Blogcast: Packaging AI: Structuring Features and Placing AI in Offers

Bill Diggons, managing partner at Qittitut Consulting (yes, named after a fast-growing, healthy Inuit bear), shares 24 years of pricing wisdom earned across 182 projects in 57 countries. A disciple of pricing legend Tom Nagle and former oil industry marketer at Schlumberger and Halliburton, Bill reveals why single-column bids are leaving 3-5 margin points on the table and how tiering transforms B2B pricing. From Wagyu beef pricing psychology to semiconductor de-specification strategies, Bill and Mark debate whether prices should be easy or hard to compare, why "Boss Hog" beats techno-nerd names, and the counterintuitive power of ending prices in odd numbers instead of zeros. Plus, why Bill charges $5,000 extra just to read client contracts.   Why you have to check out today's podcast: Discover why tiering consistently delivers 3-5 margin points minimum—and how three-column bids with strategic naming force buyers to make trade-offs instead of price comparisons. Learn the "no zeros" pricing rule that generated $8 million in three months by making prices look carefully calculated rather than negotiable. Master the art of non-compliant RFP responses with alternatives that disrupt tender processes and win on value instead of lowest price.   "Not profound, but no zeros on the quote. It's so often that we can get half a margin point just out of stuff like that. And then beyond that, try some naming and tiering because it's going to work for you." – Bill Diggons   Topics Covered: 02:09 - The Qittitut Origin Story: Why a Dancing Bear Beat "Bill & Bob's Consulting". 05:39 - What is Tiering? Moving Beyond Single-Column Bids. 10:07 - The Restaurant Menu Masterclass and Boss Hog's Emotional Appeal - How to Decide What Features Go in What Tiers. 19:02 - Responding to RFPs with Tiered Alternatives and Non-Compliant Bids. 20:02 - The Power of "Networking Best Practices Meeting" vs. "Presentation". 26:23 - Final Advice: No Zeros on the Quote (And Why It Generated $8 Million). 28:12 - Contacting Bill and Why He Charges $5,000 to Read Contracts.   Key Takeaways: "Tiering to me is having at least a three-column bid, naming the columns, and then having some names on the products or services to imply added value. Whenever we've introduced this, it always results in three to five margin points minimum." - Bill Diggons "I demand the right to segment that price to the outcome, the value the buyer gets. Even though the variable cost of the motor is identical, I want to be able to sell it at an economy price in a benign environment and at a premium price in an extreme environment because I put billions of dollars into creating this thing." - Bill Diggons   People / Resources Mentioned: Tom Nagle: Author of "Strategy and Tactics of Pricing" - pricing authority who transformed Bill's approach in oil and gas. Schlumberger: Oil company where Bill worked in marketing. Halliburton: Oil company in Bill's background. QSales: Where Bill was practice leader for 20 years. A.T. Kearney, McKinsey, Deloitte: Consulting firms mentioned in the RFP rejection story where Bill's price was "too low". Starbucks: Referenced for tall, grande, venti tiering strategy. iPhone/Apple: Used as two examples - 99-cent pricing psychology AND customers not comparing to Huawei when upgrading. Huawei: Mentioned as iPhone competitor that iPhone users ignore when upgrading.   Connect with Bill Diggons: Company: https://www.qittitut.com/  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billdiggons/  Email: bill@qittitut.com   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

