perspective, finding a cheaper supplier is completely normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our job is not to stop them from comparing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our job is to make sure the comparison is fair and complete<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If another supplier can genuinely provide the same product, same quality, same service and same conditions at a lower price, then perhaps the customer should choose them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is nothing personal about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if there are meaningful differences, then our responsibility is to help the customer see those differences clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is much more professional than trying to \u201cwin\u201d the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was also one sentence in my conversation that I later felt was unnecessary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe believe you will make the good decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n At first glance, it sounds polite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But thinking about it again, it can easily sound like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know what the right decision is, and we hope you choose correctly.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That can unintentionally create distance between the salesperson and the buyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A better attitude would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease compare both samples, and we believe the differences will become clear.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The difference is subtle, but important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first one tries to influence the customer’s decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second one gives the customer space to make the decision based on facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respect the customer’s ability to decide.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This experience reminded me that good salespeople don’t always need the fastest answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes the strongest response is simply:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI see. Let’s compare.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n A lower price is not automatically a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A customer questioning our price is not an attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And a competitor’s quotation is not something we need to immediately defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before making assumptions, go back to the facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do we know?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What don’t we know?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What should we verify?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What should we compare?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This simple process can prevent many unnecessary arguments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am still learning this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And perhaps that is the most important lesson from this case:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t be so eager to prove that you are right.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In international trade, the goal is not to win every conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal is to help the customer make a confident decision \u2014 while making sure they understand the real value behind your price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let the facts speak. Let the sample speak. Let the product speak.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And sometimes, that is much more powerful than anything a salesperson can say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In international trade, price comparison is something almost every salesperson will face. A customer may suddenly send you a screenshot from Alibaba and say: \u201cI see the same product at a much lower price.\u201d Then comes the question: \u201cCan you match this price?\u201d Recently, I had exactly this situation with a customer. The customer found […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1085,"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions\/1085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hq-kitchen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
The Problem Was Not My Position. It Was My Approach.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Better Way: Compare, Don’t Argue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Customers Are Not Our Opponents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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One Sentence I Should Have Avoided<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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My Reminder to Myself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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