Agile Pricing: Why it Matters, Solving Usage-Based Pricing Challenges with Griff Parry

This one is the 4 of Spades from the Selling Value card deck. Every time a salesperson gets in front of a procurement officer, a purchasing agent, however they're called, the purchasing agent will act price sensitive. Their job is to get a better price for their company.  And so, they will always tell you that your price is too high, they need a discount. And you have to decide as a salesperson, do you want to give it to them? And here's the trick, does the purchasing agent actually have any power or authority to influence the decision process?  If you're selling a commodity, and they could go to three, or four, or 10 different sources to get essentially the exact same thing, and those are all approved sources for the manufacturing capability, procurement has a lot of power. You need to do a great job at making sure procurement stays happy and figure out what it really takes to close that deal.  On the other hand, if you're selling a piece of capital equipment and you've had a long sales cycle selling to a relatively large committee of people who've been debating, what's the best solution for us? And then they take that to procurement so the purchasing can go buy it. It turns out, procurement has almost no power.  They'll pretend to have a lot of power, but they really don't. The decision was made by the committee. And so, we don't have to give big discounts to procurement in situations like that. Here's the problem, it takes guts.  So, do you have the guts? 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/

14 Jun 20232min

Jens Hentschel's passion is B2B relationship management and is especially interested in the interaction between the two sides at the negotiation table: buyers and sellers, suppliers and customers, sales and procurement professionals. In this episode, Jens delves into the role of procurement in guiding the internal stakeholder's buying journey on the supply side, while the sales professional assists in facilitating a value-based negotiation.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Gain a comprehensive understanding of procurement's involvement in the sales process using the direct and indirect spend terminologies Recognize the significance of involving procurement at the outset of the negotiation process Learn how procurement and sales can create a mutually beneficial scenario in pricing value   "When you get into that situation where you have been put on the spot in that negotiation, don't budge on price." - Jens Hentschel   Topics Covered: 01:16 - How he got into pricing 03:04 - Jens important thoughts about Mark's bad impression of procurement 07:27 - A case where it's all about price [on the procurement side] and not a win-win situation 11:12 - Understanding procurement's role in the sales process using the direct and indirect spent terms 15:00 - Why the need to involve procurement early on in the sales process 17:57 - Identifying the right procurement person and establishing the initial conversation 20:49 - A procurement's participation in the customer's buying journey 22:22 - Discussing the concept of supplies vendors list 25:00 - The role that price play in making it to the vendor's list 27:12 - Jens impactful pricing advice   Key Takeaways: "What we are trying to preach is, involve them [procurement] right away because 90% of what your customers spend is managed through a procurement process." - Jens Hentschel "Something that I can only recommend to anybody to do is, interact with them [procurement] early, provide them with value insights that they're not able to gather themselves. That's how you start building that relationship." - Jens Hentschel "My thinking is, the procurement professional is the enabler of the buying journey of the internal stakeholder. And they can do it best by having a salesperson on the supplies helping them to be that facilitator." - Jens Hentschel "Where really value is created is where the sales professional on the supply side and the procurement professional on the customer side really work hand in hand to promote a solution." - Jens Hentschel   Resources/ People Mentioned: Procter and Gamble: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procter_%26_Gamble   Connect with Jens Hentschel: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenshentschel Website: https://www.fivis.io/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

12 Jun 202329min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on May 4, 2023, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/price-segmentation-by-negotiating/ 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/

9 Jun 20232min

This one is the 5 of Diamonds from the Selling Value card deck.  We typically give our salespeople some level of discount authority. And the reason we do that is, let's say they walked in, and they asked the factory, or headquarters, 'Hey, could I have a 5% discount?' And we always say yes to that. Then all we've done is slowed down the sales process.  Instead, we give them some level of discount authority. Knowing that, you know, if you come in for 5% or less, I'm going to give it to you anyway. So, you just have permission to go give 5% or less. The problem, of course, is that salespeople typically give the max that they're allowed to give.  There's all these different levers that they could pull. They could sell value, and they can discount price. And discounting price is one of those levers that they're going to pull because it's easy. See how easy it is for me to discount the 5% and it doesn't hit my commission that much. So, it's okay for me to give that 5% discount.  What we want to do as a company is sit back and say, what are the right levels of discount authority? What should I let my salesperson discount to? What should I let my sales managers discount to, my sales directors discount to? There are different levels, and we want them to be incented to discount as little as possible. 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, 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/

