Impact Pricing

Join Mark Stiving for a unique dual-guest conversation with Jon Jennings, longtime Impact Pricing sponsor and successful pricing recruiter, and Ryan Walter, a pricing veteran with over 15 years of leadership experience who recently transitioned into recruiting. Together, they reveal the insider's view of private equity pricing transformations, from deal diligence to exit strategies. In this episode, they explore why private equity firms are investing heavily in pricing capabilities, how to determine the right level of pricing leadership for different situations, and the evolving landscape of pricing careers.  The conversation covers everything from pre-acquisition planning to AI's impact on pricing roles, offering valuable insights for both pricing professionals and business leaders.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Learn the critical difference between hiring a pricing person and orchestrating a pricing transformation. Understand the decision framework for determining whether you need a manager, director, or VP-level pricing leader. Explore why portfolio companies often resist pricing initiatives and how to overcome that resistance.   “In the private equity space, part of the diligence is we think there's an opportunity of pricing improvement of some dollar amount to go get. In order to get that, you're going to need to transform the way things are working, which is building out a team.” – Ryan Walter   Topics Covered: 02:05 – Ryan's journey into pricing: From MBA analytics to solving 7-Eleven's cigarette pricing crisis in Florida 03:29 – Pricing transformation strategies: Why PE's 5-year timeline perfectly aligns with pricing capability building 07:49 – Pricing as a center of excellence: The evolution from analyst roles to VP-level positions and what's next 11:05 – Private equity hiring differences: Stakeholder dynamics, investment thesis pressure, and the "shorter leash" reality 14:30 – Pricing problems in portfolio companies: When port cos don't see the problem PE firms see and how to bridge that gap 17:37 – Pricing transformation explained: Why it's all-encompassing and requires strategy, finance, data, and leadership skills 20:48 – Transformational roles in organizations: The difference between backfilling and building, and why transformation always wins 23:41 – Hiring pricing professionals for PE: Building pricing advisor roles at the firm level and sharing resources across portcos 26:17 – AI's impact on pricing: Data foundation requirements and immediate use cases like rebate design and negotiation prep 29:13 – AI in pricing strategies: Competitive data matching, SKU comparison, and the 80% solution approach 32:06 – Promoting the pricing field: Building the next generation of talent and educating people into pricing careers   Key Takeaways: "In the private equity space, part of the diligence is we think there's an opportunity of pricing improvement of some dollar amount to go get. In order to get that, you're going to need to transform the way things are working, which is building out a team." – Ryan Walter "The reason I like that word [transformation] is it's all encompassing because it's not really one thing. It's not, oh, we need to get a director of FPA in here. We need to get somebody who understands strategy, who understands finance, who understands data and IT tools, and is a leader that can influence others." – Ryan Walter "If you're going to go for a pricing transformation, you have to dive in with both feet. Halfway doesn't typically work." – Jon Jennings   Resources and People Mentioned: 7-Eleven: https://www.7-eleven.com/   Connect with Jon Jennings & Ryan Walter: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonjennings/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-walter3141/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on April 14, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/willingness-to-pay-is-not-rational/ 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/  

Mark Stiving is a pricing expert and the host of the Impact Pricing podcast, where he explores the intricate relationship between pricing, value, and context. With a wealth of experience in pricing strategies, Mark is passionate about helping companies maximize their revenue through effective pricing techniques. Steven Forth is the co-founder and Managing Partner at Ibbaka, a leading pricing strategy consultancy. With deep expertise in B2B SaaS pricing and value-based pricing models, Steven has been at the forefront of pricing innovation for over two decades. He's passionate about the intersection of pricing strategy, customer value, and emerging technologies like AI agents. In this episode, Steven turns the tables on Mark to explore context-driven pricing – Mark's revolutionary framework that's changing how pricing professionals think about willingness to pay. Together, they dive deep into the four contexts that drive every pricing decision, the three-layer business framework that organizes pricing strategy, and why perfection is the enemy of progress in pricing.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Discover the concept of context-driven pricing and its significance in today's market. Learn how different contexts, such as environmental and customer factors, influence pricing decisions. Understand the importance of defining the problem to effectively implement pricing strategies.   “Willingness to pay is contextual.” – Mark Stiving   Topics Covered: 01:37 – What motivated Mark to think about Context-driven Pricing? 03:15 – The four categories of context: problem, customer, behavioral, and environmental. 04:52 – How environmental factors influence willingness to pay? 06:01 – The role of competitors in shaping pricing strategies. 08:13 – Understanding the foundational problem and its impact on pricing decisions. 14:01 – The intersection of context-driven pricing and AI. 24:58 – Key takeaways on implementing context-driven pricing effectively.   Key Takeaways: “Pricing is about understanding the context in which a buyer operates.” – Mark Stiving “Defining the problem is crucial to determining willingness to pay.” – Mark Stiving “Perfection is impossible; focus on being better every day.” – Mark Stiving   Resources and People Mentioned: Steven Forth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenforth/ Ibbaka: https://www.ibbaka.com/ Craig Zawada: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-zawada-a0a39029/ Pros: https://pros.com/ Stephan Liozu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanliozu/ Zilliant: https://zilliant.com/ Gabe Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabesmith/ PriceFX: https://www.pricefx.com/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/  Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on April 7, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/tariffs-are-a-second-chance/ 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/  

