{"id":"sales-cheaper-competitor-reply-total-cost","audience":"sales","category":"sales-work","technique":"grounding","track":"sales","level":"advanced","title":"Reply to \"they're 20% cheaper\" with a fair year-one cost comparison","free":false,"task":"Your prospect Alma Reyes says Tallyforge is 20% cheaper. Reply by email with a year-one total cost for both, each shown as math on its own line, using only the prices in your notes. Don't criticize Tallyforge beyond those facts and don't promise to match their price. End with one line starting \"Next step:\". Under 160 words. Plain text, with a subject line first.","materialLabel":"Alma's email and your notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Email from Alma Reyes (Ops Manager, Greenway Clinics, 25 staff users), Nov 6:\n\"Tallyforge came in about 20% under you per user. Hard to justify the difference to my director. Help me out?\"\n\nOur quote: $40/user/month, 25 users. Implementation included. Phone support included.\nTallyforge (from the quote Alma forwarded us last week):\n- $32/user/month, 25 users\n- One-time implementation fee: $4,500\n- Phone support add-on: $150/month (email-only otherwise)\n- Data migration: $1,200 one-time\n\nAlma told us on the demo that phone support is a must because her front desk staff aren't technical.\n\nOur pricing policy: no price matching. Manager can approve up to 5% for annual prepay.\nRep note: \"Tallyforge's product is a mess, their app crashes\" - heard from one ex-customer, not verified.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":160},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Comparing sticker prices","why":"The AI compares $40 vs $32 and concedes the gap.","fix":"Add: \"Compare year-one total cost, including Tallyforge's implementation, phone support and migration.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Hiding the math","why":"The AI states totals without the working, so Alma can't reuse it with her director.","fix":"Add: \"Show each total as math on its own line.\"","checks":["r0","r1"]},{"title":"Trashing the competitor","why":"Your notes include an unverified crash rumor; the AI may use it.","fix":"Add: \"Don't criticize Tallyforge beyond the prices.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Promising a match","why":"The AI offers to match to save the deal, which policy forbids.","fix":"Add: \"Don't promise to match their price.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and runs long when you only give a total like 160 words.","fix":"Cap each part instead, like \"each paragraph under 30 words,\" so the total lands well under 160.","checks":["maxWords","plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Asks for total cost","patterns":["total cost","year.?one","all.?in"]},{"label":"Shows the math","patterns":["show (the )?math","own line","x 12"]},{"label":"Includes the hidden costs","patterns":["implementation","phone support","migration"]},{"label":"Bans the rumor","patterns":["don'?t (criticize|trash|bash)","crash","rumor"]},{"label":"Ends with a next step","patterns":["next step"]}],"hint":"The real comparison is total cost, not price per user. Ask for the math on every line and keep the reply to facts you can prove.","rubricLabels":["Shows our year-one total as 25 x $40 x 12 = $12,000","Shows Tallyforge's year-one total including implementation, phone support and migration: 25 x $32 x 12 = $9,600 + $4,500 + $1,800 + $1,200 = $17,100 (or a total within these same items)","Does not say Tallyforge's app crashes or call their product a mess, does not promise to match their price, and ends with a line starting \"Next step:\", and line 1 starts with \"Subject:\""]}