Next time a prospect says your MSP is too expensive, try this…

I had an idea a few weeks back. Still can’t figure out if it’s genius or stupid. You decide, please.

You’ve heard this line a hundred times. “Oh, you guys are too expensive compared to XYZ IT down the road.”

And normally what happens next is you either cave a bit on price, or you launch into a slightly angry defence of your value that doesn't work because people just glaze over 😃

Here’s what I’d try instead.

Ask them to get AI to do a true comparison

Next time it happens, ask the prospect to put both proposals, yours and theirs, into whichever AI tool they prefer.

And ask it to explain, properly, what the difference is between the two.

Because most of the time, they’re not comparing two versions of the same thing. They’re comparing apples to oranges.

Your proposal includes proper monitoring, patching, security, and a genuine response time commitment. The other is break-fix support with a few buzzwords bolted on to make it sound like managed services.

A non-technical business owner reading two proposals side by side CANNOT see that. People who don't know what they don't know about technology do not have the power to interpret the proposals.

An AI does! It can see it instantly. And explain it in plain English, without you having to be the one saying “well actually, our competitor doesn’t include this...”

Why this could work really well for you

You’re not the one making the case anymore. A neutral third party is. And prospects trust a neutral third party a lot more than they trust the person who’s trying to win their business.

It also completely reframes the conversation. Instead of you defending your price, the prospect ends up asking the other MSP awkward questions about what’s missing from their prop.

If your service is genuinely more thorough, this should work in your favour almost every time.

Why it might not work

But let's touch on the risk, because that’s only fair.

This only works if your service and proposal is genuinely better.

If you’re actually just more expensive for no good reason, an AI comparison is going to expose that very clearly. So don’t try this unless you’re confident your proposal earns its price.

It also depends on your proposal being written clearly enough that an AI can actually understand what’s included. If it’s a vague PDF full of jargon, the AI won't be able to make your case any better than you can. And actually if the AI can't understand it, the humans definitely won't.

These are the specific words you might use

Something like this, in a sales meeting or on a call.

“That’s a fair question, and I want you to feel confident either way. Why don’t you pop both proposals into ChatGPT or whatever AI tool you use, and ask it to compare exactly what’s included in each. I think you’ll find it useful. And I’d rather you make this decision with all the facts in front of you than just on the price.”

That’s not a defensive sentence. It’s a confident one.

And never forget that price is A factor but very rarely THE factor. When they say you're too expensive what they mean is they can't see the value.

Genius or dumb?

I genuinely don’t know yet. I haven’t seen enough MSPs try this yet to know how it will work in the real world.

So tell me... would you try this? Have you already? Let me know, I read and reply to every email😃