Don’t Stop Your Pricing Program After the Initial Improvement in EBIDTA?

As part of your financial Strategic Objectives, you kicked off 2018 with a new Pricing Strategy to ensure your organization reaches their EBITDA goal. Fast forward to the present, H2 just finished and your Sales Leader is panicking. Top Line Revenue Goals are slipping, and they are asking Finance for more leeway on discounting, so their Sales Reps can win those deals that are “right on the goal line”.

Implement a Deal Desk

When done correctly, a Deal Desk is a cross-functional group that helps devise a strategy to win critical deals for an organization, without relying heavy discounting.

How can your begin building a stronger relationship with Sales? SBI has given you a head start. Download a Win Strategy Job Aid Tool to utilize in a Deal Desk as described above.

So here you are. Stuck on the first speed bump of following through on your pricing strategy improvements.

First, let’s exhale a bit and realize you are not alone. In a recent study by Bain & Company, 85% of surveyed leaders believe they have significant improvements to make on their pricing strategy. As CFO, you have an EBITDA target. Your Sales Leader has their top-line revenue target. What can be done to help both sides win without compromising the progress of your new pricing initiatives? 

The answer starts with having strong alignment across Corporate Finance and Sales.

Here are four tips that you can share with your Sales Leader to help you keep your pricing strategy on track, getting you towards your EBITDA goal without handicapping Sales:

1. While this should not be conducted for every transaction, it has significant strategic value for large scale deals that could make or break an organization’s year.

    

2. Deploy a “Give / Get” negotiation framework: Negotiation plays a role in most sales opportunities. This does not mean that a Sales Rep needs to lead with discounting as the first concession they will “give”. Train your Sales organization to think outside the box on other levers that can be pulled during negotiation. Also, if you are “giving” something to your future customer, be sure that you are “getting” something in return.

    

3. Stay firm on discounts: The truth is we teach our customers how to buy from us. Lazy sales tactics of leaning too heavy on discounting can set an expectation with your customers that if they wait long enough, they will be rewarded with additional price cuts. While some level of discounting is common practice, ensure you have a clearly defined Discounting Structure, and that it is tracked, adhered, and managed to.

    

4. Anticipate Procurement involvement: Sales loves to blame Procurement’s involvement in a deal as to why heavy were given to close a deal. The reality is if you know your Buyer Personas, and Buying Process, then you should anticipate Procurement getting involved in a deal. If Sales has some freedom to provide a nominal discount, encourage a culture of saving a percentage until they have a conversation with Procurement.

    

The key with all of these quick wins is having a strong cross-functional alignment between Corporate Finance and Sales. To read more about the impact this can have on an organization, download a copy of our How to Make Your Number in 2018 Workbook.

Want to assess the strength of the alignment between your organization’s Functional Strategies? Have your Leaders in Corporate, Product, Pricing, Marketing and Sales take our Revenue Growth Diagnostic Assessment. Spend a few short minutes using this tool to determine if you are likely or unlikely to make your number. Once completed you can evaluate the effectiveness of your go-to-market strategy. You can print, share, download, and email your results.

Download our Win Strategy Job Aid Tool to devise a strategy to win critical deals for your organization, leverage an extensive questionnaire to assess where your company lies, and begin building a stronger relationship with Sales.

Want to fast-ramp the alignment between your Functional Leader? Schedule a working session at SBI’s Studio. 

Located in Dallas, TX, our facility offers state-of-the-art meeting rooms, lounge, full-service bar, and a studio used to tape our TV shows. SBI provides the location and facilitators, all at a compelling price point.

As a guest of The Studio, you’ll get unlimited access to SBI’s CEO, Partners, and a handpicked team of experts. Together we’ll focus on developing an action plan to drive stronger alignment by getting a month of work done in just eight hours. It’s an amplified experience that you can only get in one place: The Studio. I hope you join us.