Impact Pricing

James Wilton is the founder and managing partner of Monevate, a consulting firm focused on pricing strategies. With a background in consulting from McKinsey and A.T. Kearney, James has a wealth of experience in helping companies capture value through effective pricing. He recently published a book titled "Capturing Value," which delves into the strategic importance of pricing in business.

In this episode, James discusses the nuances of pricing and its critical role in understanding value within a company. He shares insights on how businesses can develop pricing strategies that align with their value propositions and enhance their overall success. James emphasizes the importance of aligning pricing strategies with corporate goals and understanding customer needs, particularly in the SaaS and B2B sectors.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Learn about the relationship between pricing, value, and corporate strategy.
• Gain insights on the differences between B2B and B2C pricing strategies.
• Understand the evolving landscape of usage-based pricing and its implications.

"Being a little bit more thoughtful of thinking about, what are those different levels of offering that I can give? What is the right price metric that really does help me scale across a few different segments? That can make a massive difference to how much value you're able to extract from your market."

– James Wilton

Topics Covered:

01:22 – James' journey into pricing and consulting.

03:35 – The strategic importance of pricing in business.

04:47 – Understanding value and its impact on pricing decisions.

06:24 – The role of pricing in SaaS and B2B companies.

08:12 – Pricing strategy and corporate valuation.

15:05 – James shares insights on pricing AI, arguing that the fundamental principles of pricing remain the same, despite the unique challenges AI presents.

17:08 – James discusses how Monevate is using AI to analyze qualitative research, improving efficiency in summarizing interview results.

20:36 – Exploration of usage-based pricing, with James explaining its advantages and the importance of aligning pricing metrics with the value delivered to customers.

27:32 – James offers key pricing advice for companies, stressing the importance of creating a differentiated pricing structure to maximize value extraction from the market.

28:45 – Connect with James

Key Takeaways:

"Capturing value is about understanding what pricing should do for your company, to capture a fair portion of the value that you create for your customers." - James Wilton

"With AI models these days, you're seeing token-type models that fundamentally focus on the amount of work the system is doing. This results in a cost-based metric rather than a value-based metric." - James Wilton

"Value really is getting some kind of utility from something in its basic way." - James Wilton

People/Resources Mentioned:

• Monevate: https://www.monevate.com/
• McKinsey: https://www.mckinsey.com/
• Capturing Value: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRDVPQJ9
• A.T. Kearney: https://www.kearney.com/
• RELX: https://www.relx.com/
• Steven Forth: https://impactpricing.com/podcast/665-the-future-of-ai-monetization-trends-and-challenges-with-steven-forth/
• PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/

Connect with James Wilton:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdwilton

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on February 10, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/the-psychology-of-price-increases-why-a-two-stage-approach-might-work/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Amit Godbole is the founder of ProdSquad, dedicated to simplifying e-commerce technology through improved product management practices. He serves as a fractional chief product officer at FCI CCM and coordinates regional product tank events with Mind the Product, a leading networking organization for product managers.

In this episode, Amit discusses the importance of pricing in product management and how it can significantly impact a company's success. He shares insights on how product managers can leverage pricing strategies to enhance value for customers and drive revenue. Amit emphasizes the need for product managers to take ownership of pricing decisions, especially in the SaaS industry, and highlights the value of understanding customer needs and market dynamics.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Discover how product managers can influence pricing strategies to drive business success.
• Learn about the evolving role of pricing in product management and why it should be a core focus.
• Gain insights on how to articulate value in terms of revenue, cost reduction, and risk mitigation.

"Discounting typically means you do not value your product, your services, as much as your client does. So, discount should not be part of the strategy."

– Amit Godbole

Topics Covered:

01:55 – Amit's unexpected journey into pricing

03:37 – The traditional view of product management and its evolution

04:55 – The importance of pricing in SaaS and B2B companies

05:54 – How product managers can experiment with pricing strategies

07:33 – The significance of understanding customer value and willingness to pay

09:30 – The role of pricing pages in B2B and B2C contexts

11:23 – Strategies for creating effective pricing pages that communicate value

12:34 – The impact of subscription models on pricing strategies

14:50 – The importance of honesty in pricing and customer communication

19:12 – Value-based to context driven pricing

24:19 – Amit's best pricing advice for product managers

25:10 – Mark's advice to new pricing analyst

Key Takeaways:

"Pricing, revenue, and commercial aspects were the biggest levers somebody could pull in to get a product to the success they want." – Amit Godbole

"Product management professionals must understand that value has to be tied to revenue, or a dollar value, because that's the real value you can create." – Amit Godbole

"More companies need to be honest or need to help customers choose the right solution. If that's not right for them, don't upsell that." – Amit Godbole

People/Resources Mentioned:

• Mind The Product: https://www.mindtheproduct.com/
• Figma: https://www.figma.com/
• Zoom: https://zoom.us/

Connect with Amit Godbole:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitgodbole

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on February 4, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/stop-thinking-of-rebates-as-discounts-heres-what-they-really-do/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Mathew Kerbis is The Subscription Attorney who is on a mission to affordably serve latent legal market clients at scale via the subscription model and inspire attorneys to abandon the billable hour. He founded the law firm Subscription Attorney LLC.

