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In this episode of the Sales Today Podcast, Fred Copestake explores one of the most common frustrations in engineering and B2B sales:

Why do so many deals eventually come down to price?

While it is easy to blame procurement pressure, competition, or tighter budgets, Fred explains why pricing pressure is often only a symptom - not the real problem.

The real issue usually sits in where the sales conversation begins and the level of value being discussed.

In this episode:

Why cost-focused conversations naturally invite comparison
How many sales teams unintentionally commoditise their own offering
The hidden danger of leading with efficiency and savings
Why "better value" often becomes shorthand for "lower price"
The difference between cost saving, efficiency, effectiveness, and competitive advantage
How value positioning changes the level of stakeholder engagement
Why senior decision-makers think differently about value

The Value Pyramid

Fred introduces a simple way to think about value in B2B sales:

Cost Saving → reducing spend
Efficiency → doing things right
Effectiveness → doing the right things
Competitive Advantage → helping customers perform better in their market

The lower the conversation sits, the easier it becomes for customers to compare suppliers directly.

The higher the conversation moves, the harder it becomes to compare purely on price.

Key Takeaway

If your deals regularly end up focused on price, the important question is not:

"Why are customers pushing on price?"

It is: "Where is our value sitting in the customer's mind?"

Because the level of value you create shapes the conversation you ultimately have.

Mentioned in this episode

The Collaborative Selling Scorecard - a free tool to assess how aligned your sales behaviours are with modern buying environments.. https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

Connect with Fred

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

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Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sk1yE6tH38E

Watch the full mini series playlist here

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