Pricing with Confidence: Ten Rules for Increasing Profits and Staying Ahead of Inflation

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Getting Used to Supply Chain and Cost Turbulence
	The Importance of Leadership
	Building the Value-Based Pricing Team
	Start with the End Goals
	Understand the Capabilities Needed
	Support the Value Leader
	Avoid Urgency
	How This Book Is Organized: Ten Rules for Increasing Revenue and Profitability
Chapter 1 Rule One
	Price for Profit
		When the Tide Goes Out
		Costs Are Going Up
		Three Necessary Adjustments
		Problems with a Revenue Focus
		Navigate Inflation’s Challenges
		Competitive Disadvantage in Your Costs
	Have a Better View of Costs
		Common Tactics That Lead to Problems
	Moving to a Profit-Based Approach
	Slow and Steady Wins the Race
		Pricing Maturity Model
		The Two Levels of Pricing
		Criteria for a Confidence-Building Pricing Process
		Final Thoughts
Chapter 2 Rule Two
	An Ounce of Execution Is Better Than a Pound of Strategy
		Keep It Simple
		Great Execution Starts with Outcome-Centric Thinking
		Simplify Analytics
		Elasticity Analysis Provides Insights
	Better Value Messages and Customer Targeting
		Identify the Customers You Can Serve at a Profit
		How Effective Are Your Price Discounts?
		Control Discounting with Rules of Engagement
Chapter 3 Rule Three
	Kick the Discounting Habit
		Kicking the Discounting Habit
		Cycles of Desperation
		The White Horse Syndrome
		White Horse Syndrome Effect on Sales Force
		Never in a Vacuum
		Desperation Pricing During Inflation Won’t Work
		None of This Is Easy
Chapter 4 Rule Four
	Know Your Value
		Why Value?
		The Power of Value and Use in Inflationary Markets
		Adopting a Value Mindset
		Why Talk to Customers About Value?
	Customers Want to Talk About Value
	How Does the Customer Obtain Financial Value from the Use of the Offering?
	Customer Interviewing
		Simple and Consumable
		Capabilities Needed for a Value Focused Organization
		The Behavioral—Social—Dimensions of Pricing
Chapter 5 Rule Five
	Strategy Sets the Direction
		Price Strategy and Inflation
		Inflation and Supply Chain
		Choosing the Right Price Strategy
		The Three Basic Price Strategies
	Choosing an Inflation-Driven Price Strategy
		Pricing Through the Product Life Cycle
		Introductory Markets
		Growth Markets
		Mature Markets
		Declining Markets
		Price Strategy for Capital-Intensive Businesses
		The Competitive Landscape and Price Strategy Options
		Be Prepared to Change Your Strategy
		What About During Inflation?
		Making Salespeople Champions of Price Strategy
		Four Steps to Building Sales Champions
		Price Strategy in a Recession
Chapter 6 Rule Six
	Innovate for Growth
		Should Innovation Continue During Inflationary Market Conditions?
		Innovate for Growth, Price for Profits
		Sources of Innovation
	Innovation During Inflationary Times
	The Problem with Using Price to Drive Growth
		The Basics of a Good Offering Structure
		Value-Added Options: The Critical Role of Services and Solutions
	Building Pricing Leverage
Chapter 7 Rule Seven
	Understand Your Market
		No Magic Bullet
		Know Thy Market
		Understand Your Customers
		Align with Long-Term Customer Needs and Add Value
		Prepare for Growth Early
		Know Thy Competitor
		Be Proactive
		Market Changes from the Coronavirus
		Customer Response to Price Change
		Are You Playing Chess or Checkers?
		Building the Global Chessboard
Chapter 8 Rule Eight
	Build Your Give-Gets Muscle
		Using the Offering Structure to Win at the Negotiating Table
		Dynamic Give-Gets
	Correlated to Reduction in Price
		Give-Gets and Inflation
	Good Fences Support Good Give-Gets
		Bundling: The Grand Master of Strategic Pricing
		The Nuts and Bolts of Bundling
		Don’t Bungle the Bundle!
Chapter 9 Rule Nine
	Build Your Selling Backbone
		Two Preferred Vendors
		The Negotiations Ensue
		The Key Elements of Backbone
		Buyer Behaviors and Inflation
		Your Position at the Table
		RFPs – Learning Not to Dance with the Devil
		The Importance of Trust
	Create High-Impact Value Messages and Sales Tools
		Backbone During Inflation
		Critical Elements of Selling Backbone
Chapter 10 Rule Ten
	Deploy Three Practices to Increase Profits
		Maintaining Profitability During Inflation
		Hedge Now
	Practice One: Know Which Pricing Approach to Employ
		Fairness Is Critical
	Practice Two: Play Better Poker
	Practice Three: Better Leverage Resources
		Three Differentiated Pricing Plans
		More Effective Give-Gets
Chapter 11 Conclusion
	Price with Confidence: The Journey
		Why Most Companies Fail
		Yes, But We Need to Meet the Numbers
		The Fool’s Game of Price Competition
		The Customer Is All Powerful
		The Journey
		Start with Trust
		Focus on Customer Experience
		Turbulent Times
About the Authors
Index
EULA