DUMOHome › Guides · Updated · By Kevin Lim, founder of DUMO Innovations
"Others much cheaper": how to reply without matching the price
Which guide is this? For when the customer compares you with a cheaper quote from another company. Just says your price is too high? Read "Too expensive". Ready to buy but asking for a lower price? Read "Can discount?".
What they meanA cheaper number usually comes with a shorter list: less scope, warranty or service.
Ask first"Can you send me a photo of the other quote? I'd like to check we're comparing the same things: material, installation, warranty."
Then send"If you add installation to their quote, how far apart are we? Then you can decide with the real gap."
Why you dropped RM2,000 without a fight
You sent a quotation for a kitchen cabinet job. Two days later the customer replies:
The most common reply:
You took their number as the real price of the job. You never saw the other quotation, so you don't know if it has the same cabinets, the same hardware, the same installation or any warranty. The customer now believes your first price had RM2,000 of air in it, and starts to wonder what else can be cut. Many customers ask for the next discount right after that.
What the cheaper quote may be missing
- The two quotations are different jobs. The cheaper one leaves out delivery, installation, the better material or the warranty. The customer hasn't noticed, because nobody has put them side by side.
- It's an opening bid. The customer likes you best and wants a discount. The other quotation is the lever.
- Price is the only thing they can compare. They can't judge the quality of a cabinet board by looking at a PDF, so the number on the page becomes the whole decision.
- Sometimes it's true. The other company is cheaper for the same job, and for this customer price really comes first. Then your job is to find out quickly and not spend another week on it.
The first three can be handled without moving the price. The fourth shows up when you ask good questions, because a customer who only cares about price has nothing else to tell you.
Compare before you cut
✅ Ask to see what the other quotation covers
You offer to help the customer check, which comes across as service, and the competitor stays out of it. Most customers say yes. If one refuses to share anything at all, you have learned something too.
✅ Compare the same things, one at a time
The real gap is often much smaller than the first number. Let the customer do the adding, because a number they worked out themselves is one they believe.
✅ Ask what matters most, then answer that
If they pick you at the same price, the gap is a question of value and you have a real conversation ahead. If they pick the other company anyway, you found out early and can decide whether another round is worth your time.
Copy-paste replies for each kind of "cheaper"
Find out why the other number is lower, then send the matching line. Swap in your own job, items and prices.
| They say | Send this |
|---|---|
| Theirs is RM3,200 less (and no installation line) | Thanks for sharing. Theirs has no installation, right? Ours includes it. Can you add it to their quote and tell me the real gap?Let him do the adding. A gap he worked out himself is one he believes. |
| Just tell me your best price | If the scope is the same, I'll check what I can do. Can you send a photo of the other quote so I match like for like?You open the door to a discount, but only against a comparison you have seen. |
| It's really the same thing, just cheaper | Then it's a good deal and you should compare carefully. Which of these would you want in writing: material, warranty, or installation date?Don't fight his view. Ask what he would want in writing. |
| My cousin recommended the other one | Good to have someone you trust. If their job goes slower or you want a second opinion, I'm happy to quote again. Want me to keep this price till Friday?You don't argue with family. You leave a clear, short way back. |
| Budget is only RM12,000 | Understood. Let me see which parts I can adjust so it stays under RM12,000 and still works. Want the cheaper version without the island top?Budget is real. Change the scope, don't just cut the price. |
Practise these replies on an AI customer that pushes back. Free trial →
A quick check when his quote arrives, line by line:
- Material and thickness: is it the same board?
- Hardware: brand of hinges and drawer runners.
- Delivery and installation: included or extra?
- Warranty: how many years, on what?
- Payment terms: how much upfront?
Three ways to lose on price anyway
- Matching the number without seeing the quote. You pay for a comparison you never checked.
- Running the competitor down. "Their quality is terrible, you will regret it." The customer liked that company enough to ask for a quote, so you end up arguing with their judgement. Talk about your own job and let the side-by-side show the difference.
- Going silent after the customer says "let me think". A cheaper quotation is a reason to follow up with a question, a short list of what is included and a date to speak again.
What studies say about a rival's number
Nobody seems to have studied a customer quoting a rival's price over WhatsApp. These studies come closest, so treat them as hints and not as proof.
- The first number in the room pulls the final price. In three negotiation experiments, whoever made the first offer, buyer or seller, got a better outcome, and first offers strongly predicted the final settlement price. When the other side thought about the opponent's alternatives, the opponent's reservation price or their own target, the advantage of the first offer disappeared. A competitor's cheaper quotation works like a first offer, so before you reply, think about what the customer's other options really look like and what price you can accept. Adam D. Galinsky and Thomas Mussweiler, 2001, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.81.4.657
- Knowing the product and adapting to the customer both go with better sales. A meta-analysis of studies from 1982 to 2008 found five factors linked to sales performance, with selling-related knowledge (β = .28) and degree of adaptiveness (β = .27) among them. Knowing exactly what your quotation includes, and what this customer cares about, is how you answer a price comparison. The study covers sales performance in general and not price objections. Willem Verbeke, Bart Dietz and Ernst Verwaal, 2010, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. doi:10.1007/s11747-010-0211-8
- Practising the price conversation before it's real helps. A study of 18 B2B salesmen found structured practice helps newer salesmen build expertise (Daniel P. Köhler and Andreas Rausch, 2022, Vocations and Learning, doi:10.1007/s12186-022-09301-y). See how to set up practice for a team.
Practise it before a real customer
DUMO SALES is an AI sales coach for Malaysian teams. Your salesmen practise replies like "others much cheaper" on their phone, with an AI customer built from your own products and prices. The customer waves another quotation at you and walks away if you match it too fast, and opens up if you ask what it covers. After each session, DUMO SALES analyses the conversation, scores it across 8 dimensions and coaches you on the line that decided the deal. Managers get a data-driven view of who needs coaching and which objections the team keeps losing on.
FAQ
What do I say when a customer says other companies are much cheaper?
Don't match the price yet. Ask which quotation they are looking at and whether you can see what it includes. Then compare the same things side by side: scope, warranty, delivery, service after the sale. Cheaper only counts when both quotations cover the same job.
Should I lower my price when a customer shows me a cheaper quotation?
Not first. A lower number from you tells the customer the first price was padded. Check what the other quotation leaves out, and ask what matters most to them. If you do move on price, trade it for something: a bigger order, a faster decision or a longer contract.
What if the customer won't show me the other quotation?
Ask about it instead. "What did they include for installation and after-sales?" is easy to answer without sending a file. Some customers are bluffing to get a discount. A customer with a real quotation usually shares a few details, and one without usually goes vague.