10 Marras 29min

Sarah Williams, founder and CEO of Leading Culture and former director at GAP Consulting for 23 years, brings her accounting background and business growth strategy expertise to a spirited debate about ROI, value-based pricing, and why companies leave money on the table.  From her home in New Zealand (Mark's second favorite country), Sarah challenges conventional pricing wisdom—arguing that ROI applies to both B2B and B2C, that we should ignore competitors when determining value, and that the antidote to the curse of knowledge is thinking with a beginner's mind.  Mark pushes back on opportunity costs, explains why competitor pricing matters, and uses everything from vests to Louis Vuitton handbags to make his points in this engaging conversation about helping customers understand the true value of what they're buying.   Why You Have to Check Out Today's Podcast: Understand why teaching customers to think in ROI is the fastest way to eliminate buyer's remorse, increase prices, and differentiate from competitors who focus on features. Discover the beginner's mind approach that prevents the #1 mistake pricing experts make—assuming customers know what seems "obvious" to you. Master vulnerability-based trust by inviting customers to ask questions without fear—the counterintuitive sales technique that accelerates deals faster than "looking professional".   "Think in terms of value from the customer's perspective." – Sarah Williams   Topics Covered: 03:01 - Why ROI Should Be Everyone's Decision-Making Framework 06:10 - Helping Customers Think in ROI Terms: Your Job as the Provider 08:12 - Utility in Economics: The B2C Alternative to Monetary ROI 20:00 - The Opportunity Cost Debate: Pricing vs. Budgeting Decisions 25:19 - Differentiation Value: Starting with Competitor's Price, Then Adding 27:57 - Louis Vuitton vs. $40 Handbags: Conspicuous Consumption and What People Really Buy 32:31 - Starting with a Blank Slate: Thinking Myopically About Customer Value 35:32 - Final Advice: Think in Terms of Value from the Customer's Perspective   Key Takeaways: ROI on its own can be a decision-making framework. From the point of view of maybe even making a personal decision, I can think about, well, what's the return on investment? And that might even be an investment of my time." - Sarah Williams "We're doing our customers a disservice if we're not helping them to think in terms of ROI. Like, what really am I getting? Because buyer's remorse is really, really prevalent. People make split-second decisions now and then live to regret it 24 hours later." - Sarah Williams "In economics, there's this concept called utility, right? So, I think in terms of when you're thinking B2C, now you're shifting the conversation a little bit more towards the utility angle in economics." - Sarah Williams   People / Resources Mentioned: Jim Collins: Author of "Good to Great" Chip and Dan Heath: Authors of "Made to Stick" and the concept of the curse of knowledge Patrick Lencioni: Leadership expert who popularized vulnerability-based trust and predictive trust concepts GAP Consulting: Where Sarah served as director for 23 years Complete Learning Solutions: Where Sarah was Chief Inspiration Officer Louis Vuitton: Used as example of luxury pricing vs. commodity pricing iPhone: Example of blue ocean differentiation where customers don't compare competitor prices Huawei: Mentioned as iPhone alternative that iPhone users don't consider when upgrading   Connect with Sarah Williams: Email: sarah@leadingculture.co.nz Website: https://www.leadingculture.co.nz/home  AI Summit Link: https://www.leadingculture.co.nz/ai-summit-registration-page   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

3 Marras 36min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on August 25, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pricing-ai-market-segmentation-matters/ If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at mark@impactpricing.com. Now, go make an impact. Connect with Mark Stiving: Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

31 Loka 6min

Lindsay Maurer is Pricing Intervention Manager at BP. With 14 years of experience in product management and pricing, she reveals how she achieved a 13% profit gain despite a 16% revenue drop, and why she believes "the dumbest guy in the market sets the price." In this episode, Lindsay and Mark Stiving discuss regional pricing strategies, ethical competitive intelligence, and the power of price signals in the market. They explore what defines a pricing leader versus a follower, why clean data matters more than fancy tools, and why AI can't fix bad pricing fundamentals. Whether you work in pricing, lead a team, or simply want to understand how pricing shapes business strategy, this episode offers practical, real-world insights you can use right away. Why You Have to Check Out Today's Podcast: Learn how to build regional pricing strategies that adapt to local competition and customer behavior. Discover smart, ethical ways to track competitors using tools like Circana data and web scraping. Understand why clean data and efficient processes matter more than any pricing technology. "It doesn't matter how much technology you throw at bad data — it's not going to fix your pricing strategy." – Lindsay Maurer Topics Covered: 02:50 - Getting into Pricing: How Lindsay's career began and what got her hooked on pricing strategy. 06:10 - Inside the Role: What a Pricing Intervention Manager does - from fixing revenue leaks to supporting teams across the Americas. 12:15 - Market Dynamics: Why "the dumbest guy in the market sets the price" and how smart companies protect their margins. 15:08 - Retail Pricing: How retailers test price floors and ceilings, monitor competitors, and manage customer perceptions. 17:31 - Price Leadership: What makes a company a price leader versus a follower, and how market factors like tariffs shape decisions. 20:17 - Competitor Insights: How often to track prices in different industries and how to ethically gather market data. 25:01 - Strengthening Pricing Teams: Why efficient tools, clean data, and solid processes matter more than fancy systems. 28:25 - AI in Pricing: Where AI fits today, what it can and can't do, and how to use it for smarter market insights. 29:57 - Pricing Community: Lindsay's call for collaboration - connecting with other pricing professionals and sharing tools. Key Takeaways: "The dumbest guy in the market sets the price. If you have someone that has products that they can go and sell for half the price of yours, well, you're also taking out half the price of everyone's margin, but also your own." - Lindsay Maurer "Make sure you've got great information coming in. Make sure that you're doing anything you can do with it as efficiently as possible so that when you do get those quotes and you do get those quick turnaround requests for sales that you can price quickly and you don't lose business due to inefficiency." - Lindsay Maurer People / Resources Mentioned: Al Beck: Al Beck: Pricing Director at Standard Motor Products https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderkbeck/ Circana (formerly NPD): https://www.circana.com Ficstar: https://www.ficstar.com/ Import.io: https://www.import.io/ SVP Recruiting: Organizer of Pricing Week conference https://svpricing.com/pricing-week Connect with Lindsay Maurer: Website: https://www.bp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsaymaurer/ Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

