Dear Dakota | How to Respond When a Client Asks for Your Trade Discount?
Dear Dakota,
How to respond when a potential client or existing client asks, “Will you share your discount?”
This week’s Dear Dakota question is one I know you have dealt with before. You’re on a discovery call with a potential interior design client, and they ask the dreaded question that makes your skin crawl.
“Do you share your discount?” Or some version of it.
This questions gets me pretty heated (it’s NOT a discount, it’s your trade pricing), and in this post, I’m going to share a few ways to respond, PLUS my thoughts on why you should never ever (or, “never sever” as my daughter used to say) share your “discount” with clients.
👩💻 And, if you’re new to selling furnishings or want to figure out how to address any client objections related to how you price your goods, be sure to check out our training, Beyond Retail, to learn the ins and outs.
01 | First, let’s assess WHY your prospective clients and clients are asking this question.
Are you marketing yourself as a discount designer? Are you only showing images of you shopping at retail or discount stores? Is your body of work or marketing attracting clients who can’t afford trade items, OR people who simply do not want to pay for them?
If you’re thinking, “NO NO NO,” then I would bet your client is asking this because they’ve heard others do it, NOT because they expect you to do it. So, this doesn’t make them a red flag client; it simply indicates they need clarity and education around your process and your business model.
REMEMBER: Don’t market your discount. Market your value!
02 | It costs you and your business time (which is a higher value than money) to have these accounts. And also money.
This is the professional trade-only pricing that you applied for, qualified for, and maintain because you are a business and have met (and continue to meet) certain requirements. There is a cost for you to have this account. You’ve invested time researching vendors, going to market, meeting with vendors in your office, shopping for new release items/fabrics, and so on.
You’ve invested money in placing opening qualifying orders (and maybe carried inventory AND kept it safe in the hopes of selling it to an upcoming client). You’ve placed orders to maintain your annual spending requirements. You might even pay for books and samples.
For your business to have access to these accounts, there is a time and monetary investment. Not to mention, having and using the same vendors means you have a better relationship, better pricing, better customer service, and quicker sourcing because you’re familiar with the line, the fabrics, the team, etc.
That’s a real savings to your client, especially if you bill hourly for sourcing. 👏👏👏
03 | You need to know how you actually DO price your products.
People are going to ask, and they’re not the bad guy for doing it.
Think about how you want to price your products.
We help the interior designers we work with to communicate how their products are priced and the white glove service that comes along with purchasing from them.
I personally do not recommend SPLITTING the “discount” with clients or giving a XX% discount. For real.
What does this even mean? 🫠🫠🫠
The discount between what?
MSRP and your price? MAP and your price? RETAIL and your price?
A discount off of what?
MSRP, MAP, RETAIL (what retailer?).
See how this opens up a ton of backend admin work?
Do you have time to check that pricing on every single product? I know my million-dollar design firms don’t.
This is a logistical nightmare. What happens if you “split the discount” and then the client (who now thinks this is some sort of competitive price-hunting bargain game) finds a retailer who offers it for less than the retailer you found to establish the “split”? Are you reducing more? Are you crediting them back?
EWWWW.
If it's something you cannot get for less than retail (maybe because One Kings Lane, Serena, or Perigold have more buying power and therefore lower pricing and their own freight carriers) then you may decide you don’t want to TOUCH retail purchases and will therefore provide your client with the purchasing information so they can buy on their own because you can't beat retail pricing
📌 NOTE: We have many designer clients who will not touch retail order management. We have some who charge a retail management fee to do it. And we have some who require that every.single.thing.presented MUST be ordered by the designer.
^^^So you have to do what is best for the OUTCOME you have promised your client.
I do find that this instills trust in the client if you let them know you do this. On the other hand, if you work with luxury clients, they likely will NOT want to place orders (that’s why they hired you!).
I say this with love: Stop.Making.Furniture.Sales.SO.Hard.
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04 | If you discount your products, will you also discount your scope of work related to ordering and product management?
LOL.
But think about it.
📌 Most of our designers use the product markup to cover their time spent ordering, tracking, communicating with vendors, pricing, updating clients, handling claims, coordinating deliveries, receiving small items, and inspecting them at their office, etc.
If the client wants a discount on products, let them know your pricing covers the time required for all of the above. If they would prefer you not include those services in the product price, would they prefer you bill your hourly rate of $175/hour for all work done related to ordering and product management instead?
I would guess it would be a solid NO.
🚪 Ready to go deeper?
What comes next is the exact framework I use (and share with my clients) to confidently explain your pricing policy to prospects and clients without sounding defensive, losing the sale, or getting trapped in endless price comparisons.
You’ll see:
How to decide exactly how you’ll price and present products
Where to set expectations in your client journey so you avoid awkward money talks mid-project
Scripts for answering “Do you share your discount?” confidently
🔑 Read the rest inside The DTS Files — my members-only collection of advanced strategies, industry insights, and behind-the-scenes advice for running a profitable, elevated design firm.
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