Maciej Kraus is an experienced strategy executive with a broad operational background. He specializes in pricing and sales excellence in B2B, B2C, and retail markets. He worked both for leading multinationals as well as SMEs. He is also a guest lecturer at Stanford and LBS and an author of 2 books on Sales, Strategy, and Pricing. He is also an acknowledged sales coach and trainer, a certified business coach at the same time a TED speaker. 

In this episode, Maciej shares how companies should think more than monetization of their product and go after customer retention. He underscores how Pricing validates product-market price fit. As with SaaS Pricing, he points out that it is not about building cool marketing around the product but creating an intrinsic value in the product itself. He shares how one should not be scared to raise prices because for as long as you are winning your deals your price is not high enough.   

 

Why you have to check out today’s podcast:

• Learn to understand how Pricing is the best validation for your product-market price fit and why you should not feel scared to raise your prices 
• Find out why you should come from a mindset of not just acquiring but also keeping customers 

• Find out what Pricing strategy you need to put in place now so that when COVID is over you are prepared that you only have to access and launch it right there and then 

 

“Raise your price by 5% increments. And just wait until you have 20% of your customers leaving you. And then it means that you got to the optimal price.”  

- Maciej Kraus 

 

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Topics Covered:

01:11 - How Maciej got started in Pricing 

01:36 - What got him stuck in Pricing 

02:02 - Emphasizing Pricing on the webpage 

03:14 - Pricing as a validation for your product-market fit 

03:32 - Not just a product-market fit but product market price fit 

03:57 - How do startups think of Pricing 

05:02 - Agreeing to what Stiving Value Table stands for 

05:12 - How does SaaS Pricing excite him 

06:10 - The intrinsic value you need to build in SaaS products 

07:42 - Mistakes that a lot of subscription businesses make 

12:26 - Understanding the value you deliver in a subscription business 

14:42 - What should you prepare and what pricing strategy should you need to roll out once COVID ends 

16:29 - His best pricing advice that can impact your business 

17:13 - The best test if you get Pricing or not 

18:10 - How to get your optimal price 

18:29 - Why you should raise your prices 

 

Key Takeaways:

“For me, Pricing is the best validation for your product-market fit. If you have to give away your product for free, what is it worth?” - Maciej Kraus  

“We both agree that you should quite often start with your Pricing, and then build a product around it.” - Maciej Kraus 

“I think what I really love about SaaS is that it's not that you sell and forget, which quite often happens with just any other product. You have to build the value on the ground when you have a relationship with your customer.” - Maciej Kraus 

“I see quite often with the SaaS businesses they have this product kind of mindset; you just have to acquire customers. And this is the only thing you have to do. But actually, where the money for the SaaS model comes from is from that monetization and the retention.” - Maciej Kraus 

“When you are overwhelmed with those different options that you cannot see the difference, then probably most customers will say, my old car is still okay, so I don't need a new one.” - Maciej Kraus 

“And this is where I spent quite some time these days working with companies on how to think about what should be our pricing strategy when the reality changes so that we are prepared and we just can press the button and launch it.” - Maciej Kraus 

“It's easier to lower price than to increase it. That's why it's always better to start a bit too high than a bit too low.” - Maciej Kraus 

“Keep raising by 5%. Because what you hear is that 'Okay, so I listened or I read a marketing book, I raised my prices and guess what -- none of my customers left me. Usually, the answer is, so probably you still have a lot of room for price increases.” - Maciej Kraus 

 

Resources / People Mentioned: 

• Marc Andreessen 

• Kyle Poyar 

 

Connect with Maciej Kraus:

• LinkedIn 

 

Connect with Mark Stiving:   

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn