“Do List Prices Matter?” has now been published by the Professional Pricing Society …

“Do List Prices Matter?” How many times have you heard that? It’s a rhetorical question which is making an oblique statement: “I don’t think list prices matter” and much more besides.

This article will explain why list prices do matter, and provide insight into some of the reasons why people ask this question in the first place.

This is the third article of Paul’s that the Professional Pricing Society has published.

Read the paper ….

Any questions, please contact paul.charlton@thepricingfactory.com

 

Paul’s Pricing Dictionary: Pricing Audit

 

Pricing Audit, n.

Internal Audit’s favorite choice of audit which they do as often as they can because it’s the most interesting thing they can find to audit. It’s an area of the business where they know they least, can learn the most, and it’s actually interesting.

Having said that, I’ve been totally underwhelmed by Pricing Audits either completely missing what’s important – such as critical business processes which weren’t being performed, key metrics not identified let alone measured, and incomplete pricing strategies etc – or avoiding difficult issues, like breaking up audit finds and spreading them across the organization because they didn’t want to appear to be “victimizing” one particularly delinquent group.

If you’re relying on a Pricing Audit by your Internal Audit to identify your pricing issues, don’t. Get someone in who knows something about pricing. Call 281-782-9821.

Paul’s Pricing Dictionary: Why You Might Not Have Uncompetitive Product Costs After All

 

Uncompetitive Product Costs, n.pl.

Have you ever thought that you might have competitive product costs after all, and that it’s your pricing that sucks? Just saying.

Maybe the way your bid team analyzes the deal is different to the competition? Maybe the scope of their analysis is different? Maybe their criteria for what is acceptable is different? Maybe they know how to structure deals better than you do?

Maybe you haven’t structured the deal correctly? Maybe you need to re-structure the deal.

How is sales comp impacting this? Sales management? Sales behavior?

Maybe you need to get a pricing expert in? Someone who can give you a better idea of whether you are cost uncompetitive or not.

Maybe.

Is Your Pricing Holding You Back?

Great products? Lackluster margins? Underwhelming revenue growth? Maybe your pricing is holding you back. Get a Pricing Diagnostic and break free.

 

Paul’s Pricing Dictionary: Uncompetitive Product Costs

 

Uncompetitive Product Costs, n.pl.

Have you ever thought that you might have competitive product costs after all, and that it’s your pricing that sucks? Just saying.

Paul’s Pricing Dictionary: New Product Insanity (NPI)

 

New Product Insanity, n.

Thinking that your next New Product will fix all your business problems when it has never done so in the past.

Paul’s Pricing Dictionary: Meta Price Analysis

Keyboard with hot key for price analysisMeta Price Analysis, n.

Analysis which determines how much and what type of price analysis needs to be done.

It’s not how much analysis you do that matters; it’s how little, quick, repeatable and intelligible the analysis is, and most importantly much insight you create in the process:

Meta Price Analysis Value = f {Insight, Speed, Repeatability, Intelligibility / Effort}

Paul’s Pricing Dictionary: Big Data

P 75x75Big Data, n. pl. but s. or pl. in constr., often attrib.

It doesn’t matter how big your data is, it’s how much insight you get from it that counts.

 

Beginning to See the Light Through the Cloud

 

scale-computing-river-cruise-at-spiceworld2016-low-res-3612x2032Spiceheads enjoying Scale Computing’s on-premise hospitality at Spiceworks 2016 @ScaleComputing #Spiceworld2016

Do List Prices Matter? The real question is why do execs ask this in the first place? Final installment!

The Pricing Factory @ GTDC EMEA 2016 - Cropped 355x288@PaulCharlton of  presenting at .

There was a great question from Howard Davies of @Contextworld at the GTDC meeting in EMEA in June: Do list prices matter? Here’s the final installment!

All the blogs so far have focused on answering the question. As is often the case with pricing, the answer to the question is actually of secondary importance. What is of greater importance is why the question was asked in the first place. You see, the question itself reveals that there is a pricing a problem, and immediately offers clues as to what the problem might be. When execs ask the question, they are very obliquely flagging one or more the following

  • They don’t want you to change list prices;
  • They are unsure that they will meet their targets, particularly if you change their list prices; their sales targets may indeed have been set too high, or the revenue and margin may be significantly out-of-balance; it’s highly likely the target setting did not take list price or discount reductions into account;
  • They are thinking only about this quarter, and not even beginning to think about trying to set themselves up for success in the following quarter;
  • They want more discretion & flexibility in discounting;
  • They would like you to leave them alone mainly because they intend to dig themselves out of hole through discounting (which will invariably turn out to be inconsistent and unpredictable);
  • They think they can haggle their way out of this by screwing good/friendly/weak customers.
  • They are negotiating with you.

So they don’t realize it, but to me when they ask this question, it immediately raises a pricing red flag in my mind. There is a pricing problem here which needs fixing urgently. But while list prices aren’t the problem, they are definitely part of the solution.

Thank you Howard! Great question!

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