A client asked our non-native teacher for a discount. Here's the whole chat
A client asks a non-native English teacher online for a discount. The real WeChat chat, from the first request to the renewal, and why it worked.
In “Can you make it cheaper?” we promised you a real case, so here it is: one client, one teacher and the whole conversation, from “can the price be lower?” to “is it still the same Alipay account as before?”. The teacher is one of ours. She’s from Europe, she isn’t a native speaker, and she never pretended to be one.
The ask
By the time this chat starts, the hardest part is already behind her. The family has been to her demo lesson, and she has told the client she’s from Europe. That was it: no speech about her English, no certificates lined up on the table. For the client it was enough, and she moved straight on to the question she actually cared about, which was how much, and could it be a little less.
So the passport never comes up again, and what you see below is pure bargaining. The client asks for a lower price for two lessons a week. (Weixin’s translator turned “twice a week” into “a discount on my artwork”, and we still laugh about it 🎨) The teacher offers a discount with a ten-lesson package. The client doesn’t want to pay that much upfront, so the teacher says fine, pay after each class at the normal price. “Didn’t you say it could be cheaper?” Yes, with a package. Then the client plays her last card, “we are trustworthy individuals 😁😁”, and gets the calmest reply in the whole chat.
Why it worked
After a good demo, Bella and her teacher had a connection, and that connection mattered far more than any passport. It comes from what the teacher can do: run a lesson, get a child interested and keep her talking, along with a lot of other skills we write about here on the blog and cover in the guide. Certificates and the country on your passport come a long way after that.
The second thing is dignity. Unfortunately, a lot of teachers outright humble themselves while looking for students: they sound needy, apologise for their price and keep lowering it, hoping that the cheaper they are, the more students they’ll get. It doesn’t work that way, and Chinese clients know it very well. Nobody likes to be begged, in this or any other relationship.
A conversation that leads to a purchase has to happen between equals: you pay me, and I give you a service. That’s exactly how this teacher talked, from the package discount to the calm “you’ll find someone more affordable”.
Not a native speaker? Our free Direct Client Readiness Check shows, in ten ticks, what a client already sees in you and what’s still missing before the next “can it be cheaper?”. Get it free
How it ended
The deal went through: the client bought the ten-lesson package, renewed it when it ran out, and everyone is happy with how it’s going. Bella started in April, and she’s still coming to her lessons today.
This won’t work every time
This chat isn’t a formula. Working with families directly is private practice, every client is a little different, and some will go to the cheaper teacher and stay there. That’s fine too.
And this is only the first case. We have a lot more chats like this, so real cases are about to become a regular thing on the blog: bargaining, cancellations, renewals and everything in between. Stay tuned ☕