How to Quote Price in a Presentation [Practical Tips]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jun 23
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 24
When we were working on a sales deck for Brian, a Sales Director at a SaaS company, he asked us a question that we’ve heard more times than we can count:
“How do I show pricing in a way that doesn’t scare them off?”
Our Creative Director replied without missing a beat: "Don’t show price until you’ve shown value.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many pricing slides throughout the year, and in the process, we’ve observed one common challenge: most teams either downplay the price or overjustify it, and both strategies backfire.
So, in this blog, we’ll talk about how to quote price in a presentation without turning it into a negotiation battleground or a credibility killer.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
Why Quoting Price Is More Than Just Numbers
Quoting price in a presentation is one of those moments where everything shifts. You can feel it in the room. The body language changes. People sit up. Some smile politely. Some lean back. Everyone’s calculating.
And yet, most presenters walk into this moment completely unprepared. They either drop the number casually, hoping confidence will carry it through, or they spend too much time overexplaining and lose their audience in the weeds.
Here’s the problem: quoting price isn’t just about saying a number. It’s a psychological pivot point.
At this point in your presentation, your audience has already made some internal decisions about you. But quoting the price is when they decide whether they’ll open their wallet. And that decision is rarely based on logic alone.
We’ve worked on hundreds of investor decks, sales pitches, and proposal walk-throughs. Every time, we’ve seen the same trap: People treat quoting price like a final detail, not a strategic moment.
But quoting price is strategy. It’s positioning. It’s timing. It’s how you show confidence in your value without pushing people into a corner.
If you get it right, it feels natural—like a fair exchange. If you get it wrong, it feels like a sales pitch wrapped in discomfort.
So now, let’s get into how to quote price in a presentation the right way.
Why spend hours making your own deck? Our team can do it for you with fixed pricing and a fast turnaround.
How to Quote Price in a Presentation
Let’s skip the corporate fluff and say it like it is. Quoting price in a presentation is about control.
You’re either in control of the room when you do it, or you’re not.
You’re either setting the tone, or reacting to theirs.
You’re either confidently stating your value, or opening the door for doubt.
Here’s the thing. Quoting price isn’t one-size-fits-all. It depends on who you’re talking to, what you’re selling, how complex your solution is, and how far along the relationship already is. But even with all these moving parts, there are patterns. And over the years, we’ve seen what works more consistently than not.
So, here’s how to quote price in a presentation. Without flinching, over-talking, or fumbling the moment.
1. Don’t Say a Number Until You’ve Set the Stage
Here’s a mistake we see all the time. A team walks into a pitch. They talk about what they do, maybe throw in a few bullet points, and then—boom—they quote a price.
No emotional buildup. No framing. No reason why that price makes sense.
And then they’re surprised when the client says, “That feels a bit high.”
Let’s be clear: quoting price is the punchline. But for a punchline to land, you need to set up the joke. In this case, the joke is your value story.
Before you say anything about numbers, take a moment to walk your audience through what they actually get. Not just features. Not just deliverables. Real-world outcomes.
For example:
“This strategy isn’t just a report—it’s a three-month roadmap to turn your customer churn around.”
“We’re not just providing templates—we’re solving your team’s bottleneck when building decks under pressure.”
“This system doesn’t just automate tasks—it reduces your ops cost by 20%.”
When you do this well, the price becomes a response to value—not a number hanging in the air waiting to be justified.
2. Anchor Their Expectations Before You Say the Actual Price
This is where psychology comes in.
If you say, “Our solution is $25,000,” the audience immediately asks: “Compared to what?”If you don’t give them an anchor point, they’ll create their own. And chances are, they’ll anchor it to the cheapest thing they’ve heard of.
But if you say, "Most companies in our space charge upwards of $40,000 for this kind of work. We’ve streamlined our process so we offer the same level of impact for $25,000,”now you’ve done two things:
You’ve set the benchmark.
You’ve made your price feel like a win.
