October 1, 2024

Anchoring Without Pricing

Some people say that the first person to throw out a number in a price negotiation will lose by leaving a lot of money on the table.

Other people say that you can use anchoring to influence a buyer into paying more by throwing out a very high number early in a negotiation.

It seems like a paradox...

Do you blurt out a price or wait for the buyer to do it?

When I’m doing a sales call for custom project work, here’s how I handle it:

I never give a price in a sales meeting.

But I do casually throw out eye-watering numbers.

Things like...

“Why pay somebody like me a million bucks when you could have an internal employee do it?”

Or, if they ask for a ballpark...

“Between five thousand and five hundred thousand, depending on the scope.”

Or, mention that you’ll...

“Almost surely be the most expensive option you speak with for this project.”

Comments like these will:

1. Anchor high in a non-specific way that the buyer will automatically convert to rough numbers in their head
2. Without undercutting yourself by accidentally blurting out something too low before you’ve really had a chance to think things through

Yours,

—J

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