Impact Pricing

Ronald J. Baker is the founder of VeraSage Institute, a reformed CPA and cost accountant who has changed his mind on the value of timesheets and cost accounting. His quest is to bury the billable hour and timesheets.    He is also a radio talk-show Host, The Soul of Enterprise: Business in the Knowledge Economy heard on www.voiceamerica.com.  In this episode, Ron let us know why he changed his mind when it comes to the use of timesheets when setting up pricing. Hear his reasoning about why you should also get rid of timesheets. He offers profound insights, as well as examples and explanations, into how certain pricing value and cost models are appropriate for particular industries.    Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Learn why many companies in accounting and the automobile industry are switching to subscription pricing Discover how timesheets cause leaders to focus on the wrong metrics, especially in pricing and value setting No timesheets? Is it possible?    “Even if you’re a solo entrepreneur, have somebody else help you with pricing because it will put a spine in you and you won’t give yourself away.” – Ronald J. Baker   Topics Covered:  02:44 – Talking about four defenses for timesheets in relation to Pricing  04:41 – Taking into consideration the Cost of Goods Sold in setting the price  07:22 – Difference between a metric and measurement type of cost allocations  09:09 – Opportunity Cost and Sunk Cost  10:39 – Is time really considered in setting up pricing?  14:31 – Project management as a way of making better decisions in the future  15:47 – The best advantage of niching your expertise on  18:31 – The start of subscription pricing in the accounting world  21:30 – Insurance classified as subscription pricing  24:08 – What’s the best thing about hiring an accounting firm rather than accounting staff for your business  27:48 – His thoughts on cars leaning towards a subscription model  29:50 – Ron’s pricing advice   Key Takeaways:  “Keep in mind that I don’t need to see timesheets to know your firm’s costs. I need to know, I need to see your GL, your income statement and I need to know what your labor and all of that is. I’d much rather track revenue per person or labor cost per person, profit per person in a professional firm because that’s a true measurement.” – Ron Baker  “Even if they’re just starting out as a sole solo. Don’t have any employees. I still think they can put a price on things consistent with their opportunity cost and what they want, willingness to accept and function fine, and this is an integral part of this, as long as they step back after the job is completed and do an after-action review and learn from it.” – Ron Baker   “If you’re niched, if you specialize, it’s much easier to know what something’s going to take once you build up some experience.” – Ron Baker  “A subscription model is a way to lock customers in for life. So in value pricing to Oh you’re pricing, not the customer. And this is the subtle difference, but bear with me, you’re pricing the relationship and you're pricing the portfolio because you’re looking at it as a portfolio rather than a project or just a customer. You’re actually looking at the entire portfolio.” – Ron Baker  “We’re too busy. I think we confuse being busy with being effective and being profitable. And I’ll see a correlation there.” – Ron Baker    People/Resources Mentioned:  Bain & Company: https://www.bain.com/ McKinsey and Company: https://www.mckinsey.com/ Porsche: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche Canvas + Fair: https://drivecanvas.com/ Ed Kless: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edkless TSOE Episode #200: Interview with Reginald Lee: https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/tsoe/lee2 Lies, Damned Lies, and Cost Accounting: https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Damned-Cost-Accounting-Management/dp/163157065X   Connect With Ron Baker:  VeraSage Institute: https://verasage.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronbaker1 Twitter: https://twitter.com/RonaldBaker Email: ron@verasage.com  The Soul of Enterprise: https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/   Connect with Mark Stiving: Email: mark@impactpricing.com    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

25 Syys 202332min

This one is the Ace of Spades from the Impact Pricing card deck.  First, companies really do exist to create value for customers.  Think about what you do as a business. Everything you do is to get a customer to pay you money. And the only reason a customer would ever pay you money is if you are delivering more value to them than they're receiving. And so, our entire company needs to be focused on how do we create more value for customers? How do we deliver more value? How do we communicate the value?  But we spend all this time creating, communicating value, pricing is the one thing that we do that captures the value that we're able to create and communicate. So, when a buyer chooses to buy our product, they pay the price that we're asking, and that happens to be the transaction value. That's how we capture the value of what we deliver to our customers. We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. If you want to get better at speaking about pricing and value, grab a deck of our cards, pick a card, read the saying, and then talk for one to two minutes about what that card says. You'll become a better speaker and expert. If you have any questions or feedback, please email me, mark@impactpricing.com.  Now, go make an impact.   Connect with Mark Stiving:  Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

22 Syys 20232min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on August 17, 2023, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-price-variance/ 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/