In this episode, Mathew shares how he's leveraging subscription pricing to disrupt the traditional billable hour model in the legal industry, making legal services more accessible. He highlights his strategy of targeting an underserved market while offering premium pricing options for higher-value clients. Mathew emphasizes his business's profitability, operating with minimal expenses while maintaining a large margin and serving both small and large-scale clients.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Discover how subscription-based pricing is disrupting traditional legal service models, making legal help more accessible and predictable.
• Learn how addressing the vast underserved legal market can create new opportunities for both clients and lawyers.
• Gain insights on how offering premium pricing options alongside accessible subscription plans can balance profitability with customer satisfaction.

"Don't be afraid to experiment and to try something new. I experiment with my pricing to find what works. And so, you should experiment, too, and listen to Mark."

- Mathew Kerbis

Topics Covered:

01:37 - How he was led into pricing

03:24 - Discussing the similarities between doctors transitioning to direct primary care (DPC) and lawyers adopting subscription-based pricing

05:05 - Explaining his flexible subscription model

08:48 - Sharing how instead of tracking time or focusing on cost accounting, he views his business costs as fixed expenses

11:03 - Optimizing efficiency and delivering value through his subscription model

14:04 - Arguing that while clients can access AI tools themselves, they can't match the expertise of a lawyer using them effectively

16:04 - Emphasizing that while AI can generate rapid insights, it requires human judgment to interpret results accurately

18:52 - What he meant when he said he drives prices down and discussing the unmet demand creating a significant opportunity despite price competition in the legal industry

21:53 - Targeting underserved clients while maintaining flexibility to serve both small businesses and larger clients

24:26 - Maintaining accessible pricing while using tiered subscription pricing to price higher

26:30 - Highlighting the importance of strategic pricing to remain competitive without risking client loss or revenue instability

27:30 - Mathew's best pricing advice

Key Takeaways:

"Ron Baker has educated me on how cost accounting isn't the way to think about what your actual costs are as a business owner." - Mathew Kerbis

"What's great about a month-to-month subscription is, I could drop the client just like they could drop me. And the fact that they have the flexibility to leave at any time actually makes them not leave." - Mathew Kerbis

"I still want to offer the accessible pricing, but I will have super premium pricing for the best customers that need it." - Mathew Kerbis

"I don't assign any dollar number to my time or the hours that I spend because things don't take as long as they used to. I was using AI when I launched my firm because I knew less time equals more money doing what I do when you're not billing by the hour." - Mathew Kerbis

"Sure, you could use the legal AI tools that I'm using, but are you able to get the same output that a lawyer who is actually using the tool in the way in which it was designed can get better output?" - Mathew Kerbis

"Judgment is really important. I don't think AI replaces subject matter experts, frankly ever." - Mathew Kerbis

People/Resources Mentioned:

• Ron Baker: https://impactpricing.com/podcast/497-classic-trash-the-timesheet-exploring-opportunities-in-subscription-businesses-with-ronald-j-baker/
• Calendly: https://calendly.com
• Adobe Photoshop: https://www.adobe.com/
• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com
• ClaudeAI: https://claude.ai
• Perplexity Pro: https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/faq/what-is-perplexity-proUber:https://www.uber.com
• Grandview Research: https://www.grandviewresearch.com
• Walmart: https://www.walmart.com
• Target: https://www.target.com
• Sam Walton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Walton
• Jeff Bezos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos

Connect with Mathew Kerbis:

• Website: https://mathewkerbis.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerbisverse/

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 27, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/overcoming-fud-how-to-reduce-fear-uncertainty-and-doubt-in-pricing/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Paolo De Angeli is currently leading the Customer Experience and Customer Value Management teams at Borealis AG. He has a strong background and passion for Customer Value, from Value Creation to Value Based Pricing.

In this episode, Paolo shares the importance of persistence for pricing practitioners, encouraging them to confidently share their insights even when facing resistance. He highlights that pricing is not just about numbers but also about effective change management and influencing senior leaders. By staying committed and focusing on both soft skills and strategy, pricing professionals can drive impactful results.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Gain actionable strategies for understanding customer needs, framing value propositions, and making data-driven pricing decisions.
• Dive into valuable lessons on building strong supplier-customer relationships.
• Learn how pricing is as much about effective communication and influencing as it is about numbers, with tips on navigating resistance.

"If you are a pricing practitioner, you spend time learning, investing. Maybe like I did, taking some certification like the Professional Pricing Society, or you've been involved in the network. You are entitled to share your opinions."

