Impact Pricing

It's absolutely true, people don't buy products, they buy solutions to problems. When we talk about our products, when we talk about our features, that doesn't truly resonate in the minds of our buyers.

Instead, what we need to be doing is talking about the problems that we're going to solve as well as the results a buyer might achieve. When we can capture their attention, recognizing the fact that they have a problem and getting them to agree that they have that problem, and then describing the results they might be able to achieve by solving that problem, now we're getting their attention.

These are things they can truly value. And by the way, maybe we're solving more problems than they originally thought they were when they were looking for a product like ours.

When we truly understand problems and results for our marketplace, and we can talk to our customers that way, our customers then perceive a lot more value, which means we can win these deals at higher prices. And that's really the whole point.

We hope you enjoyed this memecast. This impactful insight came from the book, Selling Value, which I wrote to help salespeople win more deals at higher prices. If you have any questions or feedback, please email me [email protected].

Now go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

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

Jon Barker has been involved in managing government contracts from the supplier side his entire career. He started a company called PTW Solutions, where PTW means Price To Win, and they help companies win government contracts. Jon is an avid coach and he's coached both lacrosse and soccer. When coaching, Jon fosters a team environment, while learning the strengths and weaknesses of each individual to build up skills and confidence.

In this episode, Jon talks about government contracting as he puts emphasis on why the government's focus is set on cost-plus.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Learn how pricing runs in government contracting
• Discover what a "probability of win" means and why you should focus on deals with higher "probability of win"
• Find out resources you can visit as you look for data of your competitors' prices

"Create your own internal models of the data that you use a lot to make those decisions, and have the ability to make the levers change easily. I think as a government contracting pricer, it would be extremely beneficial."

– Jon Barker

Topics Covered:

01:36 – The start of Jon's pricing journey for government contractors

04:39 – Small businesses having more volatility with government contracting if compared to large companies

08:10 – What's a P-win + what Jon loves about the field he's in

09:23 – Best value tradeoffs; putting energy into writing proposals for deals of higher p wins

14:23 – Position, Plan, and Price to Win; Government contracting as an interesting field

17:37 – Go-to's of a data guy: GSA price list, GSA Calc, STARS III, SAM, USA Spending

22:25 – Jon's passion for government contracting

24:44 – Jon's piece of pricing advice for today's listeners

Key Takeaways:

"Here's the beauty of it. When you're talking with larger companies, those rates are set. When you're talking to smaller companies, they have a lot more flexibility. They're not on the radars of these agencies… The smaller you are, the more of an art it is to be able to be clever with the numbers and figure out where you can ship those costs." – Jon Barker

"As you add layers and layers of contracts that you win, you have more capabilities. The biggest thing about winning contracts is being able to successfully execute them." – Jon Barker

"Section M (evaluation criteria) is probably your most important section in terms of how to create a winning bid and how to tailor your technical and your pricing strategies in order to maximize that probability of win." – Jon Barker

"The government customers' so huge, and there's so many different facets to it. There's plenty of other work to be had there. Don't get focused on, again, losing efforts to where the evaluators are not going to find the value in your offering, because you're not set up to be successful for that." – Jon Barker

"Pricing is just a fascinating topic; it's very psychological, as you know. But in government procurement, it's very much cost-plus based, because the government expects to understand how companies came up with the rates that they bid." – Jon Barker

People / Resources Mentioned:

• PTW Solutions Inc.: https://price-to-win.com/
• CPARS: https://www.cpars.gov/
• GSA Calc: https://calc.gsa.gov/
• STARS III: https://www.gsa.gov/technology/technology-purchasing-programs/governmentwide-acquisition-contracts/8a-stars-iii
• SAM: https://sam.gov/
• USA Spending: https://www.usaspending.gov/
• Federal Acquisition Regulation: https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/regulations/federal-acquisition-regulation-far

Connect with Jon Barker:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-barker-4648b84/
• Telephone: 571-216-9890
• Website: https://price-to-win.com/

Connect with Mark Stiving:

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

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on March 23, 2022, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/peloton-tests-new-pricing-model/

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/

It really is fascinating that experts can translate our features into our benefits. And oftentimes as salespeople, as pricing people, as product managers or product marketers, we are experts in our own products. We think about a feature and we can automatically understand what those benefits are that our customers are going to achieve.

