Why I don't negotiate prices

This is what has worked for me, my business, and my services. I don't share this for you to copy. The lesson is filled with everything of course.

The other day in our new lawn business we got our first client to push back on a price.

They didn't say no.

But reading a text that goes, "Oohhhh that's expensive," tells you everything you need to know.

I quickly wanted to say forget it, move on. But in an effort to be more open-minded with my partner, I wanted to know his thoughts.

He said, "I don't want to lose the relationship because she's our first customer and she did free marketing for us."

Before we go deeper, here's why I don't negotiate prices.

What happens when you do that is you lose leverage. More than you realize everything is a power struggle. And the less control/power you have over your pricing, services, and offers is less control you have over your own business.

Some clients, not all, like to push the boundaries for trying to get discounts. If you discount one thing now, they'll see what else they could back you down later. And I do my competing for business on service, not price.

I had a lawn customer talk me down a few bucks. Next thing you know everything he previously agreed to became a problem. I quickly ended that relationship.

I ended up saying to my partner, "OK, I agree to whatever you decide."

We quoted her $380 and ended up getting $300.

Not bad considering the job only took 2 hours to complete. $150 an hour ain't a bad day at the office.

Moving forward I told my partner for now I'll be cool negotiating prices if the situation calls for it. But, once that phone rings constantly then no more to that.

Why negotiate prices further when new leads are always seeking you out? More often than not a new person will agree to your prices without blinking.

At least that was the case in my first lawn business after getting high reviews, doing good work, and being consistent.

Ultimately, it is a time thing. Is my time better spent going back and forth haggling over a couple of bucks, or building the pipeline for leads to keep finding my business and sorting the best ones that will pay my fees?