Anchoring is subtle, but powerful. It’s not about manipulation. It’s about context. It’s about helping people understand how to interpret what they’re hearing.
Don’t leave the interpretation to chance.
3. Own the Number, Say It Straight
Never quote your price like you’re asking for permission.
You’d be surprised how many people introduce their price with lines like:
“So... we were thinking maybe around…”
“This is just a ballpark…”
“Depending on a few variables, this could be in the range of…”
That’s not quoting a price. That’s inviting negotiation before you’ve even had a chance to explain what the money is for.
Here’s what owning the number sounds like:
“Our price for the full scope we just discussed is $18,500.”
“For the deliverables outlined, the investment is $12,000.”
“We charge a fixed fee of $9,750 for that package.”
Notice something? No fluff. No filler. Just a clear, confident statement.
When you say your number with conviction, it shows you believe in the value of your offer. And if you don’t believe in it, why should they?
4. Pause. Let It Land. Don’t Fill the Silence.
After you say the price, stop talking.
Seriously.
Let it sit there. Give the room space to absorb it.
The biggest mistake we see? People rush to defend the number. They say the price, then immediately add:
“But we’re really flexible if you need something more affordable.”
“Of course, this includes a lot of extras...”
“We can tweak this depending on your budget.”
That’s panic talk. It dilutes your authority. It tells the client they have leverage before they’ve even reacted.
Here’s what we recommend: say the price, then pause. Let the other side speak next.
If they nod, great. Move forward.If they hesitate, ask a clarifying question:
“Does that fall within the scope of what you were expecting?”
“Would you like me to walk through what that includes again?”
Stay calm. Don’t talk yourself into a discount you were never asked for.
5. Explain What’s Included, Not Just What It Costs
When quoting price, you need to link the number to outcomes. Not line items. Not deliverables. Outcomes.
Let’s say you’re quoting $20,000. The audience doesn’t care that it includes X hours, Y deliverables, and Z meetings.
They care that it:
Saves them time
Reduces stress on their team
Prevents costly mistakes
Creates clarity for their clients or investors
After you quote the number, spend a minute connecting the dots. Something like:
“This includes everything we need to build the full deck—from research, storyboarding, writing, and custom design. But more importantly, it means your team won’t be scrambling last minute or settling for slides that don’t reflect your strategy. We take that weight off your plate.”
Now your price becomes a solution, not a line item.
6. Give the Price a Role in the Story
Sometimes, the most effective way to quote price in a presentation is to treat it like part of the story arc.
Instead of saving it for the end, weave it in right after you’ve framed the challenge and before you propose the way forward. That way, it feels like a natural step in solving the problem—not a separate negotiation.
Here’s how it sounds:
“So here’s the challenge: your sales team is spending hours customizing decks and still not getting the conversions they should. Our solution is a custom template system that cuts design time by 60% and makes the decks easier to scale. The cost to implement that system is $15,000 flat. And here’s how it works...”
This approach makes pricing feel like part of the logic. You’re not just throwing a number into the conversation. You’re making it a stepping stone.
7. Quote With Flexibility Only If Asked
Don’t pre-negotiate against yourself.
You can have pricing options. You can have packages. You can be flexible. But don’t lead with that.
Quote your ideal number first. With confidence.
If they say it’s out of budget, then you talk options. Then you offer variations. But not before.
Being too eager to show your flexibility creates a power imbalance. It tells the client they’re in control of the terms. And that’s not how you want to start the relationship.
8. Practice Your Delivery, Not Just the Slide
Most teams spend hours polishing their presentation deck. And then they mumble through the pricing moment like it’s an afterthought.
That’s a missed opportunity.
Rehearse your pricing line. Practice it out loud. Do it in front of someone. Make sure you’re not rushing through it. Make sure your voice doesn’t go up at the end like a question.
When you quote your price, you should sound like someone who’s said it a hundred times. Calm. Clear. Unapologetic.
Because the price is not a problem. The price is the path to the solution.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.