- Paolo De Angeli

Topics Covered:

01:47 - How he found himself in pricing and what made him embrace it

03:45 - Reflecting on the evolution of the pricing profession

05:32 - Articulating the strategic reasoning behind his role as Head of Customer Experience and Customer Value Management

09:09 - Explaining how customer experience and customer value management are interconnected within a continuous commercial operations cycle

14:28 - Emphasizing the importance of having more customer value conversations, highlighting that customers are generally receptive to it

15:33 - Explaining how companies often fear customer value conversations due to the risk of their assumptions being challenged

20:08 - What process he employs when customers suggest improvements

22:05 - The importance of leading value discussions and identifying and addressing specific KPIs that matter to the customer to demonstrate value

25:20 - Highlighting the need to understand the customer's needs before discussing KPIs

27:11 - Why you need to look beyond customer feature requests to uncover the underlying problems

28:56 - How effective value management benefits both the supplier and the customer, creating a win-win scenario

30:13 - Paolo's best pricing advice

Key Takeaways:

"Everything that we do internally, when we challenge our value proposition, and we try to understand where our differential value is, comes not only from our internal perception but also and above all from what our customers are telling us." - Paolo De Angeli

"Companies are afraid that customers will not talk, will not share, and will destroy these hypotheses and negotiate on price. And the solution for this is to build a relationship that is more going in the direction of partnership than a transaction with your customers." - Paolo De Angeli

"If we want to simplify two main applications for customer value management, one is when you launch a new solution in the market, you need to have a differential value, a compelling value proposition, so that you need to be convincing both internally and externally and explain why anyone in the world should be interested in buying from you this new solution and not an existing one." - Paolo De Angeli

"Managing expectations is the most important thing, it's not because they ask for something that they will get it, but it's, I think that what we owe our customers is to listen to them. Have a conversation on why certain things are possible and others are not, and then have a joint collaboration on what's possible." - Paolo De Angeli

"Before understanding the KPIs, we need to understand their [customers] needs. We need to understand what their problems are." - Paolo De Angeli

"It's important to agree on the KPIs, but what matters is, to understand what their[customers] problems are and help them understand the profit equation." - Paolo De Angeli

People/Resources Mentioned:

• Professional Pricing Society: https://www.pricingsociety.com/
• European Pricing Platform: https://www.pricingplatform.com/about-epp
• Syngenta: https://www.syngenta.com/

Connect with Paolo De Angeli:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paolo-de-angeli-cpp-b232b85/

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 20, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/sam-altman-was-right/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Mark Herring is a passionate marketing leader with strong technical roots and deep knowledge of how to market cloud and enterprise software to open-source developers and DevOps audiences. He is the Chief Marketing Officer at HiveMQ.

In this episode, Mark shares his approach to cold outreach, explaining why leading with recognizable brands before introducing value creates engagement. He explores effective email strategies, emphasizing the power of short, curiosity-driven messages over long, detailed pitches. He also discusses pricing from the buyer's perspective, highlighting how perceived value—rather than just function—drives purchasing decisions.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Learn proven strategies for grabbing attention in cold calls and emails, using brand credibility and psychological triggers like FOMO.
• Discover how to price based on what buyers truly value, rather than just cost or features, using real-life analogies.
• Get practical tips on structuring sales conversations to keep prospects engaged without sounding like a typical salesperson.

"Try and understand the value in the eyes of your buyer. I think far too many times as vendors, we think there's intrinsic value because it costs us much to produce or we think it looks like that. It's trying to understand from a buying perspective, what is the value you're providing."

- Mark Herring

Topics Covered:

01:29 - How his journey from development to product marketing led him to pricing

03:41 - How his early pricing research focused on how customers would use a product rather than explicitly asking about the problem it solved

04:59 - To what is the short tenure of CMOs in B2B and consumer goods attributed to

06:25 - Explaining what a pipeline is and how pipeline generation involves value demonstration

10:38 - Comparing pipeline to running a marathon, emphasizing that while MQLs and SQLs are useful stepping stones, the ultimate goal is generating real sales opportunities

12:02 - Differentiating a pipeline from a SQL

14:18 - Demonstrating how a successful cold outreach combines multiple touchpoints

18:57 - How to make prospects more receptive in a cold call

21:13 - Why he uses big brand names as conversation openers in cold calls rather than starting with a value statement

22:27 - What an effective cold email should be

24:42 - Highlighting the importance of A/B testing cold emails and continuously refining outreach strategies to improve open rates

25:55 - Mark's best pricing advice

Key Takeaways:

"It's cold because you've never had the interaction, but usually they've interacted somewhere with you. It's like they might have seen you at an event, or they might have seen some of your outreach to you already and going, 'Okay, I'll give this guy a bone.'" - Mark Herring

"One of the sales guys was talking about this [cold calls] at the conference we were at together, and I just loved it. And he is like, 'Don't over research, because there's never a good time to know everything.' Because you got to keep on dialing." - Mark Herring

"You can't stop doing it [cold outreach] because it's like getting dice and trying to get the six, the more you throw it, the better chance you're going to get to the six." - Mark Herring

"I lead [cold call] with brands, not with value. And when you do that type of thing, they're then shocked going, 'Oh, he didn't do a sales pitch on me. He's asking me about these companies. Well, maybe it is something interesting.'" - Mark Herring

People/Resources Mentioned:

• FedX: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/home.html
• UPS: https://www.ups.com/us/en/home

Connect with Mark Herring:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herringmark/
• Email: [email protected]

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 13, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/the-last-mile-of-pricing/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/