Pricing Advice in Two Sentences

We have a great discussion going on in the Professional Pricing Society LinkedIn group. I wanted to re-print some of the discussion here, because I thought it would be beneficial to many of our readers. One of our members posted the following question:

"If you had only two sentences to share your most valuable pricing advice, what would those two sentences be ?"

We have had a great deal of response from pricers:

- "Always know who your profitable customers are, what they value and are willing to pay for better than your competition. Voting in favor of less government will always give America the best opportunity for the full benefits of freedom."
- "Be aware of how your customers want to buy, as well as how they need to buy. And remember that pricing serves strategy, not the other way around."
- "My succinct advice: Understand what your customer needs and values (not what your product can do) and Know your competition."
- "Regarding pricing: 1) When possible, price based on your unique value relative to the competition, not on cost. 2) to quote McKinsey & Co's line from the PPS Conference back in 2007, "a 1% increase in price results in 12% increase in bottom line."
- "Customers don't appreciate the value of anything given away for free."
- "Based on my own researches about pricing, managing prices is about managing value, costs and competition information to take the best decision and optimize sales and profitability."
- "Start high & Don't forget time value of money. Sell the Value to your customer."
- "1) Price should be a projection of a broad (not narrow) point of view.
2) Brand Value (Recognition) and Marketing Power (Muscle) significantly influence buyer’s decision (perception) and the final selling price."
- "Make sure that you know where and who you are, where and who you want to go and be, and what do you need to. All along the way, ask you on your own frequently the same question, and if the answer change, consider seriously to change yourself."
- "1) Keep away from pricing by exception 2) Get the right training and performance incentives for your sales people."
- "1) Don't oversell and don't sell anything which will not bring value to your customer. 2) Built trust relation with the customers, if you succeed then you will "deliver" instead of "selling"."
- "1) Knowing the right price is worthless if you cant execute. 2) Your customers know what you are doing with a value survey. 20 years of focus on cost reduction and buyer training has ensured that. Actions are hard to hide."
- "1.) Price with confidence 2.) Discount with a purpose."


And that's just the start! Any other pricers want to weigh in? Comment here or, to see the entire discussion, join our group on LinkedIn!