At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the US track and field team made the final for the men’s 4 x 100 relay. As the reigning world champions, they had an excellent chance to win.
On the first leg, Christian Coleman rocketed to the front of the pack, seemingly putting the Americans in a good position to win.
But then came the first baton handoff.
The second runner, Kenny Bednarek, seemed to start too early. So early that he had to come to a complete stop before he received the baton. The botched handoff cost precious time. While the next three runners tried valiantly to make up the loss, the final American crossed the finish line seventh. Making matters worse, the judges later ruled that the first handoff had actually occurred outside the allowed area, so the team was actually disqualified.
It was a heartbreaking end to a very promising beginning. And it’s an apt metaphor for a common problem in B2B pricing.
A Bad Pricing Handoff
We’re aware of a situation where a pricing group experienced a similarly awful handoff.
The team spent weeks analyzing pricing patterns for the previous year. When all was said and done, the data was crystal clear: end-of-the-year pricing deals had eroded margins by 3%.
The problem was so obvious that they expected the numbers to speak for themselves. They slapped them onto a slide and presented them at a leadership meeting.
But they had flubbed the handoff.
The sales VP pointed to the chart showing the spike in discounts in Q4 and said that it showed the team needed more flexibility at year-end in order to close deals. Finance latched onto another table showing strong margins on a few big accounts and concluded, “We should raise prices across the board.”
Pricing worked hard to get the meeting back on track, but the damage was done. It would be another year before they could get everyone on board with clamping down on year-end deals.
Their initial analysis was solid, but their failure to frame the data appropriately ultimately sabotaged the entire project.
Finishing the job
Pricing professionals usually spend the bulk of their effort on their analyses. They double- and triple-check that they’ve collected the correct data and have come to the correct conclusions.
But that’s only half of the job.
The other half involves shaping the message, aligning the audience, and steering toward the right decision. And it’s just as important as the analysis.
In the Delivering Data to Decision Makers webinar we cover three necessary ingredients for ensuring a solid data handoff:
- Beyond what they want, work on delivering what they need.
- Strive to make it a no-brainer for others to interpret.
- Go further by suggesting priorities and potential next steps.
The full webinar offers a step-by-step playbook for moving from analysis to action without dropping the baton.
You should also check out the Golden Rules of B2B Pricing. One of those rules is “Never assume others will draw the right conclusions from the data.” And the others are just as helpful.
Just like a relay race, B2B pricing is a team sport. Make sure that you not only run your leg to win, you also set the rest of the team up for success with a solid data handoff.
Delivering Data to Decision Makers
Providing data to decision-makers is a core responsibility for most pricing teams. But getting it right is a significant challenge. In this on-demand session, learn how leading teams are making their efforts in this area more effective.
Golden Rules of B2B Pricing
B2B pricing has its own set of rules and governing principles...most of which you'll never find in a textbook. What are these "golden rules" and how you keep from breaking them?
