Impact Pricing

This one is the 8 of Clubs from the Impact Pricing card deck. Ban the word markup. First, can we all agree that cost-plus pricing is not optimal? We really want to do value-based pricing, charge what a customer is willing to pay. Got it, so we're all in agreement. Now, let's talk about the word markup. Markup is defined as, tell me what my costs are, how much do I need to mark that up in order to get the margins that I want? So a markup is by definition cost-plus. Well, it's cost-times, but it's cost-plus. So when we use the word markup, as a company, we're saying we use cost-plus pricing. Now, it is okay, let's say you're running a distribution organization. You're running a grocery store. You've got hundreds of thousands of products to price. You can't do specific value-based pricing on each one of those products. And so, you have to do something. But don't do just cost-plus. When you say we use a 50 point markup or a 20 point markup, we're implying that goes across the board. What we should be saying is, how much margin do we think we can get from this product category? Because margin starts at, what's the price? And then, how much did we have to pay to acquire the product that we sold? So margin is a great term to use when we're thinking about value-based pricing. Markup almost forces us to use cost-plus pricing. So my advice, stop using that word. Don't let anybody else use that word. Switch your mental thought process to margin, not markup. We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. 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/

Geraldine Carter helps single-owner CPAs go down to 40 hours without giving up revenue. In this episode, Geraldine reveals effective strategies for tailoring your accounting service business to suit your lifestyle, enabling you to increase revenue without feeling overwhelmed by excessive work. Why you have to check out today's podcast: Discover how accountants can increase their earnings while reducing their workload Learn to craft your message to highlight the value you offer, rather than focusing solely on the cost of your services Uncover the transformation within the services you offer "Your clients have an expectation to pay and if your prices are too low, they might not buy from you." - Geraldine Carter Topics Covered: 01:56 - Working less but earning more 03:41 - Flexibility, autonomy and working less hours 05:38 - Mindset shift to less hours work 08:48 - Pricing strategies so accountants work less and increase income 11:10 - How message is structured to a CPA's client in terms of raising his price 14:44 - The idea of selling services but delivering transformations 16:42 - Understanding the services accountants perform and how they earn recurring income 17:20 - What transformation does accountants deliver to companies 22:36 - The beauty of having people see the value in your own business Key Takeaways: "The revenue that you create in your business has nothing to do with the time that you put in. I mean, you have to grind out the beginning to get it all set up and going. But you can get to the place where you do not have to work 40 or 25 or 15 hours a week. You just have to stay at it until you figure out how to get your hours down." - Geraldine Carter "Thinking that revenue comes from work for clients is like thinking that time comes from your watch, it's not how that works." - Geraldine Carter "Your buyer decides what price they want to pay. So, we do tiered pricing, we offer it to the clients." - Geraldine Carter "Most accountants are selling services, but they're creating and delivering transformations." - Geraldine Carter "For business owners listening, do not underestimate the power of pricing wisely." - Geraldine Carter Connect with Geraldine Carter: Website: https://geraldinecarter.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geraldine-carter/ Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on February 1, 2024, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/to-discount-or-not-to-discount/ 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/

This one is the 8 of Diamonds from the Impact Pricing card deck. Customer perceptions always matter. And what's fascinating is every time we touch a customer, we touch a buyer, they form perceptions of our company. They could be positive perceptions. They could be negative perceptions. And when I say every time, it's not only salespeople making sales calls. It's when they read our marketing messages. It's when they receive our invoices. It's when they call our customer support or customer service line. Every single touch point we have with a customer either creates value in their mind, or it destroys value in their mind. The question becomes, which are we going to do? My recommendation is obviously to create more value with every customer touch point. But how do we do that? We do that by creating a culture of value Inside our company. A customer centric perspective that says, how is it that this decision, how is it that this action, impacts our customers? And can I do it in a way that impacts our customers in a more positive manner instead of just thinking about how do I get them off the phone? Or how do I take care of them quickly so that they go away and stop bothering me while I do my day job? So value, a culture of value, is all about doing what's best for our customers and making sure every customer touchpoint increases value, not decreases it. We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. 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/

