Episodes

  • Blogcast: Value Drivers vs. Value Tables: When to Go Broad and When to Be Specific
    Feb 21 2025

    This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on December 16, 2024, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

    Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/value-drivers-vs-value-tables-when-to-go-broad-and-when-to-be-specific/

    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/
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    4 mins
  • The Future of AI Monetization: Trends and Challenges with Steven Forth
    Feb 17 2025
    Steven Forth is Ibbaka’s Co-Founder, CEO, and Partner. Ibbaka is a strategic pricing advisory firm. In this episode, Steven shares the potential commoditization of AI pricing agents, explaining how their replication and standardization could drive down differentiation and value. He explores the interplay between AI-driven sales and buying processes, emphasizing that businesses must consider how AI will influence purchasing decisions. He also touches on the potential of AI to simplify legal tasks. Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Learn how AI-powered pricing agents compare to SaaS models and why they might face rapid commoditization in the evolving AI landscape.Discover why AI-driven buying decisions are just as important as AI-powered selling strategies—and what that means for the future of pricing.Find out how DeepSeek’s approach to AI training and pricing could shake up the industry, with potential implications for OpenAI and other major players. "I think that they need to put themselves in the buyer's shoes and ask themselves, how would I be using AI to make a buying decision?" - Steven Forth Topics Covered: 01:23 - Explaining the four types of AI products and how they impact pricing, automation, and value creation 09:51 - Exploring whether AI agents will become commoditized 12:46 - How complex pricing workflows require multiple AI agents working together as a service, rather than a single standalone pricing agent 14:17 - Explaining that differentiated AI agents with better performance will still command higher prices 19:20 - Highlighting how DeepSeek’s advancements in post-training optimization and lower pricing could drive broader AI adoption 21:20 - What makes AI agents more prone to commoditization 23:22 - How SaaS solutions are less prone to commoditization than AI agents 26:32 - Suggesting that tasks like real estate conveyance could be automated by AI agents 29:02 - Steven's best pricing advice Key Takeaways: "A lot of the use cases for outcome-based pricing or results-based pricing really only become relevant when an action is taken on your behalf. And you can evaluate the value of that action and the success of that action." - Steven Forth "Are all agents by nature more subject to commoditization than other parts of the ecology, like copilots or service as software or generators? My gut feeling is that there are going to be agents that are highly differentiated because they rely on highly customized underlying language models and highly tuned prompt sequences that would not be easy for someone else to recreate. And that they'll be able to make better decisions." - Steven Forth "Apart from very specific and narrow cases, I don't think pricing is going to be done by agents. Pricing will be service as software." - Steven Forth People/Resources Mentioned: Grammarly: https://www.grammarly.comCopilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/onboardingChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/Hugging Face: https://huggingface.coHubspot: https://www.hubspot.comFinnAI: https://www.finnai.io/enLegalZoom: https://www.legalzoom.comZendesk: https://www.zendesk.comMicrosoft: https://www.microsoft.com/Pros: https://pros.comVendavo: https://www.vendavo.comZilliant: https://zilliant.comPricefx: https://www.pricefx.comMaxio: https://www.maxio.comDeepSeek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeepSeek Connect with Steven Forth: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenforth/Email: steven@ibbaka.com Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/Email: mark@impactpricing.com
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    28 mins
  • Blogcast: Unlocking Portfolio Value Through Strategic Price Increases
    Feb 14 2025

    This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on December 9, 2024, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

    Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/unlocking-portfolio-value-through-strategic-price-increases/

    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/
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    3 mins
  • Smart Pricing Strategies that Drive Growth and Maximize Profit with Joshua Lowe
    Feb 10 2025

    Joshua Lowe is a solution-focused pricing professional with a proven track record in pricing (10 years) and pricing transformation (3+ years). He also has an expertise in implementing and utilizing PriceFX, a cloud-native pricing management software.

    In this episode, Joshua discusses the evolution of pricing in the auto parts industry, explaining how his company is transitioning from traditional cost-plus pricing to more market-based and value-driven strategies. He highlights the role of data analytics and predictive modeling in optimizing pricing decisions while maintaining fairness and customer retention.

