Contextual Pricing: The Death of List Price and the New Market Reality

Chapter 13

First Steps and Missteps

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.

—LOUIS-HECTOR BERLIOZ

If you have made it to this point in the book, let’s assume that you have conceptually bought into the idea that contextual pricing is worth a try. The question now becomes: how to implement these ideas?

There are two parts to conducting a trial of the framework prescribed in this book: (1) Deciding where, when and how, and (2) Strategizing how to overcome opposition. Let’s deal with the second point first, since it is more interesting.

Overcoming Opposition

There is always opposition to pricing changes. Pricing is inherently political—someone will feel threatened if there is a change. Why? Because, for instance, change ...