How to Handle:
“Your price per seat is too high”
Per-seat pricing creates sticker shock as team size grows. This objection requires reframing the value in per-seat terms or exploring alternative pricing structures that better match their usage patterns.
Why Prospects Say This
Per-seat pricing makes costs directly proportional to team size, which can feel expensive for larger teams. Prospects often calculate total monthly cost and balk at the number. They may also be comparing to competitors with different pricing models.
Best Responses
The Value Per Seat
“Let's break down what each seat is actually getting. For [$ per month per user], each person on your team gets [specific value]. If that saves each person even [X hours/week], the time value alone exceeds the cost. Does that math check out for your team?”
Why It Works
This reframes per-seat cost as per-seat value, making the calculation about ROI rather than expense.
Best For
When the per-seat value is clearly justifiable
The Tier Exploration
“Does everyone on your team need full access? Many of our customers use a mix - power users on full seats, occasional users on viewer seats or limited access. That brings the effective per-seat cost down significantly. What does usage actually look like across your team?”
Why It Works
This opens the door to tiered pricing that matches actual usage patterns and lowers the average cost.
Best For
When you have different license tiers available
The Volume Discussion
“At your team size, we should talk about volume pricing. We don't publish these rates on our website, but for [X seats] or more, there's flexibility. What's your actual team size, and who really needs access?”
Why It Works
This signals that better pricing is available at scale, which moves the conversation forward rather than stalling on list price.
Best For
Larger team deals where volume discounts make sense
The Alternative Model
“Per-seat isn't the only way to think about this. Some of our enterprise customers prefer usage-based pricing, or a platform fee with unlimited users. If per-seat doesn't work for your model, let's explore what would. What would be ideal for you?”
Why It Works
This shows flexibility and a willingness to structure the deal in a way that works for their situation.
Best For
When you have pricing flexibility or alternative models
The Competitor Context
“Who are you comparing us to on per-seat pricing? Because when you factor in [specific capability we have], the effective cost is actually different. It's like comparing a bare-bones flight to one with bags and seats included - the total matters more than the ticket price.”
Why It Works
This addresses competitive comparisons and expands what 'price' means to include the full value package.
Best For
When you know they're comparing to cheaper per-seat competitors
Do's and Don'ts
Do This
- Calculate value delivered per seat, not just cost per seat
- Explore tiered access to reduce effective per-seat cost
- Discuss volume pricing for larger teams
- Consider alternative pricing models if per-seat doesn't fit
- Understand who actually needs access vs. who's on the list
Don't Do This
- Defend per-seat pricing without understanding their concern
- Assume everyone listed needs full access - many don't
- Quote list prices when volume pricing might be available
- Compare to competitors without accounting for feature differences
- Ignore the objection - per-seat math is a real consideration
Follow-up Questions to Ask
“How many people actually need full access vs. occasional access?”
“What would be an acceptable per-seat price for your budget?”
“Are you comparing to a specific competitor's per-seat pricing?”
“Would different access tiers for different users make sense?”
“Is annual billing an option? It often comes with better per-seat rates.”
“At what team size would the total cost become a non-issue?”
Industry-Specific Variations
“At 500 users, your pricing doesn't scale”
“At 500 users, we should definitely be talking about enterprise pricing. That's not a per-seat conversation anymore - it's a platform partnership. Let me connect you with our enterprise team to discuss what a tailored agreement looks like.”
“We need to deploy this company-wide but can't afford per-seat”
“For company-wide deployments, we usually move to an enterprise license with unlimited seats for a fixed annual fee. That removes the per-seat concern entirely. Would that model work better for how you're planning to use this?”
“We have contractors who only log in occasionally”
“Contractors are tricky - you want them to have access, but not pay full price for occasional use. We have guest or viewer seats at a fraction of the cost, or some customers use seat sharing for contractors. What's their actual usage pattern?”
Pro Tips
- Per-seat pricing is really about per-seat value. Always lead with what each user gets, not what each user costs.
- Many per-seat objections are solved by tiered access. Most users don't need full access - segment accordingly.
- Enterprise deals rarely stay at list price per seat. Don't anchor on website pricing for large deals.
- If per-seat fundamentally doesn't work, be ready to explore alternatives. Losing deals over pricing model is avoidable.
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