When a customer says, "That's too expensive," how do you respond?

I usually respond with empathy and try to subtly shift control back to them.

Something like:

“I totally understand, it’s still money going out. If you decide to move forward at some point and would like to have us do the work, we’d be happy to look at adjusting the scope, scheduling it a bit later, or splitting the payment to make it easier.”

The key for me is the order. I acknowledge the reality of spending money, but I don’t defend the pricing or agree that it’s “too expensive.” Then I frame everything in the future, “if you decide to move forward,” so it doesn’t sound like I’m trying to overcome an objection or sell them on a workaround.

That gives them space. If they mean “compared to your competition,” they can say that. If it’s an affordability thing they don’t want to voice, they don’t have to. And by prefacing the options that way, it lets them be the one to say, “Actually, if you can split it…” instead of me pushing it.

It keeps things empathetic and cooperative without negotiating against myself.

It's not a one size fits all tack, but it's where I typically start.

At the end of the day, most people are just people. When they bring up price, they’re often bracing for pushback. A little empathy and a cooperative tone usually go a long way.  And if they still get grumpy, that was likely going to happen no matter what. At least this way I haven’t taken the bait or escalated it. 

I always go back to a line I had a trainer say to client in front of me more than 13 years ago,

"I am not too expensive, you just don't see the value"

I still use that line today. Sometimes when I get the vibe that someone was expecting a lower price I can't wait to drop that line on them because of how it changes their approach to the conversation.