Ask Ash: 'I'm Scared to Death to Get on the Phone With Prospective Clients—What if They Say It's Too Expensive???'

Dear Ash,

I’ve recently started a new “Anywhere Business” writing creative copy for clients. The only problem is, I’m scared to death to get on the phone with them! 🫣 I’m NOT a sales person by any means, but every client (naturally) wants to hop on the phone to discuss. (Which I totally get, but it doesn’t make it any easier!)

My biggest fear is talking about money. A few times, I’ve had clients tell me they weren’t expecting to spend that much…and I lose the sale. (And then feel super insecure and binge eat ice cream for seven days straight.)

My prices are in line with the going rate. Is there a way that I can save the business without constantly lowering my fee and feeling like a doormat?

Signed,

Money Shy

Dear Shy,

YOU ARE NOT ALONE, LITERALLY EVERYONE GOES THROUGH THIS.

The good news is this: I have the perfect response. ⚡️ (You will memorize this one and use it forever!)

It’s my proven hell yes response to this exact scenario, time-tested & beloved over the course of 15 years, perfect for any client who’s on the fence about the cost—without making you seem like a scummy piece of salesy butt crunch.

(There will be no gross “Well, it’s only money. If this improves your life, won’t it be worth it?” type responses here. 🤮 I hate people like this.)

But before I reveal my favorite go-to response that’ll save the sale AND make your clients like and respect you even more, let me just reassure you that even though right now these conversations feel like rubbing hot tar all over your eyeballs, I promise you that after you do twenty-five of these calls, you will be a pro. You’ll be the Taylor Swift of sales calls. You will be the MAYOR.

You know why?

Because so much of the fear around getting on the phone with a client isn’t even about the price—it’s about not being able to articulate why you’re worth it.

And the reason why it’s difficult to articulate?

You’re still figuring it out yourself!

You’re still getting experience!

You’re in learning mode.

You’re doing some testing, trialing, erroring, and working out your own superpowers.

But, once you have twenty-five projects under your belt? You also have a whole new perspective on what makes you great. 🔥 And then, you can sell yourself from that angle. And that’s going to give you a confidence boost that no script ever could.

But in the meantime? It never hurts to have a few key phrases memorized so you can whip ‘em out and not have to worry and have ALL THE ANXIETY before the call, because you’ll know exactly what to say if and when a client gets cold feet over the cost.

(Of course it goes without saying that if they truly can’t afford it, there should be no more discussion. This is why having a “Starting at $X” listed on your website can be a helpful filter, ensuring that the folks you do get on the phone with are already pre-qualified. This, alone, will help tons.)

So, what is my favorite go-to, all-star response for when a client says “oh, I didn’t realize it would be that expensive.”

HERE SHE BLOWS:

This is what you say, word-for-word:

(Memorize this!)

I get it! Out of integrity to other clients, unfortunately there isn’t any movement on the fee itself, but there are a couple of things I can do to help make the cost more approachable:

(a) We can extend the project timeline, so instead of the project being done in 3 months, we aim for 6 months, and then we can stretch your payments over a longer time frame (for example, part due now, part due in 3 months, and part due in another 3 months), or (b) We can reduce the project scope altogether and make it more bite-sized, and just tackle one portion of it for now, and then see how we do and go from there.

Would either of those scenarios be helpful?

That last word there is key: helpful.

Always, always, always keep this at the forefront of your mind: instead of “selling” a client, how can you be helpful to the client?

Clients want to feel like you’re on their team—not like you’re sitting on the other side of the table, pressuring them into a decision.

The more you can be on their team, the easier the sale will be (and the better your client relationships will be).

No matter what, your #1 job is as an advisor. You are not a freelancer, you are not an order taker, you are not a task master.

You are an advisor.

And advisors know that the best way to get a client?

Is to help them.

The more you do that, and the more you put service at the heart of everything you do, and the more genuine you are about it all, the more successful you will be.

Sometimes, you just need to make them feel confident enough in you to take the plunge…and that comes from making a client feel confident they are making a good decision.

Remember:

Nobody wants to be sold.

But everybody wants to buy.

And that includes your services—and also the pizza I am about to eat tonight.

I hope this helps!

With ALL my money-makin’ guts,

Ash