Keynote on Strategic Pricing
Keynotes that show leadership, sales and finance teams how price drives profit, where margin is being lost and what to change first. Tailored to your industry and delivered by Ron Wood, who has trained more than 5,000 senior executives.
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What is a keynote on strategic pricing?
A strategic pricing keynote is a presentation that shows a leadership team, sales conference or industry audience how pricing drives profit, where margin is being lost, and what to change first. Pricing Insight’s keynotes are delivered by Ron Wood and tailored to each audience’s industry, data and commercial pressures. They are built on the same methods Pricing Insight uses in its consulting work, so every idea in the room can be acted on afterwards.
- Topics
- Pricing power and profit, value-based pricing, discount discipline, price defence in sales, pricing governance and leading a price increase
- Audiences
- Boards and executive teams, leadership offsites, sales and commercial conferences, industry associations and private equity portfolio forums
- Formats
- Keynote; keynote with facilitated Q&A; keynote followed by an executive working session
- Built on
- The 9PE Pricing Diagnostic, the Pricing Management Canvas, a five-level pricing maturity model and work with 160+ clients
- Delivery
- In person across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, India and the United States, or online
Presented by Ron Wood, founder of Pricing Insight: 30 years in pricing, more than 5,000 senior executives trained in more than ten countries, and the first person to teach value-based pricing in Australia.
Why put pricing in front of your leadership team?
Price is the largest profit lever most businesses have, and the one they manage least. In an A$100m business earning a 10% EBIT margin, a 1% improvement in realised price, with no loss of volume, adds A$1,000,000 to EBIT, a 10% lift. The same 1% gain in volume adds about A$300,000, a 3% lift.
A 1% gain in price is worth more than three times a 1% gain in volume
Increase in EBIT from a 1% improvement in each lever, A$100m business at a 10% EBIT margin.
How much extra volume does a discount need?
Sales teams discount to win volume. The arithmetic is rarely shown to them. In a business with a 30% gross margin, a 5% discount needs 20% more volume to earn the same gross profit, and a 10% discount needs 50% more. This is one of the first charts many audiences see.
A 10% discount needs 50% more volume to break even
Extra sales volume needed to keep gross profit unchanged after a discount, for a business with a 30% gross margin.
How is a Pricing Insight keynote structured?
Every keynote follows the same five-part arc, whatever the topic. It starts with the audience’s own numbers, moves to the causes, and finishes with a short list of actions the room agrees to take.
From the profit arithmetic to agreed actions
The five-part arc used in every Pricing Insight keynote.
Which keynote topics are most requested?
Each keynote is tailored to the audience’s commercial model and the decisions in front of it. These six topics are the most requested, and most sessions combine two or three of them.
Six keynote topics and the question each one answers
Topics can be combined and tailored. Each is linked to a Pricing Insight framework so follow-up work starts from the same base.
Pricing power: the fastest lever for margin
Why price outperforms cost and volume as a profit lever, and how strong businesses build the power to use it.
The commercial cost of pricing confusion
What misalignment between sales, marketing, finance and category teams costs, and where it starts.
From cost-based to value-based pricing
How to set price from what customers value rather than from cost plus a margin, with evidence the sales team can use.
Defending price in sales and procurement
How to hold price under procurement pressure, trade concessions for value and stop discounting by habit.
Pricing governance across regions and roles
Who owns price, who approves which discount, and how a Pricing Council keeps decisions consistent.
Leading a price increase that sticks
How to plan, explain and deliver a price increase with customers and the sales team, and protect volume while doing it.
What changes when a business moves to value-based pricing?
The most common reframe in a Pricing Insight keynote is the move from cost-plus pricing to value-based pricing. The comparison below is how it is shown on stage.
From cost-plus to value-based pricing
Six ways the two approaches differ in practice.
What does each part of the audience take away?
A keynote often speaks to several groups at once. Each hears the same message from a different angle and leaves with something it can use.
One message, five audiences
How a single keynote serves each group in the room.
Five pricing questions every leadership team should be able to answer
- What would a 1% improvement in price be worth to us this year?
- How much of our list price reaches the invoice, after discounts and rebates?
- Who can approve a price below our floor, and how often does it happen?
- Do we know what our customers value enough to pay more for?
- Is our next price increase planned, or will it be a reaction?
A keynote works through these questions with the audience. Most rooms find they can answer two or three with confidence.
Which format suits your event?
Keynote
A tailored keynote for a conference, industry association or customer event.