20 Syys 20232min

With a decade of experience as an author, speaker, coach, and trainer, Carole Mahoney helps entrepreneurs, founders, and salespeople grow their businesses with a collaborative and science-based sales formula. In this episode, Carole shares how to make an engaging and collaborative sales conversation that makes your potential buyers feel valued and heard. In doing so, you transform your sales conversations into positive and fruitful interactions.   What you will learn from this episode: Learn about this exercise called 'Questions and Periods Game', how to go about it and how it works with your clients Discover the step-by-step process of doing the 'Questions and Periods Game' through a role play demonstration of Carole and Mark Find out the essential principles you need to know about the art of selling   "Selling isn't something we do to other people. It's something we do with them. And I think that's a fundamental shift that we need to start making in sales." - Carole Mahoney   Topics Covered: 01:17 - Synopsis of her book 'Buyer First' 03:34 - The best way to look at sales 06:03 - Carole coaching Mark on sales 11:57 - A sales conversation role play between Mark and Carole 16:05 -What is the 'Question and Periods Game' that she used to throw phenomenal questions at Mark? 20:30 - How to do the sales call without having to 'sell you' but to 'help you' 22:55 - Carole's valuable thoughts on Mark's sales technique 26:18 - How to handle a reply to a client's question at the end of the sales call, 'What do you think the next step should be'? 27:15 - What you should not fail to ask towards the end of the sales conversation   Key Takeaways: "Selling isn't something we do to other people. It's something we do with them. And I think that's a fundamental shift that we need to start making in sales." - Carole Mahoney "The more you drill down into a specific answer, the more you make them think and the more they start to wonder, maybe I don't know the answer to that. And then you find the opportunity to be able to offer an insight to them when you find out what insight matters most to them." - Carole Mahoney "When we talk about what we think, dopamine gets released in our brain. And so dopamine is that pleasure center. Like, we want more of that. That's why so many of us tend to get into talking about what we know instead of asking more questions. If we can get our buyers to talk more than we do, they're getting the dopamine released in their brains and they feel good about the conversation." - Carole Mahoney "Knowing who else can say no or who else can say yes and who else is going to be impacted by this [decision] is a critical question to ask towards the end of a call for your next step." - Carole Mahoney   People/Resources Mentioned: Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling by Carole Mahoney: https://carolemahoney.com/books/buyerfirstbook/   Connect with Carole Mahoney: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/ Website: https://www.unboundgrowth.com/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

18 Syys 202331min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on August 10, 2023, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/defining-value/ 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/

15 Syys 20232min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on August 3, 2023, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/which-business-do-you-want/ 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/

13 Syys 20231min

David Falzani is a CEO at Polaris Associates and a Professor at Nottingham University. In this episode, David discusses the strategy for driving higher pricing by understanding the value delivered to customers. He also dispels the myths surrounding the notion that high pricing lowers sales, sharing the results of experiments conducted with various companies that prove otherwise.   What you will learn from this episode: Learn how to achieve profitability without constantly chasing pricing Find out the underlying reasons for underpricing and dispel common misconceptions about the negative impact of higher prices on sales Discover experiments where doubling your price yields significantly higher profitability compared to low pricing strategies   "Think dynamically about price and do it often." - David Falzani   Topics Covered: 01:42 - Expounding on 'sustainable wealth creation' 02:54 - What caught his interest in pricing 04:36 - Three reasons why underpricing exist 06:48 - Emotional baggage and fear that comes with underpricing 08:13 - Frequency of price changes and increase 09:37 - 12 exercise the book suggests you can do to revisit your pricing strategies 12:13 - What makes companies lose confidence in pricing higher 14:37 - How to be profitable without chasing price all the time 17:01 - A case of a perfect example of understanding the relationship of pricing and customer value: Apple versus Android 18:21 - Why double your price? [And experiment you can do] 22:59 - Light double your price [an experiment for the more risk -averse] 24:29 - Looking at the numbers in terms of feasibility of price increase 26:57 - Busting myths about pricing higher 29:24 - David's best pricing advice   Key Takeaways: "The frequency of revisiting your pricing decisions. Every time you revisit it, do something different, use a different piece of analysis." - David Falzani "Don't just go and revisit the same comparison to competitors or if you are using cost- plus, which I hope you're not. Think about the frequency at which you are reviewing those pricing decisions." - David Falzani "The more you look at pricing, the more questions that are raised, the more you start to educate yourself about your own customers, your clients, the market, competitors, and all those dynamics." - David Falzani   People/Resources Mentioned: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: https://www.amazon/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555   Connect with David Falzani: LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/davidfalzani   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

11 Syys 202331min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on July 27, 2023, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pricing-usage-and-value-metrics/ 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/

8 Syys 20233min