27 Loka 31min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on August 18, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pricing-ai-are-you-selling-a-platform-or-a-solution/ If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at mark@impactpricing.com. Now, go make an impact. Connect with Mark Stiving: Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

24 Loka 7min

Bill Wilson, CEO and founder of Pace Pricing and official pricing advisor for the government of New Zealand, takes Mark on a deep dive into Jobs to be Done methodology and its connection to value-based pricing. From his origins as a software developer building productized services to coaching hundreds of companies through SaaS Academy, Bill reveals why pricing isn't just about the number—it's about understanding the progress customers are trying to make. In this episode, Mark and Bill dive into why the Jobs to Be Done framework offers a more effective lens than traditional problem-and-results approaches, leading to insights about value realization, emotional jobs, and why the biggest pricing advice might be the simplest: just raise your prices. Why You Have to Check Out Today's Podcast: Learn the critical role of value realization and how to effectively package products to help customers achieve desired outcomes quickly and sustainably. Understand the Jobs to Be Done framework, how it differs from traditional problem-solving approaches, and why it's vital for grasping true customer motivations. Discover practical pricing strategies, including overcoming fears around raising prices and how thoughtful price increases positively impact a company's bottom line. "Without being too on the nose about it, you probably should raise your prices." – Bill Wilson Topics Covered: 01:32 - Bill's journey from technical founder in 2007 to productizing services, escaping hourly billing, and discovering that pricing is everyone's delicate secret. 06:59 - The Product-Pricing-Positioning Triangle Why these three cannot be separated: value delivery (product), value perception (positioning), and value capture (pricing). 09:33 - What is Jobs to be Done? Bill's definition: statements describing the progress customers are trying to make, with specific ways to measure that value. 14:17 - The Trigger Moment: Status Quo Change Why the sandwich shop example illustrates how triggers create jobs people are willing to pay to solve, unlike generic problems. 20:11 - Context-Driven Pricing Meets Jobs to be Done Mark's framework of foundational problems, problem scope, and situational context—and how it maps to Bill's JTBD structure. 21:56 - System 1 vs. System 2: Emotion vs. Value Separating intuitive, emotional buying (System 1) from deliberative value calculation (System 2)—and why B2B sellers must address both. 26:39 - The Three Phases of Value Value perception (positioning), value realization (first aha moment), and value adoption (features driving continuous use). 30:08 - The Product-Pricing-Positioning Connection in Practice: Why Bill sometimes produces product requirements documents during pricing engagements—because time-to-value affects pricing success. 30:28 - Final Advice: Raise Your Prices The simplest, most powerful advice that everyone fears—and why money from price increases falls directly to the bottom line. Key Takeaways: "A job to be done inherently has monetization built into it because there are a lot of problems that I'm not willing to pay to be solved. But a job in and of itself is something I'm actively trying to achieve." - Bill Wilson "Recurring revenue lives in value adoption, not in value realization. I can get anybody to realize value pretty quickly and they'll never buy my product more than once." - Bill Wilson "Everybody's scared to death to raise their prices. But if you haven't raised your prices in a couple of years, you're probably safe to raise your prices. And all that money that you raise it by, whatever percentage that is, is going to fall directly to the bottom line." - Bill Wilson People / Resources Mentioned: April Dunford: Positioning expert, author of "Obviously Awesome" and "Sales Pitch" Anthony Ulwick: Outcome-Driven Innovation approach to Jobs to be Done Clayton Christensen: Jobs to be Done theory pioneer Danny Kahneman: System 1 and System 2 thinking framework SaaS Academy: Where Bill coaches companies on pricing Volta: Coaching organization Bill works with Connect with Bill Wilson: Pace Pricing: https://www.pacepricing.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wdrwilson/ Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

20 Loka 31min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on August 11, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pricing-ai-do-costs-finally-matter-in-pricing/ If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at mark@impactpricing.com. Now, go make an impact. Connect with Mark Stiving: Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

17 Loka 7min