- Industry examples and data
- Interactive pricing maths moments
- Slides and a summary for attendees
Keynote with facilitated Q&A
A keynote tailored to your business, followed by a facilitated discussion of your own pricing questions.
- Pre-session brief with the leadership team
- Examples drawn from your industry
- Live discussion of your pricing issues
Keynote plus working session
A keynote followed by an executive working session that agrees priorities and owners.
- Optional pricing maths quiz or capability pulse survey
- Priorities ranked by profit impact
- Written summary of agreed actions
How is a keynote prepared?
Preparation is what makes a keynote relevant to the room. It starts with a briefing on your business and finishes with a written summary of what the audience agreed.
From brief to follow-through, in six steps
Steps 2 and 6 are optional and agreed with the organiser.
Where can a keynote lead?
A keynote often starts a wider change in how a business prices. These are the most common next steps.
From one session to a pricing program
The keynote sets the agenda. Each next step is a separate Pricing Insight service.
What results has this thinking delivered?
The ideas in each keynote come from client work. Two public case studies show what happens when a business acts on them.
Arnott’s: pricing and promotional discipline across 41 account managers
Pricing and promotional commitments were being made with limited oversight. Pricing Insight centralised pricing, resolved channel conflict and trained sales and finance teams in elasticity, margin impact and commercial planning.
Super Retail Group: one pricing language across four brands
Each brand had its own pricing processes and a discounting culture. A pricing maths quiz showed a weak grasp of discount and margin impact. Pricing Insight ran technical training and cross-brand alignment workshops.
“We finally have a consistent view of what good pricing looks like. The training gave our team confidence, the playbook gave us discipline, and the margin impact is already visible.”Group Executive, Merchandise and Planning, Super Retail GroupRead the Super Retail Group case study →
What does the organisation gain?
One view of pricing
Leadership, sales, marketing and finance hear the same numbers and the same language at the same time.
A clear reason to act
The profit arithmetic makes the cost of doing nothing visible in dollars.
Tools people use
Pricing maths, value language and simple rules the sales team can apply the next day.
Three priorities, not thirty
The session ends with a short list of actions and an owner for each.
Ready to defend price
Teams understand why price matters and how to explain it to customers.
A first step to a program
A natural starting point for a diagnostic, training or governance work, if the priorities call for it.
Frequently asked questions
Who presents Pricing Insight’s keynotes?
Every keynote is presented by Ron Wood, founder of Pricing Insight. Ron has 30 years in pricing, has worked with more than 160 clients and has trained more than 5,000 senior executives in more than ten countries. He was the first person to teach value-based pricing in Australia.
What topics can a pricing keynote cover?
The most requested topics are pricing power and profit, value-based pricing, the cost of pricing misalignment, defending price in sales and procurement, pricing governance, and leading a price increase. Most keynotes combine two or three topics, tailored to the audience and industry.
Is the keynote tailored to our business?
Yes. Each keynote starts with a briefing on your audience, objectives and commercial pressures, and uses examples and charts from your industry. An optional pricing maths quiz or short capability survey can be run beforehand so the session works from your own results.
Who is the right audience for a strategic pricing keynote?
Keynotes suit boards and executive teams, leadership offsites, sales and commercial conferences, industry associations and private equity portfolio forums. They work best when leaders from sales, marketing, finance and operations hear the message together.
Is this a motivational talk?
No. The keynotes are commercially grounded. They show the profit arithmetic of price and discount, explain where margin is lost, and finish with practical tools and a short list of agreed actions.
Can the keynote be delivered online?
Yes. Keynotes are delivered in person across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, India and the United States, and online for distributed teams.
How much profit does better pricing deliver?
In a business earning a 10% EBIT margin, a 1% improvement in realised price, with no loss of volume, lifts EBIT by about 10%, or A$1,000,000 per A$100m of revenue, compared with about 3% for a 1% gain in volume. The keynote shows what a 1% improvement would be worth in your own business.
What happens after the keynote?
The audience leaves with three agreed priorities and a written summary. Some organisations stop there. Others continue with a 9PE Pricing Diagnostic, the Pricing Masterclass, Sales and Negotiation Workshops or pricing governance work, depending on the priorities agreed.
What should your next leadership session be about?
Talk to Ron Wood about your audience, your event and the pricing questions your business is facing. We will suggest the topics and format that would make the session most useful.
Related: 9PE Pricing Diagnostic · Pricing Masterclass · Sales and Negotiation Workshops · Pricing Capability and Governance · White paper: Your Hidden Pricing Power
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Whether you're ready to optimise your pricing or want to explore what's possible, we'd love to hear from you.