Practical Sales Training™ > How To Lose The Sale > The Low Price Fallacy
The Low Price Fallacy
What Is It?
A lower price feels like it should attract more buyers. But it often does the opposite. A price cut can actually push people away, rather than pull them in.
Why Does It Work?
We equate price with quality almost automatically. So a lower price quietly signals lower quality, even when nothing about the offer actually changed. Price also reads as confidence. The cheaper you go, the less sure you seem about your own value.
How Can You Use It?
Knee-Jerk Discounting
If you want to genuinely damage a sale, knee-jerk discounting works brilliantly. It’s a short term strategy at best. Pair it with fake discounts or unrealistic markdowns. Buyers will start questioning what your offering is really worth.
Fix Visibility Before Price
If sales feel slow, speak to more people first. Fewer enquiries rarely means your price is wrong. It usually means fewer people have seen the offer yet.
When It Works Best
This pattern shows up hardest for considered purchases, like weddings or high ticket services. Trust matters here as much as the price tag. It also hits harder the moment a price drops suddenly, rather than gradually.
When It Becomes Dangerous
This becomes especially damaging once a low price sets buyer expectations for the future. Raising it back later feels like a betrayal. That’s true even if the original price was always fair.
Common Mistakes
Assuming Cheaper Always Wins
Don’t assume a lower price always wins more business. Sometimes it just teaches buyers to expect less from you, permanently.
Cutting Price Too Fast
Never cut price as your first response to slow sales. Fix your visibility and your pitch before you ever touch the number.
The Low Price Fallacy – An Example
A Photographer’s Price Cut
A freelance photographer wants to book more weddings. So she slashes her package price from £1,500 to £600. She expects more couples to say yes.
Instead, her enquiries drop. Couples start to wonder:
“Why is she so cheap? Are her photos low quality? Will she even show up on the day?”
Her lower price, rather than being appealing, undermines confidence in her service. When she raises the price back to £1,500 and explains her value, bookings increase. The price now matches what buyers expect from the quality on offer.
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