But do our customers understand those benefits? And if they're experts then sure they do, but aren't we all trying to win new business? Aren't we all trying to find customers who are just getting into the product category, who are choosing between our products and our competitor's products?

In these cases, our customers might know what the features are but they don't truly understand the benefits they should expect to receive.

Imagine you've never, ever used a computer before and some salesperson tells you, yeah, this one has a terabyte static DRAM. You're thinking, okay, who cares? They have to be able to translate it into benefits.

And so often when we speak to our potential buyers, we're speaking to them in the things that we think are so meaningful, our features, but they can't translate that into their benefits.

If we truly want them to get the value of our products, we have to do the translation.

We hope you enjoyed this memecast. This impactful insight came from my book, Selling Value, which was written to help salespeople win more deals at higher prices. If you have any questions or feedback, please email me [email protected].

Now go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

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

DeAnn Hammer is the Global Pricing Operations Manager at 3M, an industrial machinery manufacturing company that innovates with purpose and uses science every day to create real impact in every life around the world. She was originally a Marketing Manager in 3M. DeAnn was the valedictorian of her high school senior graduating class

In this episode, DeAnn shares how she does the work of simplifying prices in a way that your customer understands as she puts emphasis on having not to negotiate once it's properly done.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Find out why it's a game-changer move for you to make buying a B2C experience for clients in a world of B2B;
• Discover how simplifying pricing removes the need for negotiating prices in the market; and
• Understand how price simplification unwinds the complexity in pricing

"If you make customers wait, you're going to lose the sale. Process and simplicity are going to allow you to grow your business even on really mature products."

– DeAnn Hammer

Topics Covered:

01:53 – How DeAnn got into pricing; DeAnn as a market development manager

03:07 – Marketers overpricing and underpricing their products

06:34 – The difference between the roles of a pricing manager and a pricing operations manager

08:09 – Activating pricing and making it a B2C experience in a B2B world

12:36 – Houses and cars as the only things consumers negotiate for

15:15 – Unwinding the complexity in pricing through price simplification

21:00 – Determining what's wrong with Mark's strategy

23:34 – Having to make tradeoffs by trying to get rid of negotiated deals

25:32 – DeAnn's piece of pricing advice for today's listeners

Key Takeaways:

"You do a lot of insights work in marketing and you're gathering that information about customers' willingness to pay, but there's also really bad questioning and marketing insights. What people tell you during insights isn't always what they mean, so you really need to pay attention to that willingness to pay and the value the product gives." – DeAnn Hammer

"Activating pricing and making it a B2C experience in a B2B world; I actually think that's how we can grow." – DeAnn Hammer

"I really think businesses have to start thinking about things that are easy, things that people understand, things that they have the data for, how can they just buy those, versus those things that are really perceived as having a much higher value in the idea that it should be negotiated. I think there's a line there about what should be negotiated and what shouldn't be." – DeAnn Hammer

"There was a time where you had to walk into a bank. There was a time you had to wait for an answer. And that's no longer the culture that we live in; we want that instant gratification." – DeAnn Hammer

"Keep it simple. Get the price out there. Let them buy it." – DeAnn Hammer

People / Resources Mentioned:

• 3M: https://www.3m.com/
• Kelley Blue Book: https://www.kbb.com/
• Carvana: https://www.carvana.com/

Connect with DeAnn Hammer:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deann-hammer-4360a2a/

Connect with Mark Stiving:

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

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on March 16, 2022, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pricing-people-shouldnt-set-prices/

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/

Usually, when we think about creating a new business model, it revolves around pricing. It often revolves around, what are we going to charge for?

If you think about what Netflix did when they first launched, you may recall Blockbuster was renting movies by the night, they were charging late fees. Most of their profit came from their late fees. Netflix on the other hand decided to offer a subscription where you could have one, two, or three DVDs at your house at any point in time, and you just paid a flat monthly fee. There were no late fees. What they did was changed the business model. They changed the pricing model.

Now, how does this help everyone?

Well, it helps everyone in the sense that now there's a group of people who prefer the subscription to the daily rental and they can go subscribe. We didn't eliminate one, although eventually, we did, but we didn't eliminate one, we just said let's offer more options to the marketplace. But in this case, especially the Netflix versus Blockbuster case, it was such a powerful thing that it really did eliminate the daily rental business. So they changed an entire industry.