Alastair Dryburgh, Chief Pricing Architect at Intelligent Pricing Architecture and author of "Pricing Genius," dives into innovative pricing strategies tailored for creative agencies. He emphasizes the importance of capturing value rather than merely setting prices. Alastair discusses how differentiation can elevate fees and highlights the challenges posed by AI in the consulting sector. He urges professionals to recognize their unique value and effectively communicate it, flipping the traditional billing model on its head. Get ready to rethink your approach to pricing!

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on March 31, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/price-segmentation-at-national-parks/ 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/

Marcos Rivera, founder of Pricing I/O and author of "Street Pricing," brings 25 years of pricing expertise to the table. In a compelling discussion, he reveals how AI is transforming pricing strategies, pushing businesses to focus on quick value capture. They explore the critical shift to outcome-based pricing and the significance of simplifying customer entry points. Marcos emphasizes the intricate link between product design and pricing, advocating for a holistic approach to enhance value creation in today's competitive landscape.

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on March 24, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/reasons-why-b2b-salespeople-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/

Steven Forth is the Co-founder & CEO of Ibbaka and a recognized expert in generative AI in pricing. With extensive experience in the intersection of artificial intelligence and pricing strategies, provides valuable insights into how agents are transforming the pricing landscape. In this episode, Steven discusses the concept of AI agents, their role in pricing, and how they can deliver value in various contexts. Together, they explore the implications of AI-driven agents on user interfaces, pricing strategies, and the future of business interactions.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Understand what agents are and how they differ from general-purpose AI. Discover how pricing strategies for agents can be structured around value delivery. Learn about the future of agent-to-agent interactions and their impact on pricing.   “Understanding what job your agent is going to do is critical for pricing.” – Steven Forth   Topics Covered: 02:07 – Definition of agents and their functionality.  03:17 – Differences between agents and general-purpose AI like ChatGPT.  05:11 – User interface simplicity and complexity in agent design. 08:16 – The AI agent layer cake and its implications for pricing.  11:12 – Access and usage-based pricing for agents.  14:03 – Outcomes-based pricing and its challenges.  16:16 – Tokenization. 20:27 – The importance of understanding the job an agent performs for pricing.  24:31 – Steven’s insights on the evolving landscape of pricing strategies. 31:28 – Steven’s pricing advice around agents. 31:53 – How to connect with Steven.   Key Takeaways: “Agents make it easier to do things, and if those things are valuable, we’re going to do them a lot more.” – Steven Forth “Pricing agents will require a shift in how we think about value delivery.” – Steven Forth   Resources and People Mentioned: Jakob Nielsen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_Nielsen_(usability_consultant)  OpenAI: https://openai.com/  Zilliant: https://zilliant.com/  Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/  Salesforce's Agent Force: https://www.salesforce.com/ap/agentforce/  Marc Benioff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Benioff  AI Agent Layer Cake: https://www.ibbaka.com/ibbaka-market-blog/how-to-price-ai-agents   Connect with Steven Forth: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenforth/  Email: steven@ibakka.com   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/  Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on March 17, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/practical-pricing-in-a-world-with-tariffs/ 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/