Don’t Give Anything Away for Free During Negotiations

At some point in your sales career (often as you near the end of a sales negotiation), a buyer will ask you for “free stuff”. Sometimes the request will be big. Other times the demand will be small. Regardless of the size, we recommend never giving away anything for free if you want to protect your brand and your reputation.

If you want to build a balanced, long-term and mutually beneficial relationship, giving away such things as price concessions, scope increases, time changes, or terms and conditions decreases their value and encourages your clients to negotiate for more. This can cut into your margins and lessen the perceived value of your products and services.

When a client asks for something for free (or for something that is additional), it is OK to say “Yes” as long as you get something of equal or greater value in return. When a corresponding change of scope, deliverables or timing is no longer possible, here are some examples of what you can ask for in return that are typically easy for clients to give:

1. A referral to another potential internal or external client.
   
   
2. A reference or testimonial.
   
   
3. A joint client case study.
   
   
4. Access to the executive team.
   
   
5. Participating in a customer advisory board.