[pogo]

In general, this is good advice for dealing with price objection in the negotiation of a premium product. It correctly emphasizes long term relationships over a single sale. It also encourages you to stick to your guns on maintaining margin instead of chasing revenue - critical for premium products.

Where the article loses me is when it advocates telling the customer that you'll lie to help them get a better offer from the competition: "I'll even help you negotiate a lower price by sending you an email underbidding their latest offer." This is ethically wrong. But if that's not a convincing argument, it's also pragmatically a very bad idea. Maintaining integrity is the only sustainable business practice in the long run. Lying & cheating may work once, twice, or a dozen times, but it will catch up to you. Even more pragmatically, you've just told the customer that you can't be trusted, that you'll lie to make a situation more favorable for you. That's undermined your relationship when it's purpose was meant to do just the opposite.