Giving away margin across the deal—not in one negotiation, but in small pieces that add up over months.
Discount creep is the pattern where you lose pricing power through small concessions over time. One stakeholder needs a small discount to move forward. Then their IT team wants an extra feature thrown in to make the math work. Then legal wants better terms, so you extend the contract length at a lower annual cost. By the time you close, you're 25% below your standard rate, but no single moment felt like you lost the deal.
It kills margin and trains the buyer that you negotiate downward. If they know you'll find one more concession for each objection, they'll manufacture objections. It also extends sales cycles—every concession feels good for a week, then the buyer wants one more thing.
You need to know your anchor—what you can and cannot move on. Before you get to negotiation, establish what the customer has to achieve, what value you deliver, and why that value justifies your price. Then, when a request comes in late, you can say: "I understand that matters. What would you deprioritize to stay inside the budget?" You make them trade, not you.
A mid-market deal. Your price is $200k. Month two, they ask for a 10% discount because of budget. You give it. Month four, they want extra user licenses without additional cost. You give it to keep momentum. Month six, legal wants a 3-year deal instead of 1-year at a lower annual rate. You agree because you're close to close. Net result: 30% less revenue on what looked like a $200k deal. Each move seemed reasonable. Together, they destroyed the deal's profitability.
Thinking that small concessions keep deals warm. They don't. They signal you have room to move and create expectations for the next ask.
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