Sales people use essentially the same tactic: "i have to call the boss/check with my manager" and then "i tried but they said that's too little, but we can do £

Sales people use essentially the same tactic: "i have to call the boss/check with my manager" and then "i tried but they said that's too little, but we can do £X; so I'll get the paper work" ... Seems you either overpay or have to put up with the silly games and don't know if you're overpaying. If the system were seeing optional efficiency it would give us all the info about BoM cost and hours worked and C-suite wages, dividends and profit rates, that would enable us to make informed decisions.