7 Jun 20232min

Alessandro Monti is a pricing enthusiast and expert on all topics related to monetization, conversion, upselling, digital pricing, price management, and business and pricing history. In this episode, Alessandro highlights the importance of adopting a monetization-led growth approach for your business and emphasizes the need to start implementing this strategy early on in your business.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Learn to redefine growth in the sense of making it profitable and sustainable Discover the importance of a monetization-driven growth strategy for the long-term success and sustainability of your business Find the ideal pricing metric for your business to attain optimal product-pricing-market fit and achieve success   "Choosing the appropriate price metric seems to be probably one of these game-changing moments for your businesses." - Alessandro Monti   Topics Covered: 01:32 - What brought him to pricing and what made him choose SKP 02:43 - Why he believes in supply and demand 06:01 - Delving into the concept of "growth at any cost" and shifting our focus away from it 08:31 - Defining digital industry and turning away from this 'growth at any cost' mentality 09:36 - Redefining growth 12:25 - Challenging the tools and techniques to get to this ultimate growth 14:49 - Deciding between freemium and free trial [and starting monetization-led growth early on in the business] 20:25 - Extracting value to monetize a product and what is true business success 23:03 - Alessandro's best pricing advice that impacts anyone's business 24:05 - Finding the best pricing metric to use   Key Takeaways: "Let's redefine growth in the sense of let's make profitable business." - Alessandro Monti "We don't need the free, just for the sake of having free because there is value in having free users. But besides that, I think you need to seek the conversion and the monetization as early as possible." - Alessandro Monti "It's growth understood as profitability using all of our modern monetization techniques and there's room for alternative content." - Alessandro Monti   People / Resources Mentioned: Taylor Swift: https://www.taylorswift.com/   Connect with Alessandro Monti: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/profmonti/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

5 Jun 202327min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on April 27, 2023, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/simplify-your-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/

2 Jun 20233min

This one is the 5 of Clubs from the Selling Value card deck. Most salespeople are paid on commission, and typically that commission is a percentage of the revenue. So, 2% of the revenue, 5% of the revenue, somewhere in that ballpark. The problem is, that incremental revenue, if I want to grow my revenue by 1%, the salesperson is only going to get 2%, or their commission rate, of the 1%. And it's a really, really tiny number. However, for the company, that 1% could be a really big number especially if your overall margins are relatively small, because that incremental 1% of revenue is a hundred percent profit. But we don't incentivize our salespeople to get that next 1% very much. Ideally, what we would do is, we would create a sales incentive structure so that covering costs, maybe they don't make anything, but anything from cost to list price, the amount of commission, the amount of incentive payment they get goes up for the higher the price they get.  I, typically, like to have a target price. I also have a list price and a floor price. And I'll set three different commission rates. Anybody who can sell at list gets a really high commission rate. Anybody who sells at Target or above gets a mid-level commission rate. Anybody who sells above the floor and below the target, it's a really low commission rate.  But the key is, we want to give our salespeople incentives to negotiate for that last 1%. 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 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/

31 Mai 20232min

Andrew Bailey is a Value Pricing and Price Negotiation Specialist. He is the founder of Commercial Strategy 4. He helps you unleash your pricing power to sell more, more often, and at a higher price to achieve the profits you deserve. In this episode, Andrew shares his strategy for value-based pricing negotiations to help you achieve the highest possible pricing for your product or service.   Why you have to check out today's podcast: Explore how you can present alternative options during negotiations by combining price and value selling strategies Discover one great technique for setting the stage and preparing the buyer's mindset for a pricing value conversation Uncover a more effective approach to pricing instead of simply relying on discounts   "Improve your prices and just get really good at customer conversations." - Andrew Bailey   Topics Covered: 01:14 - How he started in pricing 03:40 - Important consideration for negotiation 04:58 - Defining value for clients and questions to ask to understand the value you're delivering 09:21 - Dealing with procurement people versus the pricing committee as you go through value discovery process 12:32 - Key insights on opposing viewpoints between procurement and committee 14:28 - Practicing real-life price negotiations 16:36 - Pricing and value negotiation strategy that people rarely do but should be considered 24:08 - The biggest mistake in pricing negotiations and what should be done instead 27:53 - Andrew's best pricing advice to impact one's business   Key Takeaways: "Ultimately, your ability to achieve the results that you want in pricing and negotiating is focused around your negotiating strength." - Andrew Bailey "What I talk to people about is understanding what's really important to customers, what matters to them." - Andrew Bailey "Don't try to make a whole long list of things that you can do for your clients and customers. It's probably two or three things that's really important to them. Just focus on that. That's a great place to get to." - Andrew Bailey "We can give some discount and then we agree to it without really thinking about, could we do this differently? Is there a better way, is there more value here than simply that price and that quantity?" - Andrew Bailey   Connect with Andrew Bailey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pricingmentor/?originalSubdomain=uk Email: andrew@pricewithoutfear.com   Connect with Mark Stiving:   Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

29 Mai 202330min