By
Simon Hazeldine
Many sales leaders blame the market for shrinking margins.
“The competition is aggressive.”
“Customers are more price sensitive.”
“Procurement is tougher than ever.”
Those statements may be true, but they are not the full story.
In many organisations, discounting is not a market issue.
It is a conditioning issue.
Your sales team is not losing margin because the market demands it. They are losing margin because they have not been trained to handle pricing pressure with the same discipline and repetition they apply to prospecting or pipeline management.
You do not solve a conditioning problem with a pricing policy.
You solve it with a pricing fitness routine.
The Real Reason Sellers Discount Too Quickly
When price pressure appears, most sellers react emotionally, not strategically.
They feel tension.
They want to preserve rapport.
They want the deal to move forward.
They want to avoid confrontation.
So they discount.
This behaviour is rarely a conscious commercial decision. It is a reflex. And reflexes are built through conditioning.
If your team has not practised holding margin under pressure, they will not suddenly develop that skill in front of a tough buyer.
No athlete walks into a championship and hopes fitness appears.
They train.
Pricing resilience is no different.
The Pricing Fitness Mindset
You cannot treat pricing as a one-off skill. It must become part of your team’s weekly performance routine.
Think of it like a gym programme. Strength comes from:
• Repetition
• Controlled stress
• Feedback
• Technique refinement
The goal is not to make sellers aggressive. It is to make them comfortable with tension, confident in value, and disciplined in negotiation.
The Pricing Fitness Routine
Here is a simple structure sales leaders can use with their teams.
1. The Margin Hold Drill
Purpose: Train sellers to resist immediate discount reflexes.
In role-play scenarios, the buyer asks for a discount within the first two minutes. The seller must respond without offering price movement.
Acceptable responses include:
“I understand cost is important. Can we explore what you are comparing this to?”
“Before we talk numbers, can we confirm the outcomes you need to achieve?”
“What specifically feels misaligned between value and price?”
The aim is not to avoid price. It is to delay premature concession.
Run this drill weekly. Sellers build tolerance to pricing pressure through repetition.
2. The Value Rebuild Drill
Purpose: Strengthen value articulation under pressure.
The seller must restate:
• The business problem
• The impact of not solving it
• The specific outcomes their solution delivers
All without mentioning price.
Example script:
“Based on what you shared, the risk of not addressing this is extended downtime, reduced output, and increased operating costs. Our approach removes that risk and gives you predictability. That is what the investment reflects.”
If sellers cannot confidently re-anchor value, discounting becomes the easy escape.
3. The Trade-Off Discipline Drill
Purpose: Replace discounts with exchanges.
Sellers practise conditional language:
“If we were to adjust pricing, what would you be able to adjust on your side?”
“We can look at investment options. That usually means adjusting scope, timeline, or terms. Which area would you like to explore?”
This reframes price movement as negotiation, not surrender.
4. The Silence Reps
Purpose: Build comfort with tension.
After responding to a pricing objection, the seller must stay silent. No nervous justification. No over-talking.
Silence is uncomfortable at first. But it signals confidence. Buyers often speak next and reveal useful information.
Comfort with silence is a margin skill.
The Language Patterns That Protect Margin
Elite sellers use consistent language that reinforces value and position.
Replace:
“We might be able to do something on price.”
With:
“Let’s make sure we fully understand the outcomes before discussing adjustments.”
Replace:
“That’s our list price.”
With:
“That reflects the scope and impact we’ve discussed.”
Replace:
“I will see what I can do.”
With:
“If we adjust pricing, we would need to adjust something in return.”
These small language shifts change the power dynamic.
The Leadership Role
Sales leaders often undermine pricing discipline without realising it.
When leaders focus pipeline reviews only on revenue, not margin, sellers learn what truly matters.
When managers override pricing discipline to “get the deal over the line,” they destroy conditioning overnight.
Leaders must:
• Measure margin as well as revenue
• Recognise sellers who hold price
• Coach pricing conversations, not just activity
• Treat discounting as a behavioural issue, not a tactical one
If leaders do not reinforce the fitness routine, it collapses.
The Cultural Shift
In high-performing sales organisations, discounting is not the first move. It is the last move.
Price becomes a strategic lever, not an emotional release valve.
Sellers feel confident saying:
“Let’s talk about value first.”
“What are we solving?”
“What happens if this is not addressed?”
When value confidence increases, margin resilience follows.
Final Thought
You cannot lecture your team into pricing discipline.
You must train it.
Discounting is rarely about market pressure. It is about seller conditioning. And conditioning changes through practice, feedback, and leadership reinforcement.
If you want stronger margins, build a Pricing Gym.
Not once a year.
Every week.
That is how you turn pricing from a vulnerability into a competitive advantage.
PS You may find this recent episode from my “Sales Chat Show” podcast useful:
“Find Out Why Discounting Is The Last Thing You Should Do Not The First Thing You Should Do”
The “Sales Chat Show” is also available from all the major podcast platforms.
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About the author
Simon Hazeldine works internationally as a revenue growth and sales performance speaker, consultant, and coach. He empowers his clients to get more sales, more often with more margin.
He has spoken in over thirty countries and his client list includes some of the world’s largest and most successful companies.
Simon has a master’s degree in psychology, is the bestselling author of ten books that have been endorsed by a host of business leaders including multi-billionaire business legend Michael Dell and is co-founder of leading sales podcast “The Sales Chat Show”.
He is the creator of the neuroscience based “Brain Friendly Selling”® methodology.
Simon Hazeldine’s books:
- Neuro-Sell: How Neuroscience Can Power Your Sales Success
- Bare Knuckle Selling
- Bare Knuckle Negotiating
- Bare Knuckle Customer Service
- The Inner Winner
- How To Lead Your Sales Team – Virtually and in Person
- Virtual Selling Success
- How To Manage Your People’s Performance
- How To Create Effective Employee Development Plans
- Virtual Negotiation Success