    Why you have to check out today’s podcast:

    • Learn how a major industry player is shifting from cost-plus pricing to market-based and value-based approaches.
    • Discover how analytics and data science shape pricing strategies, ensuring competitiveness and profitability.
    • Understand why leaving some value on the table fosters long-term customer relationships and repeat business.

    "You've got more pricing power than you might realize."

    - Joshua Lowe

    Topics Covered:

    01:31 - Joshua describing his journey into pricing

    02:55 - Clarifying that Napa Auto Parts is a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company and sharing why he has stayed with Napa Auto Parts

    04:27 - How his pricing strategies not only capture value but also reinvest in growth and detailing his role in setting nationwide retail, wholesale, and resale pricing frameworks

    06:37 - The evolution of market segmentation in pricing, highlighting shifts between regional and nationwide pricing models and the factors influencing those changes

    08:53 - Explaining customer segmentation in pricing, emphasizing the importance of transaction data, value drivers, and willingness to pay

    11:27 - Pricing strategies based on delivery distance, emphasizing relationship-based pricing over cost-to-serve

    13:09 - Explaining product segmentation and how Napa Auto parts sources products

    15:56 - How cost increases from suppliers generally flow through their own pricing

    17:03 - The role of cost-plus pricing in the industry and its gradual shift toward market-based and value-based pricing

    21:31 - How Napa Auto Parts structures pricing

    24:59 - Joshua's best pricing advice

    Key Takeaways:

    “There's a lot of price moves that you use in pricing to extract value, but a lot of times too, you're trying to figure out ways to reinvest those wins back into sales so that you can grow.” - Joshua Lowe

    “You never try to extract a hundred percent of the value of any single transaction because you might actually start losing customer retention over time. You want to leave 10, 20% on the table. I've always kind of kept that in the back of my mind as we do certain activities of how we keep the fairness in play as we make pricing actions.” - Joshua Lowe

    People/Resources Mentioned:

    • Gates Corporation: https://www.gates.com/us/en.html
    • Genuine Parts Company: https://www.genpt.com/
    • Napa Auto Parts: https://www.napaonline.com/

    Connect with Joshua Lowe:

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-lowe-42034746/

    Connect with Mark Stiving:

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

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    27 mins
  • Blogcast: What Is Value?
    Feb 7 2025

    This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on December 2, 2024, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

    Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/what-is-value/

    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/

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    3 mins
  • Navigating the Complexities of Healthcare Pricing and Technology Integration with Dave Brown
    Feb 3 2025

    Dave Brown is a CEO / Founder of QiiQ Healthcare which is developing an AI assistant for healthcare workers, to invigorate the deep sense of fulfillment in delivering high quality care - frictionlessly.

    In this episode, Dave shares how AI can improve healthcare by providing clinicians with actionable insights from patient data, making consultations more efficient. He highlights the challenge of adopting new technologies in healthcare due to risks and the complexity of changing established systems. Brown also shares insights on the economic impact of healthcare innovations and stresses the importance of doing thorough homework when entering the healthcare market.

    Why you have to check out today’s podcast:

    • Explore the impact of AI in healthcare and how it can improve healthcare outcomes and reduce doctor-patient interaction.
    • Gain insights on healthcare pricing challenges and how understanding stakeholder decisions can lead to more effective solutions.
    • Learn to navigate the massive, evolving healthcare industry and the challenges of making a meaningful impact through technology and pricing strategies.

    "Do your homework. You cannot wander into this [healthcare] with youthful vigor and expect to change the world easily. And it's certainly not easy to come up with a pricing model that everybody understands and likes."

