Andy NearyI help insurance professionals turn brand awareness into business growth.

Being $2M cheaper won't win the deal if you don't understand what your client truly values

15 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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Guffy lost a $2 million price advantage on a deal because the client actually needed IPO advisory and venture capital connections, not a discount. He called to ask why and learned the client valued the ability to raise $200 million more than the savings. Price rarely wins when you haven't figured out what the client actually needs.

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I lost a deal. I was $2 million cheaper. And I thought that client valued premium and coverage. Well, when I lost it, I mean, talk about a total, you know, self-esteem gut punch, like they paid $2 million not to go with me. And what happened, I called them and said, hey, I have to understand this, or I can't sleep. Like, tell me, why didn't you go with me? And they said, Guffy, we're going public in a couple years, we needed an advisor, or we need people that can help us raise $200 million. You told us you didn't have a lot of access to venture capitalists, you don't have a family home office arm, we're willing to pay the $200, because we have to raise, you know, 9 figures plus, and that was more valuable to us. And And so then it's like, okay, how do I understand what they actually value? Because people value different things at different times for different reasons. Andy, you've been in the business. Nobody, nobody called you during a tough claim and said, can you shave 10% off my price? Right? Because they don't value it in that moment. Same thing. If you— what's more valuable to you today? A briefcase full of cash or 8 gallons of water? Well, cash. We'll take cash all day. If you're in the desert for 7 days, now what? Right? You're going to want that water.