Domot profile picture
Domot profile picture

Domot

Account Executive

Valued Contributor
Fire Starter
Contributor
+1

How much do you discount and why?

In the company I work for, discounts are the norm.


Only a handful of deals get closed at list price. Especially bigger companies get huge discounts - some up to 70% (!). How is that in other (SaaS) businesses?

What's the average discount you give?

Attached poll
*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.
📈 Closing
46

48 comments

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Hannibal
Opinionated
6
Senior Account Executive
Honestly this is one of those questions that has no answer. This is just a bad sales habit... it is not a discount its an incentive in order for the deal to be a win win.
CaneWolf
Politicker
2
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
Not necessarily. I worked for a company that brought int a new type of product that was an add-on. No joke, this thing was overpriced by about 10x. Add in support and other stuff and all of a sudden 80%+ discounts for everything were required because pricing was so out of whack.
Hannibal
Opinionated
3
Senior Account Executive
That’s the whole point - if it was priced smartly you would need to discount and look like a dumbass bringing things down 80% 😂... gotta love when product when Marketing and Product get it all wrong... and then they are asking why isn’t this selling like cupcakes??? 
CaneWolf
Politicker
2
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
Oh we sold the shit out of it, with 80%+ discount. And then we found out it didn't work!
Hannibal
Opinionated
0
Senior Account Executive
Gotta love vaporware! 🪄🤹‍♂️
CaneWolf
Politicker
2
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
Oh, it wasn't vaporware. It was just a big ole piece of shit.
Hannibal
Opinionated
2
Senior Account Executive
Customer goes can we do a POC... you “sorry we only do POS” 🤣
Do.it.for.the.checks
Politicker
1
Account Executive
@CaneWolf I love your title... Is that LinkedIn verified?
CaneWolf
Politicker
1
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
Absolutely
Stoplight_sales
1
Account Executive
Agreed. Discounting for discounting sake is a bad habit. Thoughtfully leveraging discounting in order to get a deal over the finish line is another story.  
Arbuc003
0
Medical Device Sales Consultant
All deals should be a win-win. Ask yourself…when’s the last time someone liked losing? 

Cut to the chase and beat them too it (their job is to get the best deal possible, so they’re already thinking about it). 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
I told someone yesterday that my pricing proposal would come in plus or minus 10% from his current situation. He still told me to proceed. 
Rallier
Politicker
2
SDR Manager and Consultant
Our software takes a few weeks to really start performing so we offer a discount during those first few weeks
paddy
WR Officer
2
Director of Business Development
We normally don’t discount but also don’t lock into annual contracts. 
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
2
☕️
We do not give without getting. If we are giving you a discount then we are getting something back like referrals, G2 reviews, customer advisory board participation, etc. Or, we are signing a multi-year deal and you are sticking around for 2-4 years. Very rarely do we throw out a discount on a 1-year deal without getting anything back.
mami
Tycoon
0
Account Executive
Likewise, I let folks know that I can push for further discounting if their team is willing to contribute to our blogs and case studies. 
sugardaddy
Politicker
2
🍬
Just put a extra 5-10% on the price. When the prospect want a discount pull the 5-10% off and tell them “there you go, ready to rock’n’roll.” 😁 .. 

I’m doing that now and then. Win/win for the prospect and me. Mostly me 📝

selling digital advertising. 
mami
Tycoon
0
Account Executive
This is what we started doing as well. We display pricing proposals with super high list prices, show them their "approved" discounted total, and bam -- we've reduced negotiations significantly.
Ryscott0317
Politicker
1
Cloud Specialist
No more than 10% typically because it’s company policy but without sounding too “salesy” if my solution does what you need it to then even paying retail you’ll still be saving thousands in downtime. 
slaydie
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
Discounts are fairly common where I work - I think some reps rely on them lots more than others. The % discount would be between 10-25%. As other users have also said, it depends a lot on how your company prices the product in the first place. When I first started, pricing was so whack that discounts were used a lot more but now that business is booming I've hardly had to do any discounts
starfish
Good Citizen
1
Account Executive
The company I work for has to discount to be competitive in the SMB space, we're discounting 30-40% each time! 
SaaSguy
Tycoon
0
Account Executive
Normally don't discount, but will leverage 5-10% to get it wrapped up, in smb so 10% isnt an acv killer
Beans
Big Shot
0
Enterprise Account Executive
Max 10% only for our tier 3 package, and additional years. 
Donut_free
Good Citizen
0
Director of Sales and Partnerships
We don't discount and generally I am not a fan of discounting as it devalues your product.  Having said that we do offer trials or proof of concepts to allow them to try it before paying us.  This is a good way to remove friction and get them on board.  Generally once they are onboarded it is more difficult to move away.
SADNES5
Politicker
0
down voters are marketing spies
Our deals are sometimes very long. 20+ years. Short ones being 5. We never offer discounts, but if it locks into longer deals. Let's say 10 years from a 5. Sure. Let's do it. 
Justatitle
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
In the org I’m in now we have a pretty good policy. 0-10% my manager approves 25% it goes to the VP and anything above 25 goes to the CEO. Nobody wants to go to the CEO with discounts so it’s rare and it also helps us to keep a higher ACV
Smithy
Politicker
0
Director of Sales
No more than 25% and anything leas than 5% is pretty pointless outside of enterprise 
mapache
0
Head of Sales
Two year commit 5% 
Three year commit 10%

