I heard this cute little story more than a decade ago and it’s stuck with me ever since…
A father takes his youngest son to a drive-in so the boy can experience his very first cheeseburger and fries. After getting their order and finding a good place to park, dad then teaches the boy how to hold a piping hot fry in front of the air conditioner vent for a few seconds before trying to eat it.
The kid catches on fast and dad is so proud!
A short time later, however, the father notices that even long after all of the fries have cooled, his young son is still dutifully holding each fry up to the AC vent before eating it!
The boy has clearly mastered the “how” without any understanding as to the “why.”
This story has stuck with me over the years because it illustrates…in a relatable and entertaining way…just how important it is to learn the principles behind the practices.
After all, specific practices are often situational, in that they that may work great in one particular situation while being ineffective or impractical under different circumstances. On the other hand, the principles behind the practices tend to be much more universal and broadly-applicable in nature.
And when we understand the underlying principles involved, we can adapt or develop appropriate and doable practices for nearly any situation.
In the “Better” Practices for Pricing Improvement webinar, we demonstrate how this works in the real world. After highlighting the height of best practice in a number of areas, we break down the underlying principles that are involved. Then, we show how some teams have leveraged those principles to develop practices that are simpler, but still effective.
While the resulting practices are not the absolute “best” they are nonetheless significantly “better” than business-as-usual because they’re rooted in sound pricing principles.
But beyond the business ramifications, this principles-versus-practices distinction can also have significant career implications. Simply put, a pricing practitioner who understands the principles behind the practices isn’t confined to specific industries or business models. And their ability to be successful isn’t limited to situations that exactly match the specific pricing practices they’re currently employing.
At the PricingBrew Journal, we feel so strongly about understanding the underlying pricing principles that it’s been a core tenant to our educational approach from day one. So while we highlight and expose pricing best practices in a wide range of areas, from developing segmentation models and differential value estimates to using pricing technology and garnering organizational support, we also strive to explain the core principles from which all of these specific practices have evolved.
To our way of thinking, the specific practices are important for showing what’s possible, what others are doing, how things play out in the real world, and so on. But understanding the principles behind those practices is the real key to becoming a pricing professional that can be successful in any environment.
Advancing Your Career in Pricing
There's never been a better time to be a B2B pricing professional. But when it comes to your career, you can’t just hope that good things will happen in the future. In this on-demand webinar, learn how to take charge and make good things happen.
"Better" Practices for Pricing Improvement
That lofty place of "best practice" can sometimes seem very far away. Fortunately, pricing has so much power that amazing results can be generated by just getting "better." In this webinar, learn how to adapt best practices in less than ideal situations.
Powerhouse Pricing Teams
In B2B, dedicated pricing teams are still a relatively new development. And as such, there are no long-standing rules for how everything should work. In this on-demand webinar, explore the common traits, characteristics, and behaviors of successful pricing teams that have been around longer than most.
Rafe VanDenBerg, MindBrew's editor-in-chief, is a veteran of B2B sales, marketing, and pricing. With over 20 years of experience, he’s been a practitioner for Fortune 500 manufacturers and distributors, a successful independent consultant and author, as well as a technology innovator.
