Handle the it's-too-much objection

1. What "too much" means

This is the first of the four ways people use money to avoid a buying decision: not enough value. They point at the price, but they have the money. The full list of four is on SOP 96 — Answer a discount request and capture payment, section 2. A prospect who truly cannot afford it is a different case, and it is SOP 105 — Handle time and resourcefulness objections.

Value and a qualified prospect. If something really had the value, then, so long as the prospect is qualified, they would work out how to get it. Nothing is "too expensive". Checking that a prospect is qualified is SOP 98 — Qualify with the four-letter test.

What they are really saying. A person who says the price is too high is not saying they see no value in your thing. They are saying they will hold off deciding until they see its value. How that sentence finishes is only partly established on this page; the part that is ends with the product meeting or beating the value of their money. So translate "price too high" into "value too low".

What you do about it. Move the focus off the price they pay and onto the value they get. Do it by setting all the painful things they deal with now next to all the good things that replace them once they buy.

Open each close the way SOP 100 — Run the reason close, section 2, sets out: say their words back, then agree.

2. What it sounds like

• "It's too much."

No other line of the list is established on this page.

3. It's good that it's a lot

What you say, in order.

• Agree that it feels like a lot of money, and say that this is why you think it is the right step for them.
• Say that most of your biggest success stories began right where they are, seeing it as a big investment.
• Call that a good thing: because it feels big, they are more likely to take it seriously.
• Ask them to picture following every step you laid out. Would they have any doubt they would succeed? Of course not.
• Say the money they worked hard for is there to hold them to account. If it were just $1, it might be easy to overlook, like other things they have tried before.
• Turn to the worst case. They said losing [the amount] feels significant. That tells you they would not take this lightly.
• Name the real risk. It is not in putting the money in. It is walking out now and staying where they are, without the results they want.
• One further step. Not established on this page.
• Close with confidence: I'm confident saying it: you are going to succeed. If it means a lot to you, I know you will. So, are you ready to take the next step and get started?

4. Good things aren't cheap

What you say.

• Totally understand. Let me ask you something. How many free PDFs have you downloaded that made you no more money?
• Then lay out the two choices you had. You could have given the bare minimum people need to succeed and kept costs down, to make it as easy as possible for them. Or you could start with value instead of price, and put in so much help, support and resources that it would be unreasonable for them not to succeed.
• So yes, it isn't cheap. But would you rather be less likely to hit your goal? Right. Neither would we.

5. Would you even believe me if it were less?

What you say.

• I hear where you're coming from. Let me ask you something. If it were a third of the price, would you even believe it could do what I say it could do?
• They will say no.
• In a joking tone: Then what are we talking about? Let's get you going.

6. It's not a lot when you think about it

What you say, in order.

• Totally understand. Let me ask you something. Hypothetically, if this got you an extra $10,000 a month, would it be worth it?
• If so, it is not the price. It is whether they believe they can do it.
• Suppose I showed you success stories from people like you. How many would it take? 10? 20? 50? Well, here are 200.
• At some point you just have to make the jump.

The $10,000 is the script's own hypothetical. Put in a result that fits your offer.

7. If all it did was one thing

What you say, in order.

• If this only [did one thing], would it be worth it?
• If all it does is [one thing], would it be worth it?
• Right. Then the only thing more expensive would be not doing it.

Any step between the questions and the closing line is not established on this page.

8. Not what you make but what it's worth

What you say. Totally understand. But I don't think it's about how much you make. Then shift to how much they are going to make, and how much that is worth to them.

How the script ends is not established on this page.

9. You're going to spend the money either way

What you say, in order.

• Totally understand. And let's be honest: in the next 12 months you're going to spend this amount of money either way.
• Say that what they are doing is deciding where the money is going.
• Ask whether they will spend it on something else, or on something they can look back on 12 months from now as the decision of their life.
• Then the point about money itself. Money only has value when it is exchanged. The goal is to trade it for something better than letting it sit, or than spending it elsewhere. And what is better to spend money on than the skill to grow your ability to make money and do work you find meaningful?

10. You pay the price either way

What you say, in order.

• Totally understand. Mind if I share a different way to think about it? Wait for the nod.
• You'll pay the price either way: with years of your own life spent working it out, or with a payment today that lets you use the time others have already put in for you.
• We just pay with the currency we value least: your time or your money.
• As long as you value your time above minimum wage, you come out far ahead. You buy your time back at a steep discount and pull your future earning power into the present.

The nudge. And at the end of the day, that is why you take on all the risk and give a [length] guarantee or their money back. Best case, they get everything you promised. Worst case, they learn a lot for free. Either way, they win. This nudge leans on a guarantee. Choosing and wording one is SOP 7 — Choose and condition a guarantee.

11. Some now or more later

What you say, in order.

• Totally understand. If that's so, this is probably the best time to do it, because it will only get more expensive.
• Doing this costs some now. Not doing it will cost more later.
• The time and money it takes will only grow the longer they put it off.
• So let's get it done now, while it's the cheapest and fastest it's going to be.

This is a close, not an offer. Designing an offer that costs less now and more later is a different thing, SOP 64 — Design a pay-less-now-or-pay-more-later offer.

12. Do a favor for your future self

The close turns on doing a favor for your future self. These lines of it can be used as they stand, in order:

• Of their wanting this: As long as you can remember, right?
• Would that be worth what you are asking? Of course, right?
• Have that future self look back on the next 10 years, excited about the decision that changed it for good.

The rest of the close is not established on this page.

13. What this page does not decide for you

• Where to start. Not established on this page. How to stack one close on another is SOP 100, section 5.
• The rest of the closes in sections 3, 7, 8 and 12. Not established on this page.
• The length of the guarantee in the nudge in section 10. This page gives no figure for it.
• A prospect who is not qualified. Section 1's point that nothing is "too expensive" holds only for a qualified prospect; for the rest, see SOP 98.

14. The checklist

Moment or close	What you do
"It's too much"	Read it as "value too low"; they can pay but do not see the value yet
Before any close	Repeat back, agree (SOP 100, section 2)
The move	Set today's painful things next to the good things that replace them
It's good that it's a lot	Because it feels big, they are more likely to take it seriously
Good things aren't cheap	Would you rather be less likely to hit your goal?
Would you even believe me if it were less?	At a third of the price, would you even believe it?
It's not a lot when you think about it	An extra $10,000 a month: worth it? Here are 200 success stories
If all it did was one thing	Would it be worth it? Then only not doing it costs more
Not what you make but what it's worth	Shift to how much they are going to make, and what that is worth
You're going to spend the money either way	You'll spend it anyway; decide where it goes
You pay the price either way	Pay with your time or your money; buy your time back
Some now or more later	It costs some now and more later
Do a favor for your future self	As long as you can remember; look back on the next 10 years (section 12)

15. What this page does not cover

Discount requests are not covered on this page; they are SOP 96. Someone else being cheaper is SOP 102 — Handle the competitor-price objection. A prospect who cannot afford it is SOP 105. Sorting an objection by kind is SOP 99 — Classify an objection.