    - Dave Brown

    Topics Covered:

    01:46 - How he got interested in pricing and why it mattered to him

    03:13 - Detailing how QiiQ Healthcare technology works and what makes pricing for it complicated

    10:58 - Sharing how QiiQ is driven by a social mission, as well as mentioning the real challenge in healthcare technology

    13:49 - How QiiQ Healthcare technology is demonstrating its value in a leading Parkinson’s clinic

    15:29 - Addressing patient willingness to pay and the impact of chronic diseases on society

    18:34 - How QiiQ technology streamline doctor-patient interactions and save time

    21:06 - Using the trolley problem to illustrate the complexity of decision-making in change management

    23:31 - Highlighting the challenge of adopting new technology despite its potential, due to uncertainty and mental workload

    25:34 - Discussing the challenges of accepting AI in healthcare, drawing analogies to self-driving cars and the risks involved

    28:40 - Explaining how the relationship between cost reduction and profits in healthcare is complex and not solely driven by cynicism

    29:45 - Dave's best pricing advice

    Key Takeaways:

    “Everybody that's working with me is driven by a social need or a social urge. It's extremely common in the healthcare industry. But part of what you're hearing [challenges] is motivated by a deeper grasp of the challenge in adoption. Without adoption, you generate no value.” - Dave Brown

    Connect with Dave Brown:

    • Website: https://www.qiiq.health/
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davecbrown/

    Connect with Mark Stiving:

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

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    32 mins
  • Blogcast: Confused Buyers Don’t Buy: A Case Study In How to Align SaaS Pricing with Customer Value
    Jan 31 2025

    This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on November 24, 2024, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

    Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/confused-buyers-dont-buy-a-case-study-in-how-to-align-saas-pricing-with-customer-value/

    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/
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    3 mins
  • Strategic Price Increase: How to Plan, Communicate, and Succeed with Mark Peacock
    Jan 27 2025

    Mark Peacock helps B2B Tech & Consulting firms expand margin & revenue growth with tailored pricing solutions & sales enablement.

    In this episode, Mark shares practical strategies for implementing price increases effectively, including a two-stage communication process to manage customer expectations and reduce resistance. He emphasizes the importance of segmenting clients by price sensitivity and value to tailor pricing strategies and build confidence. Mark also highlighted the need to treat price increases for existing customers with the same care as new business pricing to maximize business impact.

    Why you have to check out today’s podcast:

    • Learn proven strategies to implement price changes confidently without losing customer trust or loyalty.
    • Discover an innovative approach to preparing customers for price increases minimizing resistance, and maximizing acceptance.
    • Explore techniques for segmenting clients, leveraging value-based pricing, and fostering long-term relationships.

    “Treat price increases for existing customers with the same importance that you do pricing for new business, because it can have such a profound impact on your business and it's nothing to be scared of.”

    - Mark Peacock

    Topics Covered:

    01:48 - Describing his pricing journey

    02:58 - The transformative power of smart pricing strategies

    06:13 - Check out Mark's article in LinkedIn, ‘Raise Prices Without Raising Eyebrows’

    06:52 - The importance of putting as much effort into planning and communicating price increases with existing customers as devoting to winning new business

    09:21 - The two-stage process to make price increase more acceptable to your customers

    12:34 - The third step to communicating your price increase

    14:49 - Explaining the value reasons why customers should stick with you [the fourth step]

    16:55 - Communicate your 'investment story' [fifth step]

    18:44 - Give your customers the options and do away with hard sell [sixth step]

    21:53 - Talking about frictionless approach to price increase [seventh step]

    23:22 - Important thoughts on the 'do something nice' strategy

    26:45 - One top tip to help you segment customers based on price sensitivity and stop churn

    27:59 - More techniques for customer segmentation

    28:59 - Mark's best pricing advice

    Key Takeaways:

    “Communicating a price increase is a sales task, and you would never use negative language in a sales activity.” - Mark Peacock

    “The most important thing about a price increase communication is that there is no hard sell.” - Mark Peacock

    “You need to provide them with some ways to come back to you however they want, either to approve it, to reject it, to discuss it, or if you've got upgrade or downgrade paths as well.“ - Mark Peacock

    “Be as open and transparent as possible so that the buyer has total agency and control over that decision, and you are making it entirely their decision because that's how you build trust.” - Mark Peacock

    Connect with Mark Peacock:

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-peacock-pricemaker/

    Connect with Mark Stiving:

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

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    30 mins