Robert Ribciuc is the Managing Partner at EBITDA Catalyst. He helped establish, grew, and managed a successful advisory/consulting firm focusing on pricing strategy and analytics, go-to-market optimization, and revenue management for middle-market corporate and private equity portfolio (PE) clients in diverse industry verticals. In this episode, Robert shares the key to succeeding as a pricing practitioner: nurturing curiosity. By continually seeking new experiences and knowledge, you'll not only advance in your current role but also pave the way for future promotions, ultimately leading to a successful career as a consultant. Why you have to check out today's podcast: Explore effective strategies for boosting personal and professional development as a pricing professional Discover the endless possibilities that come with nurturing your curiosity in the field of pricing Find out significant insights about specialization at the same time taking a broad approach in the pricing profession "Without curiosity, you wouldn't have tried and you wouldn't know how much room for improvement to have." - Robert Ribciuc Topics Covered: 01:51 - The breadth of the pricing field extending beyond one's job 03:57 - Specializing in a particular industry versus embracing a multifaceted approach to pricing 08:37 - The importance of constantly learning and adapting in pricing 12:02 - How pricing professionals can be better at what they do 14:40 - How curiosity gets your job done easily and gets you promoted 20:46 - The challenge of teaching for students in university versus teaching for companies 26:08 - Summarizing what the whole topic is about 28:18 - Robert's motivational message Key Takeaways: "Go read a book about a different industry, something that's not pricing. Also, get out of your chair and go walk to our product people, go walk to our marketing people and make some friends. Get them to tell you what their job is like and what they're thinking about." - Robert Ribciuc "Curiosity is kind of the opposite of, 'I can do it easy.'" - Robert Ribciuc "In many companies the curiosity gets subdued by, 'Oh, I find that if I just do this repeated cycle my boss is happy enough,' right? And that can be an illusion." - Robert Ribciuc People/ Resources Mentioned: Ronald Baker: https://impactpricing.com/podcast/497-classic-trash-the-timesheet-exploring-opportunities-in-subscription-businesses-with-ronald-j-baker/ Susan David: https://www.susandavid.com Vendavo: https://www.vendavo.com Pros: https://pros.com Zoom: https://zoom.us Honeywell: https://www.honeywell.com/us/en Connect with Robert Ribciuc: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ribciuc/ Email: robert@ebitdacatalyst.com Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 25, 2024, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/who-should-own-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/

This one is the 8 of Hearts from the Impact Pricing card deck. Business acumen is a skill that salespeople really need, and product people really should have, to say, "Why is it that a customer would want to buy our product?" In B2B, value is measured in incremental profit. Your customer isn't going to buy anything from you, assuming it's a business customer, unless you are making them more money. Here's the question, how are you making them more money? Somehow, when you can communicate that, when your sales team can communicate that, you have a much better chance at winning the business. And by the way, when you understand it, you have a much better chance at delivering great marketing messages, and building the right products. We really need the skill of business acumen so we can say what is the business of our customers and how is it that we make them more money, because that is where the value is. We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. 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/

Steven Forth, CEO of Ibbaka, discusses the future of pricing, focusing on AI's impact and value dynamics. Topics include custom packaging solutions, the role of AI in pricing, and the evolving roles of pricing professionals. Highlights include platform pricing challenges, generative AI, and the importance of AI integration in pricing practices.

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 18, 2024, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/listen-to-your-market-then-think/ 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/

This one is the 8 of Spades from the Impact Pricing card deck. You've probably heard me use the words 'will I' and 'which one' in the past. 'Will I' are situations where our buyers are choosing to buy our product or not, but they're not choosing whether they buy our product or a competitor's product. When we can find ourselves in a 'will I' situation, we know that our customers are not price sensitive. So, the key here is to know the difference. Are they comparing us to competitors or not? My recommendation is assume they're not. Because if we assume they are, we start talking about who our competitors are and they say, "Oh, you have competitors, let me go look at them." Instead, we talk to them about the value of solving the problem and why our product is going to help them solve that problem and get a huge return. And we never even mentioned that a competitive alternative exists. When the customer says to us, "Oh, we're looking at X, Y, Z company." Then we know that we can shift to talking about how we're better than our competition. What are those features or capabilities that we do that our competition can't match? But up to that point, let's make the assumption there is no competition. In fact, my favorite way to find out the answer, is there competition, is to ask the following question, "If you don't buy this, what will you do?" Notice that that question implies there is no competition. It doesn't say that go look at the competition. So my recommendation, always assume there is no competition. Talk about the value of solving the problems, and then you can shift your sales technique after you realize competition is in the deal. We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. 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/