As we interact with pricing teams around the world, we hear a common refrain about time. Many report that the daily firefight is so all consuming that it leaves no time for anything else. These teams are fully aware that there are more important things they need to be doing. And they recognize that tactical activities can only go so far and that they need to become much more strategic.
But they just can’t seem to find the time.
As a result, they put off the important to deal with the urgent. They delay the strategic to address the tactical. And they find themselves stuck—just “hoping” to “someday” have the resources and time to get beyond the firefight.
Of course, we’ve also interacted with a number of pricing teams who’ve already made the transition. These teams are focusing on what’s important and eliminating much of the urgent as a result. They’re practicing strategic pricing and in doing so, reducing much of the tactical firefighting.
So, how did they do it? What’s their secret?
Developing a Winning Roadmap for Pricing
From our research, leading pricing functions go through key evolutionary phases in becoming more effective and strategic. In this 3-part training webinar, learn how to develop a roadmap that streamlines that evolution with a plan to be a more valuable and strategic function.
Most often, it started with a single decision. Not a big or complex decision, mind you—just a simple decision to carve out some time. Instead of just “hoping” they’d eventually “find” the time to become more strategic, these teams simply forced a window of time into their calendars.
In most cases, the window was very small in the beginning. One team scheduled an hour every Monday morning to focus on the more strategic aspects of pricing. Another team blocked the last hour of every day on their calendars. In another instance, the team was able to dedicate every Thursday afternoon to their strategic transition.
The power of this simple strategy comes from the forced cadence. While an hour or two every week may not sound like much, you’ll be amazed at what can be accomplished through consistent focus and attention. Your people will begin to think more strategically as a matter of course. Your strategic pricing initiatives will move forward, slowly but surely.
As the results begin to manifest and the tactical fires begin to be prevented at their source, that hour can become two…then three…and so on. And it can all start with just single decision to schedule a small window of time every week.
Powerhouse Pricing Teams
In B2B, dedicated pricing teams are still a relatively new development. And as such, there are no long-standing rules for how everything should work. In this on-demand webinar, explore the common traits, characteristics, and behaviors of successful pricing teams that have been around longer than most.
The Essence of Strategic Pricing
It's easy to fill your to-do list with all sorts of tactical pricing tasks. But if you're only focusing on those, it's hard to generate significant results. View this recorded training seminar and learn about tackling the most powerful and effective aspects of real strategic pricing.
