A discount given because somebody asked teaches them that your prices are opinions.
TL;DR Every discount must require something in return: volume, prepayment, timing, or commitment. Never discount reactively. When you must move on price, remove scope instead of cutting the number.
The rule
Nothing comes off the price without something coming back.
| Discount | What you get back |
|---|---|
| Prepay annual | Cash flow, near-zero churn |
| Multi-service bundle | Higher total value |
| Off-season booking | Filled capacity in a dead month |
| Multi-year agreement | Predictable revenue |
| Referral credit | New customer acquisition |
| Bulk or multi-property | Efficiency, one mobilisation |
| “Can you do better?” | Nothing. Do not discount |
That last row is the whole discipline. A reactive discount buys you one job and costs you every future negotiation with that customer.
Why reactive discounting is expensive
- It reprices retrospectively. They now know your real number, and every future quote starts from the discounted one.
- It says the first number was invented. Which damages trust more than the price ever did.
- It travels. People tell neighbours what they paid, and in a small market that becomes your price.
- It attracts the wrong customers, who negotiate everything and refer other negotiators.
Structures that work
Prepayment
Pay the year upfront and get one month free.
Effectively about 8% off, and you get twelve months of cash immediately with almost no churn risk. This is usually the best discount a service business can offer.
Off-peak
Book your service in February and save 15%.
Costs you margin in a month where the alternative was an empty van. Genuinely free money.
Bundling
Any three services, 10% off the total.
Raises average job value. The discount is funded by the efficiency of one visit.
Commitment
Two-year agreement locks this rate with no annual increase.
You trade the escalation clause for term certainty. Model it before offering, because a long fixed term in a rising cost environment can hurt.
Referral
$50 credit for you and $50 for them.
Cheapest customer acquisition available, and it only pays out on success.
Bonus services instead of price cuts
When you feel pressure to move, add value rather than subtract price.
| Instead of | Offer |
|---|---|
| 10% off | Free follow-up visit in 6 months |
| $200 off | Extended warranty, one year to two |
| Discount | Priority scheduling for twelve months |
| Discount | An additional service included |
Why this is better. Your headline price holds. The added item costs you less than its perceived value. And the customer gets something real rather than just paying less.
A free follow-up visit costs you an hour and reads as worth far more.
First-time customer promotions, used carefully
The risk. You attract people optimising for the introductory price, who churn when it ends and never pay full rate.
How to do it better
- Discount a specific entry service, not everything.
- Make it a genuine trial rather than a permanent lower tier.
- Tie it to something. “First service half price when you join the maintenance plan.”
- Never advertise it to existing customers, who will reasonably ask why loyalty costs more.
That last point causes real damage. An existing customer seeing a better deal for newcomers is a churn risk and a review risk.
When somebody just asks for a discount
The most common situation and the one worth scripting.
Our pricing is straightforward and I do not have room to move on it. What I can do is look at scope, or timing. If you can be flexible on when we come, there is an off-peak rate. Or if there is part of this you would rather handle yourself, we can take that out and it comes down. Which would be more useful?
What that achieves. It holds the price, offers two genuine routes, and keeps the conversation collaborative. Most people take one of the two options.
Removing scope, not price
If you have to reach a number, take something out.
To get to $2,400 I would need to take out the disposal and the making good, so you would be arranging those. The work itself is the same. Does that work?
This is honest and it protects your rate. The customer gets the number they wanted and understands exactly what they gave up for it. Nobody learns that your prices are soft.
Discounts you should never give
- To match a competitor’s price on a different scope of work.
- Under threat of a bad review. That is close to extortion and it never ends there.
- On emergency or after-hours work. The premium exists for a reason.
- Retroactively, after the job is done.
- To somebody who is already your least profitable customer.
Track it
- Total discount given monthly, as a percentage of revenue. Most owners have never measured this and are surprised.
- Discounts by reason. Structured versus reactive.
- Margin on discounted jobs versus standard.
- Whether discounted customers return at full price. Frequently they do not.
Add up every discount you gave last quarter. If the total is a meaningful share of your profit and most of it was reactive, you have found money you can recover this month by simply having a script.
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