Resources/Conversation examples
Another company quoted
The customer has a figure from a competing company, often in writing, and asks you to beat it.
I've got it in writing for forty dollars a month less. Can you do better than that?
What to do when you spot it
Ask to see the competing quote, compare it line by line, and set a time to go through both with the numbers ready.
Practice a response
Synthetic practice exampleUse the separate customer line below for practice, then compare your reply with the sample.
"I have it in writing from another agency for forty dollars a month less. Can you beat it?"
"I'd want to see it before I guess at it. Is that the same coverage and the same deductible, and does it include fees? Send it over and we'll go through both at 11."
Coaching and context
Taking the next step
Ask to see it before you counter. Compare it line by line: the same scope, the same term, the upfront cost, the fees and anything that changes after the first period. Acknowledge the other company without running it down, because the customer chose to tell you and would rather buy from somebody who handles it well. Then compete on what you control. Have their quote, your options and a manager's answer ready at a set time, and say plainly that you will put both numbers side by side with them.
Why it matters
This is not a buyer mentioning that they are looking around. This is a buyer with a number in hand and a decision close enough to force. The instinct is to beat the figure on the spot, which gives away margin against a quote nobody on your team has read. Those numbers are rarely comparable: a different scope, a longer term, a bigger upfront payment, fees left out, an introductory price that rises after the first year. Matching blind also removes the reason to meet, because the customer now has your best number and somebody else's offer to go sign.
How to coach it
Play the ten seconds after the number comes up and stop before the rep answers. Most reach for a discount, and hearing themselves do it is the lesson. Agree on the two questions they will ask every time before any counter, then rehearse the sentence that asks for the other quote. Afterward, look at what happened on the deals where a number got matched over the phone, because what you find in those files is a better argument than anything you can tell them.
Practice the conversation
The manager plays the customer. The rep responds, then you review it together.
The customer says
"I have it in writing from another agency for forty dollars a month less. Can you beat it?"
Your goal
Find out what the other number contains before you counter, and turn their quote into a reason to meet.
Feedback after the call
- You offered to beat the number before you saw it.
- You asked about the coverage, which is where these usually differ.
- You never asked them to send the quote over.
- You did not ask whether the price rises after the first year.
Questions and answers
Is a competing quote usually a real one?
Sometimes, and often not the way the customer remembers it. Ask what it covers, what term it runs for and what is included before you treat it as a number to beat. The point is not to catch anybody out. It is to make sure you are comparing the same two things.
What if the other quote really is better?
Say so, and be specific about where and why it is better. Then sell what the number does not cover: the service, how fast problems get handled, the person they can call. Customers accept a slightly higher price more often than managers expect.
Should this go to a manager?
Yes, before anything is promised. A number matched on the phone by a rep becomes the manager's problem an hour later, and the customer will hold the team to whatever was said out loud in that conversation, whether or not it can be written that way.