👀 We've been working on something pretty big! We're thrilled to share our inaugural industry event for Vertical SaaS CEOs: VSaaS Collective Live!

Pricing is both an art and a science, a balance of growth and profit. There is no right answer or one-size-fits-all approach, so we talked with former @ServiceNow exec Alex Saghatelian about the strategic frameworks you can use and the questions you should ask: 1. Pricing is cross-functional: you'll touch almost all aspects of a company's success. For example, in sales lead motions, there is no perfect list price given deal packaging and discounting at play. In PLG motions, you have to iterate to optimize price points and packages. 2. Pricing should align to value: when pricing and packaging to value, it is critical to keep the customer benefits at the center, with an understanding of their next best alternatives and the degree of choices you provide. Perhaps even more valuable than frameworks is knowing what questions to ask about pricing... Which features to package and price: what is a feature vs. a product? What degree of innovation fencing is reasonable to support the expansion of customer lifetime value? How do you decide what is included in the product package and what is left out? 3. Multi-product value complications: how much should you anchor on pricing and packaging consistency when selling multiple products, each with its own value proposition and value drivers? What if there are multiple customers within a given function or net new functions and buying personas that emerge? How do you use pricing and packaging to facilitate cross-sell across the portfolio? 4. Frequency of pricing changes: as you move into multi-product, when do you raise the level of your pricing across your portfolio lineup? When do you change the unit of measure of the pricing and or introduce a new package tier? If you sell to multiple customers, should you maintain the same pricing levels and structures? How do you move install-based customers along the journey as you make changes—carrot or stick? 5. Other big questions: when you’re launching a new product, do you bias toward simplicity and adoption with the pricing model out the gate, or do you do more diligence to create a durable pricing model that balances simplicity, value capture, and change management? How many packaging choices do you give—a la carte vs bundle vs tiered options? As AI impacts accelerate, how do you quantify the value drivers to support, making it a tailwind vs headwind for growth.

One of the most challenging multi-product questions is how to verticalize GTM. @ServiceNow went with a radical choice: expanding from one to five teams in a month. We interviewed Kevin Haverty, the former CRO and current Vice Chairman, on how they did it. The TL;DR ⬇