Chris Croft joined me on the Conquer Local podcast for a price negotiation masterclass aimed at sellers who are tired of giving away margin in every deal.
Most negotiation training is written for buyers. Chris Croft flipped the script on a recent Conquer Local Podcast and gave sellers a masterclass on how to actually get what they are worth. If you sell anything for a living, this conversation is worth your time twice.
Chris runs Chris Croft Training and Management and is one of the most-viewed authors on Udemy and LinkedIn Learning, with 36 courses, 24,000 views a day, and 18 million students. His Negotiation Skills course on Udemy is the most popular negotiating course in the world. When Chris teaches, I take notes.
Set a Walk-Away Point and Actually Walk
Chris opened with the tip most sellers claim they already do but rarely execute. You have to know your walk-away price, and you have to walk. His example was my favorite part:
“If they said to me, ‘Oh, it is a real shame Chris, we have only got 4,990,’ would I say, ‘Oh alright, I’ll do it,’ or would I walk away over ten dollars? The answer is I would walk away over ten dollars. And part of me would be rather sad. But part of me would be really pleased, because that is where my power comes from.”
This is not stubbornness. It is leverage. The moment you show a buyer that you will bend on the walk-away number, every other number becomes negotiable too.
Say No First. Negotiate Only If They Persist.
One of the most practical things Chris shared is his default response to discount requests:
“My first line of defense is just to say no, I cannot. And then I only negotiate if they persist. It is amazing how often I would say 90% of people do not even try. Another 9% just say ‘Okay then, I just thought I’d ask.’ And only 1% actually really squeeze me.”
Read that again. Ninety percent of buyers will not push after a simple no. Most sellers never find that out because they cave on the first ask. Give your customers the chance to prove they really care about the discount before you hand it over.
The Power of “It Depends”
Chris is a huge believer in getting the customer to open first with a number. His trick is a two-word phrase:
“If somebody said to me, ‘What would it cost for a training day?’ I would say, ‘It depends.’ I love the words, it depends. Because it depends how tailored you want it, how much preparation, how many people.”
He then asks for a rough idea of what they are looking for and what they can afford. Suddenly the buyer reveals their budget, and Chris builds a package that uses all of it. This works in almost every service sale.
Sell and Negotiate at the Same Time
The last concept that hit hard is that selling and negotiating should happen in parallel, not sequentially. Most sellers sell hard, get a yes, and then start negotiating from a weak position. Chris flips that. He is negotiating while he is selling, scanning for the buyer’s weaknesses throughout the conversation. Are they in a rush? Do they have nobody else lined up? Is there emotional pressure to close this before a board meeting?
Every one of those signals is a lever when the numbers conversation arrives.
Chris’s Top Price Negotiating Tips for Sellers
A short list of what Chris walked me through on the show:
- Set a walk-away point and honor it
- Hunt for the buyer’s weaknesses throughout the conversation
- Say no to the first discount request
- Trade concessions rather than give them away
- Get the buyer to open first with a number
- Remember that most of the world is a negotiation, whether people realize it or not
Why Experienced Sellers Forget the Basics
What struck me during the conversation is that a lot of experienced sellers quietly forget the fundamentals. They have been on enough calls to get lazy. They skip the walk-away thinking. They accept the first counter. They open with a price before asking any real questions. The cure is a regular return to basics, which is a theme I wrote about in the 10 elements of a successful sales pitch.
If you want to sharpen your whole approach to prospect conversations, also see my piece on Nick Kane on situational fluency and objection handling.
What is one discount you gave in the last ninety days that you wish you had pushed back on? Fix that pattern this quarter. Chris’s techniques will pay for themselves on the first deal.