The short answer: say the number in one plain sentence, then stop talking. No apology, no backstory and no discount before anyone asks for one. Practice it out loud until it's boring. And if someone says it's too much, believe them. That's information, not an insult.
Now the longer version.
Somebody asks what it costs and you go, "Well... it's actually a thousand dollars, but..."
And then you're explaining the payment plan before they've even blinked. 🫣
Compare that to: "It's a thousand bucks."
Same number. Completely different energy.
Why the flinch matters more than the price
People hear the flinch before they hear the number. The pause, the "actually," the "but" dangling off the end of the sentence… all of it tells the other person you're not sure the price is fair. And if you're not sure, why would they be?
The flinch and the lack of confidence end up louder than the price itself. The more you can say it without getting weird about it, the more people trust you. And when people trust you, they tell you more. What they need, what's in the way, whether this is a yes.
What flinching sounds like
You might be doing it without noticing. It usually sounds like one of these:
"It's actually..."
"I know it's a lot, but..."
"I could probably do..." (a discount nobody asked for)
Listing everything that's included before they've reacted, like you're defending yourself in court
The nervous laugh right after the number
If one of those made you wince, good. Now you know what to listen for.
How to say your price confidently: a 10 minute practice
1. Write it the way you'd actually say it. Not the website version. The out-loud version, the one you'd say to a friend or someone you trust. "It's a thousand bucks." "It's $450 a month." Short.
2. Say it out loud 10 times. In the car, in the barn, to the dog. It'll feel ridiculous by number 4 and boring by number 10. Boring is the goal! Boring means your body stopped treating it like a confession.
3. Next time someone asks, say the number and stop talking. No backstory, no discount, no "I know it's a lot." Let the pause be theirs. That silence feels long to you. It isn't long to them.
What if they say it's too much?
Believe them. That's information, not an insult.
Some people will hear your price and decide it's not for them right now, and that's fine. Plenty of other people hear a price and think, okay, sweet, now I know what I need to do to make this work. You don't get to decide which one they are, and you definitely don't get to decide it for them by knocking the price down before they've said a word.
Should you mention a payment plan or discount right away?
Not before they ask. If you offer a payment plan, great, bring it up when it's relevant. Leading with it tells the other person you're already expecting a no.
The price is the price
It's taken me a long time to be this direct about it. Don't shrink yourself to fit other people's budgets. You know what you should be charging. So go charge it.
For the record, The Business Edit is $1,000. See? No flinch. 😂
If pricing is one of the things you keep going back and forth on, or your business just feels more complicated than it needs to be, that's what we work through in The Business Edit. 6 weeks, 1:1.
[Take a look at The Business Edit →]([BUSINESS EDIT URL])
Pricing questions people ask
How do I stop apologizing when I say my price? Take the extra words out before you ever say it to a real person. Write the one sentence version, say it out loud 10 times, then say only that sentence when someone asks. The apology usually lives in the words you add after the number.
Is it normal to feel nervous saying your price out loud? Totally. Most people practice their offer a hundred times and their price zero times. The nerves fade with repetition, which is why the practice is saying it until it's boring.
What do I say when someone says my price is too expensive? You don't have to say much. "Totally fair" works. Believe them, don't argue and don't discount on the spot. Some people need time to figure out how to make it work, and some people aren't the right fit. Both are fine.
Should I lower my price if people keep saying no? Not because you flinched. Fix how you say it first. If you keep second-guessing the number itself, that's worth working through on its own, and it's one of the things we sort out in The Business Edit.
-Sausha
Sausha Davis is a writer, mentor and strategic advisor who helps people simplify their life and business through mentoring, workshops and retreats. She lives on a ranch in Eagle Point, Oregon with her 4 kids and her horses. See upcoming retreats →
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