Discounting and deal control

Branch and state discounts have drifted apart

Customers in New South Wales and Victoria pay different prices for the same products, and every branch runs its own rules.

Read on ↓

1
What is changing
Mergers and acquisitions have left many networks with branches that kept their own price lists, special prices and discount habits.
Customers who buy across states compare notes, and national accounts expect one price.
2
Common signs
- Special prices have no end date or owner.
- Customers know which branch will give the better deal.
- Discount tiers have no entry or exit criteria.
- Temporary promotions have become permanent.
3
Where it leads if left alone
Customers learn which branch gives the better deal and buy there. The lowest branch price becomes the national price, and branch managers compete with each other for the same customers.
4
The decision that is hard to reverse
Special prices set years ago never expire unless someone retires them. Each one becomes a precedent other customers ask for.
5
What recovery costs
Bringing branches back into line means moving customers to new tiers one account at a time and managing the conversations that follow. Done without a plan, it costs customers who matter.
6
What good looks like
- Three or four national discount tiers with written entry and exit criteria.
- Special prices with an expiry date and an owner.
- Branch managers with a list of accounts to move and the conversation to have.
- Monthly reporting of price variation across branches.
7
What it is worth
One distributor we worked with had more than 150 sales reps, each setting their own pricing tactics, and customers negotiated with the rep more than with the product. Consistent tiers give customers one price and the sales team one story.
8
How it is treated
1. Compare prices across branches. Every price paid for the same product and customer size, compared branch by branch and state by state. Strategic EBIT Opportunity & Risk Diagnostic →
2. Rebuild the tiers. Three or four national discount tiers with written entry and exit criteria, and a schedule to retire dormant special prices. Value-Based Culture & Transformation →
3. Move the accounts. Each branch manager receives the accounts to move and the conversation to have, with progress reported monthly. Negotiation Training & Value-Based Selling →
9
How Pricing Insight works
Relevant work: Super Retail Group reduced ad hoc discounting by up to half across four retail brands (realised).
Experience
Ron Wood has worked in pricing for 30 years: first as a pricing and commercial manager in FMCG, building materials and capital equipment, and since 2007 as adviser to more than 160 businesses.
Method
Each engagement follows the same sequence: diagnose, optimise, embed. Recommendations rest on the client's own transaction data, and every figure can be traced to it.
Measurement
Results are measured against a margin baseline agreed with the client's finance team, and reported as realised, modelled or identified.
Continuity
Ron Wood leads each engagement from the first meeting to handover.
10
How far apart are your branches on the same products?
A first conversation establishes how this applies in your business and whether a diagnostic is warranted.
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