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Our Methodology – How Pricing Insight Builds a Commercially Realistic Pricing Strategy That Delivers EBIT Growth

In a market saturated by conventional consulting firms offering decks full of recommendations and frameworks, Pricing Insight operates differently. It doesn’t sell PowerPoint—it delivers pricing strategy that works. Rooted in commercial realism and embedded in operational execution, Pricing Insight’s methodology has helped over 160 organisations achieve tangible margin expansion, reduce leakage, and build internal pricing capability that lasts.

This article explores how the Pricing Insight diagnostic framework and margin expansion program work—and why the firm’s approach stands apart from mainstream consultancy practices.

The Problem with Conventional Consulting

Traditional consulting firms often approach pricing with a high-level lens, issuing dense reports filled with theory but light on practicality. Recommendations tend to focus on external benchmarking, financial modelling, or C-suite policy—but frequently fall short in translating strategy into day-to-day price execution or organisational capability.

As a result, many of these projects end in shelfware. Strategies are not embedded. Teams are not trained. Systems are not aligned. The business remains exposed to the same risks: uncontrolled discounting, inconsistent quoting, and margin erosion.

Pricing Insight was created in direct response to these limitations.

The Pricing Insight Difference: Strategy Meets Commercial Execution

Where others diagnose from a distance, Pricing Insight works from within. The firm partners directly with commercial, finance, sales, and executive teams to identify pricing challenges in context, understand behavioural and system dynamics, and co-develop practical solutions.

At the heart of this approach is the Pricing Strategy & Capability Diagnostic Framework—a proprietary tool that provides a commercial X-ray of how pricing really operates inside a business.

It does not start with pricing theory. It starts with commercial reality:

• How are decisions made?
• Where is margin leaking?
• Who owns pricing outcomes?
• Which behaviours are reinforced by current tools, rules, and incentives?

The Diagnostic Framework: From Discovery to Delivery

Pricing Insight’s diagnostic isn’t a passive review—it’s a structured engagement that delivers a roadmap for EBIT improvement. The process covers three layers of pricing capability:

• Strategy – What is the organisation’s pricing ambition? Is there alignment across executive, sales, and product teams?
• Structure – How is price managed across products, segments, customers, and channels? Are systems, architecture, and approvals working to protect value?
• Operations – What habits, tools, training, and feedback loops shape day-to-day pricing decisions?

These are benchmarked against a maturity model using the Nine-Box Pricing Capability Canvas developed by Pricing Insight. Each box captures a key domain—such as customer value communication, discount governance, or analytics integration—and measures it on both strategic intent and execution quality.

The result is not a report. It’s a blueprint:
A clear picture of margin leakage. A prioritised set of quick wins. A roadmap to reset pricing structures. A change plan to upgrade governance, roles, tools, and team confidence.

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Why This Works: The Commercial Principles Behind the Framework

Unlike consultants who provide strategic advice from a distance, Pricing Insight builds solutions that are:

• Rooted in value – Using Customer Value Discovery canvases to understand true willingness to pay and identify discounting risks.
• Architecturally sound – Rationalising list price and discount logic to reflect product roles, cost-to-serve, and customer economics.
• Operationally enforceable – Embedding dashboards, quote tools, SOPs, and override controls to ensure governance lives beyond policy.
• Commercially owned – Aligning finance, sales, marketing, and executive teams under one cohesive strategy.

Case Example: Regional Agricultural Supplier

A Pricing Insight diagnostic at a major agricultural supplier revealed systemic issues: margin leakage from manual overrides, inconsistent discounting, and outdated customer agreements. Pricing decisions varied by region and rep, and systems lacked control.

The diagnostic uncovered 61% overall pricing maturity—with particular weaknesses in margin visibility, structural governance, and sales team enablement.

Through the Pricing Insight program, the business:

• Developed a segmented pricing architecture
• Rationalised discounting rules
• Introduced new tools and approval flows
• Re-trained sales teams in value-based pricing

The result was an EBIT margin uplift worth several million dollars achieved within months.

Beyond Tools: Capability Uplift, Not Just Insight

Pricing Insight’s education platform, Pricing University, ensures transformation is sustained. Teams are trained in pricing principles, negotiation techniques, and margin analytics, creating internal pricing champions who:

• Price based on value, not cost
• Defend price in the field
• Evaluate and control discounts
• Communicate pricing confidently with customers

Culture Transformation: From Cost-Plus to Value-Based

True pricing transformation doesn’t just happen in systems or spreadsheets—it takes root in culture. Many businesses suffer from legacy cost-plus mindsets or reactive discounting habits.

The Pricing Masterclass Program resets these beliefs, training sales, marketing, finance, and pricing teams in best practices for value-based pricing. Participants learn to:

• Identify hidden sources of margin leakage
• Use the price waterfall to assess deal profitability
• Build defensible price structures
• Negotiate on value, not price
• Apply pricing maths to avoid costly errors

Teams submit real-world margin improvement ideas, creating a marketplace of ideas and embedding a culture of commitment—not compliance.

Checklist: How Our Consulting Methodology Works

1. Discovery & Intake

• Align on pricing ambition with executives
• Review current structure, systems, and commercial model
• Pre-diagnostic survey for key stakeholders

2. Pricing Diagnostic

• Conduct interviews across commercial, product, and operational teams
• Analyse deal data, margin visibility, and governance
• Benchmark against the Nine-Box Pricing Capability Canvas

3. Executive Workshop

• Present findings and benchmark data
• Identify root causes and capability gaps
• Align on priorities and margin targets

4. Quick Wins & Redesign

• Rationalise list prices, discounts, and approvals
• Implement controls and approval workflows
• Identify 3–5 quick wins for $2M–$7M EBIT uplift

5. Enablement & Training

• Deploy SOPs, dashboards, and playbooks
• Train teams via Pricing University
• Build internal champions

6. Governance & Change Support

• Define roles and ownership
• Establish oversight and performance dashboards
• Prepare internal comms and tracking

7. Sustainable Capability Transfer

• Handover tools and documentation
• Post-engagement check-ins
• Leave behind knowledge, systems, and confident teams

What CEOs Need to Know

Unlike consulting reports that sit in inboxes, Pricing Insight creates momentum and accountability:

• Executives get a board-level action plan with EBIT impact
• Sales teams gain quoting tools
• Finance teams get margin visibility at SKU and deal level
• Organisations embed repeatable governance

In short: Pricing Insight delivers a practical, strategic reset that sticks.

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