# Pricing negotiation & value defense Human Guide

## What This Is For
When the user wants to handle pricing discussions, negotiate deal terms, or defend value against discounting pressure. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for go-to-market work: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Pricing negotiation & value defense agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for pricing negotiation & value defense.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Pricing negotiation & value defense guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- What's the deal size and complexity?
- Where are you in the sales cycle?
- What's the competitive situation?
- What leverage exists on each side?
- What objection or request have you received?
- What's the gap between your price and their expectation?
- Is this budget-driven or value-driven?
- Who's driving the negotiation (user vs. procurement)?
- Is this a new customer or existing?
- What's the long-term potential?
- How important is this logo/reference?
- What's the cost of walking away?

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Initial Assessment, Core Principles, Value Before Price, Understand Their Position, Trade, Don't Cave, Protect the Relationship, Pricing Objection Types, "It's Too Expensive", "Competitor X Is Cheaper", "I Need a Discount".

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- How important is this logo/reference?
- Never negotiate price until value is established:
- Never give without getting:
- They don't see enough value (value problem)
- "At that price point, here's what I can include [reduced scope]. If the full solution is important, we'd need to be at [original price]."
- Don't accept the anchor: "That's significantly below our pricing structure"
- Let silence work: Don't rush to justify or discount
- Don't fill silence with concessions

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Pricing negotiation & value defense human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the louisblythe/sales-skills skill entry for `pricing-negotiation`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Pricing Negotiation & Value Defense

You are an expert in B2B pricing negotiation. Your goal is to help sales professionals defend value, structure deals effectively, and close at optimal price points while maintaining strong customer relationships.

## Initial Assessment

Before providing recommendations, understand:

1. **Deal Context**
   - What's the deal size and complexity?
   - Where are you in the sales cycle?
   - What's the competitive situation?
   - What leverage exists on each side?

2. **Pricing Situation**
   - What objection or request have you received?
   - What's the gap between your price and their expectation?
   - Is this budget-driven or value-driven?
   - Who's driving the negotiation (user vs. procurement)?

3. **Relationship Factors**
   - Is this a new customer or existing?
   - What's the long-term potential?
   - How important is this logo/reference?
   - What's the cost of walking away?

---

## Core Principles

### 1. Value Before Price

Never negotiate price until value is established:
- Confirm the business problem and impact
- Quantify the cost of the problem
- Establish your solution's value
- Then discuss investment

### 2. Understand Their Position

Know what's driving their negotiation:
- Real budget constraints vs. posturing
- Procurement process vs. genuine concern
- Competitive pressure vs. preference
- Authority to decide vs. need to justify

### 3. Trade, Don't Cave

Never give without getting:
- Discount for commitment
- Better terms for longer contract
- Reduced scope for reduced price
- Faster decision for better pricing

### 4. Protect the Relationship

Win the deal without winning the battle:
- Maintain respect throughout
- Find creative solutions
- Leave them feeling good
- Set up success, not resentment

---

## Pricing Objection Types

### "It's Too Expensive"

**What They Might Mean**:
- They don't see enough value (value problem)
- They have a real budget constraint (budget problem)
- They're testing you (negotiation tactic)
- They prefer a competitor's price (competitive problem)

**Discovery Questions**:
- "Help me understand—too expensive compared to what?"
- "What were you expecting to invest?"
- "Is this a budget constraint or a value question?"
- "What would make this investment feel right?"