Imagine, as an example, a packaging manufacturer in Joinville, in southern Brazil, that signs up for an online business round and decides to offer a discount to anyone who places a first order during the week of the event. In one of the conversations, a buyer from another state likes the proposal and asks for freight to be included on top of the discount. The owner says yes on the spot and only later realizes that, with both together, the order is priced below cost. Before you offer any special terms, open the free Pricing Calculator and find your minimum price: the amount below which a sale no longer covers the direct cost, the taxes, the fees and its share of your fixed costs.
Many small companies ask the same question in the week before the event: is it worth creating a special offer for the business round, or is it better to keep the usual terms? The answer depends on what you sell, how your customer buys and how much margin is left. If you are new to the format, the guide to how a business round works covers the basics. This article deals with something else: what to have ready when the conversation reaches price.
When special terms help
Special terms work when they answer a real concern of the buyer. In a short conversation with someone who has never bought from you, the biggest barrier is rarely the price. It is the risk: what if the product is not what it seems, what if delivery runs late, what if the supplier disappears after the first shipment? A good offer reduces that risk on the first order without touching the price that applies from then on.
The buyer does not know you yet
If your company is new to the market, or new to that type of customer, a sample, a smaller pilot batch or freight included on the first order gives the buyer a cheap way to test you. They do not have to defend a large purchase from an unknown supplier inside their company.
The offer shows what sets you apart
The best offer is one that costs you little and is worth a lot to the customer. If your strength is short lead times, offer express delivery on the first order. If it is service, offer a technical visit or an initial setup.
When the offer backfires
The same offer that opens one door can close another. Sometimes it is better to go with your normal terms only.
- When the discount becomes the topic: if the first thing you mention is the discount, the buyer starts comparing you on price rather than on the problem you solve.
- When the price returns to normal and the customer is surprised: a discount with no deadline and no clear reason becomes the new price in the buyer's mind. On the second order, your list price looks like an increase.
- When the margin cannot take it: if the discount comes out of a margin that is already thin, every sale made with it may lose money. The more customers accept, the worse it gets.
- When the customer decides on other criteria: in technical purchases, with specifications and supplier approval, the buyer wants a data sheet, certificates and references. A commercial offer at that stage sounds out of place.
Work out how far you can go
Before choosing the offer, do the math. A discount weighs more than it seems, because it comes entirely out of your margin: the cost of the product does not go down when the price does. The article on how to calculate the selling price with markup and margin shows this effect step by step.
For the business round, keep three numbers written down next to your computer:
- List price: what you normally charge, under your normal terms.
- Minimum price: the lowest amount that still covers the direct cost, the taxes, the fees, the commission and the share of fixed costs. Below it there is no negotiation, only a loss.
- Cost of each special term: how much included freight, a sample or longer payment terms cost you. Freight and samples have a direct cost; longer payment terms have a cash cost, because you pay your own suppliers before the customer pays you.
Example, with numbers for illustration only: if freight to another region costs R$ 300 and your margin on a R$ 2,000 order is R$ 400, including the freight leaves only R$ 100 of margin. That is why an offer almost always needs a minimum order, which you set with your own numbers.
Which kind of offer to bring
Not every offer is a discount. In sales between companies, the terms that help most on a first order usually deal with risk, the cost of getting started or timing, not with the unit price. The table compares the most common ones.
| Offer | When it makes sense | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Freight included on the first order | A customer in another region who compares the total cost of the purchase | Set the minimum order and the regions you serve |
| Sample or pilot batch | A product that needs to be tested or approved first | Limit the quantity and agree on how long the evaluation takes |
| Payment terms on the first order | A customer with tight cash or who pays on long terms | Check your own cash flow and the buying company's track record |
| Extra service (installation, training, setup) | When the service is exactly what sets you apart | Write down what is included and what is not |
| Discount on the first order | A product compared on price, with a comfortable margin | A short deadline and list price from the second order on |
Notice that the discount comes last. It is the easiest for a competitor to copy and the hardest to take back once the customer gets used to it.
How to word the offer
A poorly explained offer becomes a vague promise, and a vague promise turns into an argument after the sale. Write yours before the business round, in one or two sentences, with four parts:
- What it is: included freight, a sample, payment terms, an extra service.
- Who it is for: the first order from companies that talked to you at the event.
- What the limit is: minimum order, quantity, delivery region.
- Until when: a clear date, written out in full.
A sample sentence
Example: "For the companies that talked to us at this event, a first order above our minimum ships with freight included to the South and Southeast of Brazil, if it is placed by the last day of the month." Everything the buyer needs to decide is there.
The right moment in the conversation
Do not open with the offer. First introduce your company (the article on the 60-second sales pitch helps you do that in a minute) and ask how the customer buys today. The offer comes in when they show interest and a barrier appears: "we have never bought from another state", "we would need to test it first".
Putting it in writing
Everything you offered in the conversation needs to reach the customer in writing. The Business Proposal Generator builds a document with the context, what will be delivered, the price, the payment terms, the delivery time and the next step. The special terms go in the pricing section, with the limit and the date.
Deadline and limits
An offer with no deadline is just a lower price. The deadline is what gives the buyer a reason to decide, and it is what protects your margin afterwards.
The validity date
Pick a date that fits the way your customer buys. A deadline that is too short pressures buyers who need internal approval; one that is too long removes the reason to decide. For customers who buy by project, a validity date that matches the proposal is usually more honest than a tight deadline.
Volume limits
If the offer works, several customers may accept at the same time. Decide beforehand how many orders with special terms your operation can handle without delaying your current customers. The article on how to prepare for a business round helps you write down capacity, lead time, region and minimum order before the event, and the offer has to fit within those limits.
What happens next
Say from the start that the special terms apply to the first order, and what the price is from the second one on. If the date has passed and the customer is still deciding, you can extend it once, in writing, or make it clear that the proposal stands under your normal terms. Extending every time teaches the customer to wait.
The offer does not replace follow-up either. The path from the conversation to the proposal, with what to do at each stage, is in the article on how to turn a contact into a proposal.
Where to start
Work out your minimum price, choose a term that lowers the risk of the first order and write the sentence with what it is, who it is for, the limit and the deadline. If no special term fits your margin, go with your normal terms, clearly explained: that is also a good answer.
Your company's first online business round is on us: all you need is an active Brazilian CNPJ (the Brazilian company registration number), once per CNPJ, and contact details are only shared when both sides mark interest. See the upcoming business rounds and bring your offer, with its deadline and limit, to conversations with companies looking for what you offer.