Why People Ask for Your Price and Disappear

Quick answer: When a customer asks your price and vanishes, it's rarely just about the number. It could be the wrong audience finding you, an unclear offer, or too much friction in how you're presenting it. The fix isn't to panic and discount. Look at your last ten enquiries and find the actual pattern before you touch your price.

"How much?"

You send the price.

They read it and then nothing.

Your chat with them feels like a graveyard as you wait for a response that never comes. Oh, wait. Sometimes they come back two days later with, "I'll get back to you." And then, crickets. They don't come back again.

After it happens often enough, you start questioning yourself to the point of doubting what you know and what you do. You start wondering if maybe your price is too high. Maybe customers are finding better options. Maybe you should reduce the price a little. Then after you've reduced it, somebody else asks for the price, and they still disappear too. O gini n'emezi?

Now you're wondering what exactly you're doing wrong.

This is a frustrating place to be, especially when you know the work behind your price, the quality you deliver. You know what you paid for your materials or stock. You know what transport costs. You know how much time goes into making, packaging, delivering, or providing the service. You know the effort it takes to keep the business running.

But your customer doesn't see most of that.

What they see, at first, is a number. And sometimes, that number is not the real problem.

Your customer may need more than a price

Think about the last time you wanted to buy something you cared about. You probably didn't decide based on price alone. You wanted to know what you were getting, whether it was good quality, whether it would solve your problem, whether other people you know had used it, whether the seller was trustworthy, and whether you'd feel good about spending the money.

Your customers are doing the same thing.

If someone asks the price of a dress and you reply "₦85,000," you've answered the question they asked. But you may not have answered the question behind it: why is this worth my ₦85,000?

Now imagine telling that same customer that the dress is fully lined, available in her size, made with a particular fabric, can be ready by Friday, and comes with whatever other benefit makes the purchase worthwhile.

The price hasn't changed. But the customer now has something to evaluate besides the number.

That is the difference between giving a price and presenting an offer.

Sometimes, you're speaking to the wrong customer

This one can be hard to accept, because when people keep disappearing, we naturally assume the fault is with us.

But what if the problem is the audience you're attracting?

Suppose you sell handmade leather bags for ₦70,000 and most of the people finding you are looking for bags under ₦20,000. You can reduce your price, but you may still struggle, because the gap between what you offer and what your audience wants is too wide.

You don't need everybody to afford your product. You need the people who can afford it to understand why they should consider yours.

That means paying attention to who is asking, not just how many people are asking. If your post or ad is attracting the wrong audience, you need to restructure your message and your targeting, so you attract customers who are actually capable and willing to buy what you offer. Otherwise, you can spend money on ads from now till thy kingdom comes and still barely break even.

And sometimes, the problem really is the offer

There are businesses with good products that make buying unnecessarily difficult.

The customer asks what's included. Then they have to ask how long delivery takes. Then whether there are different options. Then how to pay. Then another question, because the last answer created a new one.

By then, they are tired.

This happens a lot on WhatsApp, where many small businesses sell almost entirely through conversation.

Make it easier for people. When you send your price, give enough information for the customer to understand what they're actually getting. If there are different packages, explain them clearly. If delivery is included, say so. If there are different sizes, colours, or turnaround times, make them easy to understand.

The customer should not have to pull your offer out of you one question at a time like a dentist pulling out a tooth.

What if customers tell you that you're too expensive?

Don't panic and immediately rush to offer a discount.

First, understand what is putting them off. You could ask: "Was the price outside what you had in mind, or what options were you considering?"

That is a very different question from "how much do you want to pay?"

Their answers tell you a lot. They may genuinely not be able to afford it. They may have found something cheaper. They may have expected a different package. They may not understand why yours costs more. Or they may simply be shopping around.

Those are different problems, and they don't all need the same solution.

Before you cut your price, look at your last 10 enquiries

This is the part I want you to actually do.

Go through the last ten people who asked about your product or service but didn't buy. Look at the conversations.

Did most of them disappear immediately after seeing the price? Did they ask several questions first? Did they ask for a cheaper option? Did they compare you with another seller? Did you explain what was included before giving the price? Did they seem genuinely interested, or were they simply collecting prices?

You're looking for a pattern, because once you find it, the solution becomes clearer.

If people are interested but don't understand your offer, improve how you present it. If you're attracting people who cannot afford what you sell, revisit your message and where you're marketing. If customers consistently compare you with cheaper alternatives, make sure you're clearly communicating what makes yours different. And if the evidence really does point to your price being too high for the market you're targeting, then you have something useful to work with.

The important thing is that you're making the decision from evidence, not anxiety.

Try one small experiment

For the next few enquiries, don't change your price immediately. Change the way you present it.

Instead of "the package is ₦120,000," try: "The package is ₦120,000 and includes X, Y, and Z. It's designed for [the kind of customer or problem it serves]. Delivery within [area] is included, and turnaround is [time]."

Then pay attention. Are people asking better questions? Are they continuing the conversation? Are they still disappearing? Are they asking about the same thing repeatedly?

You're not trying to manipulate anybody into buying. You're removing some of the uncertainty that makes people hesitate.

Your price is not the only thing being judged

When someone is considering buying from you, they're judging the whole experience. How easy is it to get information from you? Does your business look trustworthy? Do your pictures look good? Does the product description make sense? Do you sound confident about what you sell? Do you make the buying process straightforward?

All of that sits around the price.

So when someone asks "how much?" and disappears, don't automatically conclude you're too expensive. Sometimes you are. Sometimes they're not your customer. Sometimes they don't understand the value. And sometimes you've made them work far too hard to figure out what they're buying.

Those are four very different problems.

What to do next

Pick five to ten recent enquiries that didn't become sales. Read through each conversation and look for where the customer lost interest.

Then ask yourself one question: was the problem really my price, or did I make it difficult for this person to understand why they should buy from me?

Don't change your price until you know the answer. Because sometimes the sale isn't lost when you mention the price. Sometimes it was lost before you ever got to the price.

If reading through this made you realize your offer has never actually been written down clearly, on your page, your catalogue, or your WhatsApp status, that's not a small gap you have to figure out alone. Writing offers and website content that actually answer the question behind the question is what I do at Phoenix Creative Labs. If that's where you're stuck, reach out ebelenweje@gmail.com or Whatsapp 2348035105288.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do customers ask for my price and then never respond? It's rarely one single reason. It could be an audience mismatch (they were never able to afford it or vice versa), an unclear offer (they don't understand what they'd be getting), buying friction (too many back-and-forth questions), or the price genuinely being outside their range. These need four different fixes, not one.

Should I lower my price every time someone says I'm too expensive? Not immediately. First find out what "expensive" actually means to them; a budget mismatch, comparison shopping, an unclear package, or a genuine value gap all sound the same on the surface but need different responses.

How do I actually find out if my price is the problem? Review your last ten enquiries that didn't convert and look for where interest dropped in the conversation, not just whether the word "price" came up.

What's the real difference between giving a price and making an offer? A price is just a number. An offer explains what's included, who it's for, and why it's worth that number. Same price, very different response from the customer.

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