Avoiding price pressure

You're too expensive!

Price pressure is often a symptom

Not of weak product... but of weak positioning.

If your sales team keeps getting squeezed on price, it’s rarely because the solution lacks value

It’s because the conversation is sitting too low

Are they only comfortable talking at ops level?

Operational conversations revolve around cost, efficiency and specs

And those discussions tend to end up in spreadsheets

When you are there, comparison becomes mechanical and mathematical

Line by line
Feature by feature
Discount by discount

So price (and margin) pressure follows

The shift needed isn’t about defending price harder... we aren't talking streetfighting here

It’s about elevating relevance earlier

('Elevate'... yeah I know... but its a good word in this context)

Senior stakeholders are not primarily focused on unit cost

They are focused on:

- Effectiveness
- Risk
- Strategic impact
- Competitive advantage

If you enter the discussion at that level about these things the frame changes

You are no longer arguing over columns in a table

You are discussing direction and consequences

This doesn’t happen by accident

It requires intent

And a structured approach

The VALUE Framework drives for this

🔸 Validate = right opportunities

Engage where strategic impact matters, not just where technical need is defined

🔸 Align = right research

Understand organisational priorities before presenting capability

🔸 Leverage = right conversations

Ask questions that surface risk, growth and long-term impact

🔸 Underpin = right solutions

Connect your offer to outcomes that matter to senior decision-makers

🔸 Evolve = right outcomes

Demonstrate how the decision strengthens position over time

Go higher

Earlier

The level of value you communicate determines the level of conversation you are invited into

And the level of conversation determines whether price becomes the issue

Its a way of working that can be learnt

Quickly

Indeed applied while learning

That's why I'm happy to talk training results guarantees