Two year upfront 10%
Three year upfront 15%

Three year upfront on the ultra premium package 25% off
1nbatopshotfan
Politicker
0
Sales
Who cares what the discount is, as long as the proposal is way over list. Give yourself room to negotiate towards the listed number. 

We will discount for strategic accounts in target verticals though. The right logo or case study sets the world on fire. 
FatVeinyTip
Arsonist
0
Account Exec
I would quote whatever our direct competitor charges and take 10-25% off 
goose
Politicker
0
Sales Executive
If you are discounting 50%+ you aren't selling.
Strangis
Valued Contributor
0
Key Account Manager / BDM
depends on how competitive the landscape is... I would open with a small discount but then hint to them if they're a serious buyer and still need room for budget reasons.. "lets have a discussion"
privateryan
Politicker
0
Director of Sales
I voted "no discount" but its because there is a range. Like many others in B2C I am sure, anything I discount comes from my commission. So, say I plan to make 5K on a deal, I MAY give as much as 1K, but likely will have enough information on the client to know they're bluffing and I hold strong. If they have been challenging to close, for example, I know they aren't working with anyone else. Non-stop questions is an indication (in my field) they aren't getting educated anywhere else. Whereas if I barely work with them and they say "come down 1K or we walk" I MAY believe them....and fold like a baby bitch lawn chair 
deviantzen
WR Lieutenant
0
Consultant
This is tougher in a modern marketplace where pricing is generally more transparent or easier to find.

For certain industries you can have reps give a "fake" price over sticker and build in discounts for that. Seems shady to some.

If you're having the pricing transparency or running time limited deals in emails with a numerical figure then this strat does not work.
swizard
Celebrated Contributor
0
Sales Evangelist
Discount is the poison which destroys the credibility of the offering and empties up the pocket of sales person. 
DonDraper
Politicker
0
National Sales Manager
I always inflate in my mind what I want the customer to pay. My Gm is always pretty high I have found as I dont settle normally. It is ok to walk away, a skill I think is lost in modern sales.
OrangeOrange
Fire Starter
0
Account Executive
With everyone caving into giving out discounts, this seems like a privilege any buyer expects, even if they know they do not want to move forward.
Where did selling the value go? :\
AIDA
Executive
0
Business Development Manager
I give discounts on our implementation costs but not on our MRR
Do.it.for.the.checks
Politicker
0
Account Executive
Varies by the deal. I work SMB to enterprise deals so SMB 0% off ARR and up to 25% off PS. On Enterprise deals, the number is driven by the ROI and how badly we want a logo. Deals in between I like to avoid the conversation until the end and then just ask. What do we need to be at to put a bow on this, no need to dick around. Sign it and move on. 
kbites
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
1 previous company I work for has discounts starting from 50%. Though I heard the big traditional tech companies give 70%+ discounts. 
Mindblown.
IYNFYL
Politicker
0
Enterprise SaaS AE
Many companies I’ve sold for they have a cap around 20-30% off. If they compare you to other solutions then I would always throw out the rebuttal of “why haven’t you signed with them yet?”
Yahska
0
Enterprise AE
In my opinion, you have to ask yourself "why" you're discounting first. EOM? EOQ? EOY? Trying to hit your number? Strategic win/logo? Is it single or multi-year? Etc.
 What's in it for you?

Then what's in it for them? 

From there, it's the "how much"....I've discounted anywhere from 0 to 50%. 

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