Marketing and its dark side:
When a discount is not a service,
but an injustice
The hidden consequences of discounts, free gifts and undervalued prices in business through the eyes of systemic principles and family constellations. How do discounts create energetic debts, injustice and imbalance not only between you and the client, but also in the business field?
Read on if you are in the field of therapy, personal development or spiritual service.
Discounts SALES BONUSES
In everyday business, a discount or a “free” offer is a common tool to attract clients and “force them to convert.” However, from the perspective of systemic and family constellations, it is not as innocent as it seems. Every exchange has its own energetic balance – and if we disrupt it, it will inevitably explode somewhere systemically.
Now let’s look at the deeper principles that discounts, gifts, overpriced prices, and marketing strategies affect on an invisible (energetic and systemic) level.
It is important to realize that these laws apply generally, but in each specific case they may manifest differently depending on personal story, intention and relationship field. Therefore, it is always essential to look at your situation individually and consciously, ideally with the help of perspective or constellation.
Balance between giving and receiving
Every relationship, even a professional one, needs a balance between giving and receiving. When you give more than the other person can or wants to give back (whether in money, gratitude, or respect), an imbalance is created—and thus tension.
• Free or heavily discounted services often disrupt this balance.
• The client doesn’t appreciate it, doesn’t complete the process, or carries an internal debt that they can’t explain.
Injustice as a consequence
When a person receives something that they cannot compensate for, they begin to perceive it as pressure or injustice – a grievance arises.
• Grief can lead to rejection of results, criticism, or running away without saying thank you.
• And paradoxically – the one who gave becomes the culprit.
Injustice towards other clients
A discount for one is a silent slap in the face to those who paid in full.
• A systemic inequality is created: two people received the same value, but one paid more.
• Those who gave more may lose trust, disengage, or subconsciously withdraw energy from further collaboration.
Humiliating dynamics
If you give a discount out of fear, a need to be loved, or a feeling of guilt, you put yourself down. And the client feels that.
The system then lacks leadership and healthy authority.
The client loses respect because your price does not teach him respect.
Money as recognition
Money is not just a number – it is an appreciation of the value you bring.
If you don’t give your client the opportunity to pay in full, you are taking away their chance to show respect.
Without respect, collaboration has no solid foundation
Overpriced: when you take more than you give
There is often talk about pricing too low – but pricing too high (unjustified by depth, experience or presence) also has negative systemic consequences.
The client gives more than they get, and disappointment, silent resistance or a feeling of abuse arise.
Trust is lost – not only in you, but in the entire field or method.
If the price is a tool to filter people (“only for those who respect me”), it often hides a defense mechanism or injury.
Your system begins to react: with fatigue, resistance, sabotage or “weird” clients.
An overpriced price is often not arrogance, but a survival strategy. But it has its price: a long-term loss of confidence in yourself, your work and your results..
How to get out of this?
Here are principles you can use in your business:
• Don’t discount out of fear or guilt.
• Don’t overprice as ego compensation.
• Give only when it’s a gift – pure, without expectation.
• Exchange for something of value. It doesn’t always have to be money – but there should always be a balance.
• Be conscious of your price. It’s a reflection of your own value, but also of your respect for the client.
Marketing can be clean,
but only when it is based
on truth, respect, and awareness.
- A discount is not always a service. Sometimes it is a hidden trap.
- An overpriced price is not always self-worth. Sometimes it is an internal defense.
In both cases, a grievance arises – in the client, in you, and in the field. And this will always manifest itself over time.
Pre-promised Bonuses
Why They Can Be Manipulative, too
What’s happening on the surface:
You offer a service (e.g. a course, therapy, or program), and add "free bonuses" to increase its appeal. This is often used as a sales tactic: "If you buy now, you'll also get XYZ."
What’s happening beneath the surface (energetically and systemically):
🔸 Pressure to decide – instead of free choice
The bonus is often time-limited, which doesn’t allow the person to connect with their inner motivation, but triggers action based on fear of missing out. This is a classic form of manipulation through scarcity.
🔸 Imbalance in giving and receiving
When a client receives "more" than they consciously asked for or than what feels energetically natural, it can create a sense of inner debt or confusion. Sometimes, the bonus even goes unused – simply because it didn’t feel aligned.
🔸 Weakening the value of the main offer
If you need to “add more” just to sell your core offer, you’re energetically sending the message that the main offer isn’t enough on its own. This can subtly erode trust – both in the client and within yourself.
🔸 Blurring relationship boundaries
The bonus can create a sense that you're offering something extra that doesn’t belong to a clean exchange. From a systemic perspective, this can resemble the dynamic of: "I’ll do more for you, just so you’ll like me", which often stems from childhood patterns.
When does a bonus stop being manipulation?
When it arises spontaneously from surplus – offered after purchase or during collaboration as a genuine surprise (a gift, not a condition).
When it holds real value, but isn’t used to influence the decision.
When it’s not calculated, but truly fits the needs of the individual.
Summary
Yes, pre-promised bonuses can be a form of manipulation if they are used as pressure or persuasion tactics. From a systemic and energetic perspective, they weaken the purity of the exchange, create hidden obligations, and often undermine trust – even though they may appear attractive on the surface.