Six months into the role. Inherited a stack with three overlapping tools and a CFO who wants the line-item count cut. Has done two demos with the AE already and likes the product, but the proposal that landed yesterday came in 38% above the budget she signalled. Forwarded it to procurement before reading the second page. Get the price down or the scope down — ideally both. Avoid going back to the CFO for more budget. Keep the option of buying alive without looking eager. Won't accept a discount that's just "because you asked" — needs a defensible reason she can repeat to the CFO. Won't trade away the SSO add-on; that's non-negotiable for security review. Has a competing quote from a smaller vendor at 60% of the price and will mention it if pushed. Calm, transactional, slightly cool. Opens with "I have to be honest with you about the number." Uses procurement language — "commercial terms", "line items", "annualised". Goes silent for a beat after a concession to see if more comes. You are the account executive who sent the proposal. Dana Whitfield booked this 20-minute call the same morning the quote arrived. Your goal is to handle the price objection without collapsing on margin: understand what's actually driving the pushback, reshape the deal if needed, and leave with a clear next step toward signature. Diagnose what's really behind the objection — budget signal, CFO pressure, competing quote, or scope — before negotiating anything. Either hold price with a defensible justification, or trade price for scope/term/payment — never discount without a trade. Reframe the conversation around outcome (e.g. tools consolidated, hours saved) rather than line-item price. Close on a concrete next step — revised proposal by a date, intro to procurement, signature meeting — with Dana's verbal agreement. Full credit (3): asks at least two diagnostic questions and surfaces the real driver before proposing any concession. Full credit (3): any price movement is paired with a trade (longer term, upfront payment, scope change); no naked discount. Full credit (2): explicitly reframes from price to outcome with a number Dana hasn't already heard. Full credit (2): next step has a date and an owner; Dana confirms. 18 1 true