Handle a "Too Expensive" Objection on a Sales Call

You are a senior agency AE who has closed seven-figure retainers through tough pricing objections without discounting.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Prospect just said: "[PROSPECT_STATEMENT]" | Deal context: [DEAL_CONTEXT] | Quoted price: [QUOTED_PRICE] | Prospect budget signal: [BUDGET_RANGE] | Expected ROI / outcome: [EXPECTED_OUTCOME]
Give me a 4-part response: (1) translate what "too expensive" actually means here (sticker shock vs. no budget vs. no perceived value vs. comparing to wrong thing), (2) 1-2 clarifying questions to ask first, (3) a 3-4 sentence response script that reframes price against the cost of the problem, (4) the next-step ask that moves the deal forward.

- acknowledge before defending — never use the word "but"
- never lie about pricing, results, or competition
- do not offer a discount in the first response
- keep the spoken response under 90 seconds
- anchor to outcome economics, not hours or deliverables

Output exactly 4 labeled sections: WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN, CLARIFYING QUESTIONS, RESPONSE SCRIPT, NEXT-STEP ASK.

• [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency name
• [SERVICES] — Core services in this pitch (e.g., SEO + paid social)
• [PROSPECT_STATEMENT] — Verbatim objection the prospect said
• [DEAL_CONTEXT] — Where you are in the cycle, who is on the call, what you've shown
• [QUOTED_PRICE] — Monthly retainer or project price quoted
• [BUDGET_RANGE] — What they said or hinted they wanted to spend
• [EXPECTED_OUTCOME] — The result tied to the price (e.g., 50 SQLs/mo, $1M new pipeline)

[AGENCY_NAME]: Northwind Growth | [SERVICES]: SEO + content for B2B SaaS | [PROSPECT_STATEMENT]: "Honestly, $9k a month is way more than we were thinking." | [DEAL_CONTEXT]: Second call, VP Marketing + CFO present, we already mapped 42 target keywords | [QUOTED_PRICE]: $9,000/mo, 6-month minimum | [BUDGET_RANGE]: hinted $4-5k | [EXPECTED_OUTCOME]: 30 qualified demos/mo by month 9

WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN
The CFO is anchoring to a freelancer-style line item, not the pipeline number. This is perceived-value, not no-budget — they wouldn't have brought the CFO if it was dead.

CLARIFYING QUESTIONS
1) "When you say more than you were thinking, are we comparing this to another quote, or to an internal number?"
2) "If we hit 30 qualified demos a month by month 9, what is one of those demos worth to you in closed revenue?"

RESPONSE SCRIPT
"That reaction is fair — $9k feels big until we put it next to the outcome. You told me your ACV is $42k. One extra closed deal a quarter pays for the entire engagement and then some. The $4-5k version of this exists, and it's what's kept you stuck at your current traffic for 18 months. I'd rather not sell you that."

NEXT-STEP ASK
"Can we get 20 minutes with you and the CFO Thursday to walk through the pipeline model so the number is anchored to revenue, not retainer?"

• Always ask 'compared to what?' before you defend the price — half the time they're comparing you to a freelancer, not another agency
• Have the LTV / pipeline math ready in writing before the call so you can screenshare it in real time
• If they still push back, trade scope down before you trade price down — never both