When Value Meets the Wall

I’ve been around this industry for a long time. This year marks forty-three years. Long enough to have seen the tides shift, sometimes slowly and sometimes like a rogue wave crashing out of nowhere. Lately, that wave has a name, and it’s not creativity, it’s not service, it’s not innovation. It’s price. And it’s hammering down on even the most seasoned sales professionals.  In the past few months alone, I’ve had more than a handful of my clients; experienced, value-driven salespeople, tell me the same story, repeatedly: “Cliff, I’m going in lean. I’m pricing jobs at 20–25% margins instead of my usual 35–40%, and I’m still losing business.” Read that again. They’re cutting margins to the bone and still not winning. Why?  Because we’re in the middle of a mindset shift. And if we don’t confront it head-on, many talented, service-focused reps are going to get swallowed up in a race they were never meant to run, a race to the bottom.

Let’s talk about why this is happening, what’s really going on, and how we fix it.

Price has always been a factor. But now, it’s often the deciding factor. And it’s not because clients are greedy, it’s because they’re afraid. Afraid of shrinking budgets, of economic uncertainty, of being asked to do more with less. They’re also overwhelmed with access to cheap options that look the same on the surface.  Online price transparency, procurement-driven decision-making, and AI-powered quoting tools have turned buyers into budget warriors. Many of them are rewarded not for quality outcomes, but for how much they can save. We used to compete on creativity, speed, and execution. Now, many of us are being asked to compete on who can get closer to free.

But here’s the problem with that. If we allow price to become the core of our sales story, we strip away every ounce of what makes us valuable. And the moment the buyer sees no difference between us and the next lowest bidder; we lose our footing, and often the business.

I’m going to say something tough, but necessary: if your clients are treating you like a commodity, it's because you're not selling the difference hard enough.  It’s not enough to be different anymore. You must communicate that difference in a way that matters to the buyer. They don’t care that you’ve been in the industry for 15 years. They care about what that 15 years gets them, fewer headaches, faster execution, better campaign results, measurable ROI, and ROO.

You can’t assume they see your value. You must show it. You must tell the story, not just of your product, but of your process, your service, your follow-through, and your ability to solve problems they didn’t even know they had.  Because make no mistake: buyers aren’t always chasing “cheaper.” Many are simply choosing what feels easier, more transactional, less risky. Our job is to make working with us not only easy, but frictionless - irreplaceable.

Are You Quoting or Qualifying?

Here’s another trap I see far too often: salespeople who are constantly quoting and losing. They’re jumping at every request, putting together beautiful presentations, and getting ghosted or undercut. Why? Because they never took the time to qualify.

Not all business is good business. Not every request deserves a quote. Just because someone shows interest doesn’t mean they’re the right fit for you. That’s not arrogance, it’s discipline. If you’re quoting without first asking the right questions: about goals, expectations, decision-making process, budget, and timelines, then you’re not selling, you’re gambling.  And in a market this volatile, hope is not a strategy.  When we take the time to qualify properly, we shift the conversation from price to purpose. We create clarity. And we identify who is looking for a partner… versus who is just out to collect numbers and grind the winner into the ground.

When Loyalty Disappears Over 20%, It Was Never Loyalty

One of the hardest pills to swallow is when a long-time client walks away over a marginal price difference. It stings. It feels personal. And we start to question everything, our pricing, our relationship, our value. But let me tell you something I’ve learned: if loyalty vanishes over 20%, it wasn’t loyalty, it was convenience. True loyalty is built on outcomes, not price tags. It’s built on trust, consistency, shared wins. If a buyer walks because someone was 15 cents cheaper on a tumbler, what you had wasn’t a relationship, it was a transaction that ran its course.

Use those moments as a litmus test, not a loss. Learn from them. And be honest with yourself: did I build deep enough value? Did I ask enough questions? Did I tie what I do to what matters to them?  If the answer is no, adjust. If the answer is yes, move on and find your next loyal client, because they’re out there.

So, What Do You Do Now?

• Stop chasing price. 

• Start owning our value.

• Shift from reactive to proactive. 

• From quoting to qualifying. 

• From order-takers to outcome-makers.

• Take back the conversation.

• Ask better questions. 

• Share better stories. 

• Show real results. 

• Demonstrate how we eliminate friction, reduce risk, and create impact. 

• Set expectations, establish boundaries, and walk away from deals that don’t align with who we are or how you work.

• And when you get pushback on price, don’t shrink, lean into it with confidence and clarity.

Your Call to Action

If you're reading this and feeling like the world has flipped, you're not wrong. But this is your chance to draw a line in the sand.

• No more apologizing for price when you're delivering value.

• No more quoting to anyone with a pulse.

• No more hoping that loyalty will keep clients who only care about saving a buck.

It's time to get crystal clear on what you bring to the table, and to have the courage to walk away from anyone who doesn’t see it.

Because the race to the bottom has no winner.

And you, my friends, were built for more than that.

Until Next Month – Continued Good Selling - CQ