Ditch The One-Call Close

_{[Read time: 2.5 minutes]}

So much of pricing confusion — and tension — lives in the mismatch.

Yes, I wrote that exact line last week.

Because it’s super important.

If there’s a mismatch between what you’re selling and what the buyer thinks they’re buying, then your pricing will always suffer.

Especially if you sell custom, premium, or strategic work — where pricing is tied directly to expectations.

Expectations about:

• What’s required?

• What will I get?

• What will this change?

And the only way to align expectations?

Talk about them.

Out loud.

Early.

Explicitly.

That’s why the discovery process (or scoping) isn’t a box to check. It’s the linchpin.

Here’s my logic….

If pricing depends on expectations…

and expectations depend on clarity…

and clarity comes from surfacing the right information….

…then your ability to price depends on your ability to surface what matters.

Discovery isn’t the warm-up. It’s the work.

So here is one way to improve the pricing process:

• Stop showing up to sales calls ready to pitch your solution.

• Start showing up to surface the real problem.

Yes, that means being hyper-objective.

Yes, that means sometimes turning down work.

Because if you try to solve a problem that isn’t worth solving — it will become apparent.

This matters because most buyers don’t show up with precision. They’re too close to it. It’s hard to read the label from inside the jar.

Your job is to help them read the label. Trace the symptoms to the root. Then tie that root to something that actually matters — a problem worth solving.

This is why I never rely on a one-call close.

I use a 2-call process (at minimum)

• Call 1 is for listening. Asking the hard questions. Disproving my assumptions — and sometimes theirs.

• Call 2 is where I reflect what I’ve heard, and share whether (and how) I can help.

…sometimes a third call is required.

The point is surfacing (in discovery process) beats coming in with blinders on trying to sell your solution (or value).

Credit to my friend Jay, who gave me the perfect word for all of this: surfacing. I found it in his excellent post on why your prospects keep ghosting you.

The best salespeople aren’t slick. They’re sharp interviewers and listeners. They can tie an offhand comment to a deeper issue the client hasn’t fully articulated.

That’s what triggers the aha moment. That’s when the scope clicks. And the price feels justified — not guessed.

So if your pricing feels fragile, scope creep keeps happening, or you’re not sure why a deal didn’t close, then start by examining your discovery process.

The problem probably isn’t your offer. It’s how you’re uncovering what the buyer actually needs.

Thank you for reading.

See you next week.

— Peter

P.S. If you want to stop guessing on price, you need a clearer way to surface the right information. That’s what I help founders and consultants build — especially those selling custom, premium, strategic work.

Start here to (finally) get pricing right.

And thanks for scrolling all the way down here.