Mastering Value Conversations: Turning Customer Insights into Profits with Ed Arnold

Ed Arnold works with B2B companies to develop their value-based pricing strategies. His specialty is translating a company’s competitive advantage into a viable customer value pricing strategy, as well as advising on commercial execution.

In this episode, Ed shares when value conversations are most effective. He highlights the need to tailor value models to each prospect through open-ended questions that uncover key business drivers. Because when value is clearly demonstrated, price becomes a secondary concern, resulting in smoother sales and fewer pricing objections.

 

Why you have to check out today’s podcast:

• Learn why guiding customers to do their own value math is more persuasive than presenting a pre-made ROI model.
• Discover how value conversations shift the focus from cost to impact, making price negotiations smoother.
• Understand why dumping numbers on customers backfires and how to engage them in a way that builds trust and buy-in.

 

"As customers, we have a good sense of what a great deal is. But as sellers, we're much less certain about what that value is. You need to have value conversations to get at that."

- Ed Arnold

 

Topics Covered:

00:57 - How he accidentally got into, left, and keeps returning to pricing

03:25 - Explaining how pricing challenges often signal deeper business issues

08:46 - Why customers distrust ROI calculators

11:05 - What value conversation is all about and how to effectively go through it

14:00 - Emphasizing that trust is built through reliability and honest engagement

16:57 - How many good salespeople are there and what make good salespeople

19:17 - The importance of market focus and playbooks in sales

20:49 - Showing the most effective value conversation to have 

25:03 - How he trains salespeople on value conversations

29:53 - Noting that while he focuses on larger customers, the same value-based principles apply to marketing lower-ACV products

30:24 - Ed's best pricing advice

 

Key Takeaways:

"You cannot solve any pricing issue without tackling the strategy. And if the strategy is flawed, then the pricing isn't going to help you." - Ed Arnold

"...and this is the thing that I think about value stories. It's not about the product. It's about the customer. The customer is the star of the story." - Ed Arnold

 

People/Resources Mentioned:

• Steven Forth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenforth/
• Forrester: https://www.forrester.com/bold/
• Monitor Deloitte: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/services/consulting/services/monitor-deloitte.html
• Leverage Point: https://www.leveragepoint.com/

 

Connect with Ed Arnold:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edarnold1/

 

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: mark@impactpricing.com