Sales journeys in the B2B ecosystem can often become complex and challenging due to the long winded cycles that this segment is prone to, in addition to that, there is the need for multiple buying decision makers at your target company to align on various factors, from budgets to features before they decide on a choice of platform or vendor.
Some of the most sensitive areas that can influence a buying decision in the B2B SaaS market include, pricing, platform capabilities/features and its ability to easily integrate with existing tech stacks.
B2B sales people who use optimized pricing models to help drive a sale or strongly influence the buying decision can effectively raise more revenue and contribute to faster business output.
When pricing is optimized to meet a prospect’s current budget challenges or simply to drive a sale conversation and get the prospect to withdraw from evaluating competitor platforms, sales people can win more closures.
Intelligent systems backed by AI powered pricing capabilities offer B2B sales people the right data analytics for this to help them cope with market dynamics by offering more timely and accurate pricing packages at the right time.
Let’s quickly explore some of the ways that B2B sales teams or salespeople in general can benefit from investing in AI powered pricing platforms to drive future business growth and sales.
AI-Powered Pricing Tools Offer Optimal Prices
Optimal pricing at a crucial stage in the B2B buying journey enables profitability. Algorithms in sophisticated tools can scan vast amounts of data to suggest the best price that a product/service could be pitched or successfully sold at. These models work to redefine pricing by helping teams adjust pricing quotes for certain products or services they currently have on offer and to also boost future cross-sell, up-sell initiatives.
Recommended prices based on actual prospect interactions can be used to drive a sale faster and turn the prospect into a paying customer, these platforms can then be used again in future once a prospect becomes a customer to redefine pricing for other products/services that can complement the initial one and get the customer to invest more in your brand.
Can Help Differentiate Your Product/Services Vis A Vis Competitors
If a salesperson has already spent a significant amount of time nurturing a prospect, customized pricing can help them differentiate themselves at a stage in the buying journey where buying decision makers are evaluating other tools and vendors.
AI-powered models, with the right data in hand, can suggest pricing for services or products that a brand has a lot of competitors for in the market. The key here lies in pitching the right and most effective pricing before a competitor does it.
Helps Create Better Audience Segments
AI powered pricing tools are built to automatically scan all the data and sales interactions that are available to them. For this to be further optimized, sales teams need to ensure that the right data is fed into the system at the right time, in real-time.
These platforms can also suggest best pricing models for certain target segments, allowing sales teams to use this recommendation to automate and scale their future campaigns in a more optimized manner through a segmented and more personalized approach.
Read More: Tarci (formerly Leadgence) Secures $17M Series a Led by Sound Ventures
Creating appealing prices in a competitive market gets prospects to feel like as though the brand they are evaluating is more in tune with their current challenges and needs and is willing to go all the way to not just make a sale but serve them with what they need, when they need it.
Helps Eliminate Unproductive Package Deals And Discounts
Every prospect and future customer in any industry is always aiming to get the best value from a vendor or product. While most companies will have certain pricing packages in place with seasonal discounts and offers as well, it can take a lot of manual effort to ensure that these discounts or offers do not bleed the brand dry.
AI-powered pricing solutions can effectively help eliminate the most unproductive packages and offers that could potentially negatively impact future revenue potential.
Understanding more about your own pricing models or the challenges they can cause potential customers based on market conditions can help marketing and sales people rethink how they package and pitch their end-to-end product/service offering.
Identifying Earlier On In A Buying Journey How Much A Prospect Is Willing To Pay
AI powered pricing models can help sales teams and marketers understand how much prospects belonging to a certain segment are willing to pay for a particular product/service. This data can fuel near-term marketing and sales outreach in a more optimized manner. Platforms like Salesforce Einstein and several others allow these teams to pre-empt what the most optimal price for their service can be based on this.
End Note
The travel industry (read: airlines/hotels/others) often use variations in pricing based on seasonal and other market conditions to drive bookings. This is why prices for the same booking can differ based on what date/day prospects are looking at. Intelligent pricing models that cater to current market conditions and beat competitor pricing range is crucial in driving a sale.
The right use and implementation of these tools can allow sales people to focus more efforts on other areas of their sales activities while using price sensitivity to stay on top of their prospect’s mind.
Price optimization not only helps a company grow, it can help sales people and marketers focus on the right buying triggers at the right time to eventually close a deal faster.
Read More: Outside Sales Are History, and COVID-19 Didn’t Kill Them