Take a moment. Step back. Think about how your customers really get value from your products, what they truly value, and can you change your business model to make your customers happier about the way they pay for your products? You might change your own industry.

We hope you enjoyed this memecast. If you have any questions or feedback, please email me [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

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

Jon Jennings is the Founder and Managing Partner of Jennings Executive Search, LLC. Jon is an official sponsor of this podcast. He began his career with a boutique recruiting firm, building relationships with C-Level accounting and finance professionals utilizing a research-based approach of study and analysis to best serve his clients.

In 2012, Jon took this approach to a larger firm where he worked with several CFOs to build entire accounting and finance departments and gain a large firm perspective in how to build a successful practice. This experience led to the creation of Jennings Executive Search, LLC.

In this episode, Jon discusses the current situation of the pricing market, specifically focusing on how things have developed since the pandemic began.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Discover how the market has been like since the beginning of this pandemic;
• Learn about the difference of hybrid, in office, and at home settings, as well as how this difference influence today's job search; and
• Find out why those people who are willing to learn the soft skills of pricing are the ones who are more likely to be promoted in a company

"The people who get to move up are people who are adamant. They're persistent. They're not afraid to be uncomfortable in an uncomfortable conversation."

– Jon Jennings

Topics Covered:

01:28 – The market's situation since the pandemic began

04:17 – Talking about the expansion of pricing

06:01 – Everyone trying to figure out how to raise prices and putting hyper focus on it

08:49 – Are pricing people getting paid a lot more now than they were a year ago?

12:18 – Companies still not investing in pricing

14:48 – Are the requirements changing for pricing people?

18:35 – Those who are willing to learn make the biggest impact in a company

20:27 – How the difference between hybrid, in office, and at home settings influence today's jobs

24:29 – Jon's piece of pricing advice for today's listeners

Key Takeaways:

"What's really happening in pricing has been happening for a long time, which is it's expanding; there's more jobs in pricing, and kind of separate to the current economic phenomena that we've seen over the last few years, it's been a space that's grown." – Jon Jennings

"There's a lot of openings in pricing and it's hard to find qualified people for them at the moment." – Jon Jennings

"I call it fittest athletes search. We just find the person that's most capable and learn the fastest and can just solve problems, solve business problems; they'd like to get in the business and figure things out and communicate cross functionally. Those are the traits I like to look for." – Jon Jennings

"The really good ones have a creative type of mind; not just they're good at analytics, but they have that creative side turned on and they can communicate very well. It's like yet to be everything at the same time. Those people are really impactful." – Jon Jennings

"You have to articulate the right way, that's digestible and understandable, and you got to win that meeting; and that's where you have to sell yourself, your abilities, all the time. That's really what makes you promotable." – Jon Jennings

"The way to have a big impact on your career is always selling. There's never a perfect solution; there's better and best. When you have something, be confident and don't back down. The squeaky wheel gets grease." – Jon Jennings

People / Resources Mentioned:

• McKinsey: https://www.mckinsey.com/
• Bain: https://www.bain.com/
• BCG: https://www.bcg.com/
• KPMG: https://home.kpmg/
• Simon Kucher: https://www.simon-kucher.com/

Connect with Jon Jennings:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonjennings/
• 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 March 9, 2022, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/the-value-of-teachers-vs-athletes/

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/

Let's face it, pricing people, we're typically smart. We have to interact and interface with lots and lots of different departments. But we rarely have the authority to make decisions that impact the entire company.

These decisions could be changing pricing strategies, changing pricing metrics, focusing on market segments that we're going to go target. It could be getting product people to use value as they make decisions on which products to buy, or marketing people to document what value looks like as they're doing their marketing messages, teaching salespeople how to sell value.

All of these are crucial when it comes to us helping the company win more deals at higher prices, but we don't have authority. What we do have is the knowledge typically to help these things happen.

The only people in the company who have the authority to force these things through, to convince people who might be reluctant to say, "Yes, okay, let's go try it," are executives.

If we don't have executives driving pricing initiatives, or even better yet, driving a culture of value. If our executives aren't doing this, we're leaving significant money on the table because there are lots of opportunities for us to go increase profit, we just don't have the authority.

We hope you enjoyed this memecast. If you have any questions or feedback, please email me [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

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