Commercial and pricing transformation is, above all, a change challenge
Expertise, AI and digital deliver value only once hearts and minds are won. I have led commercial and pricing transformations inside global organizations, and the ones that work are designed with the sales team, not imposed on them. That is the difference between a project that fades and a capability that stays.
The iceberg: the visible 30% is carried by the hidden 70%
Our model separates what is visible in a transformation from what truly determines its adoption.
The visible part · 30%
The hidden part · 70%
Three mental roadblocks, all solvable
A pricing leader cannot lead from an ivory tower. Selling is a hard job, done under pressure, customer by customer. The pricing leader's duty is to go into the field, listen, and defend prices next to the sales team.
From there, the three roadblocks below are normal reactions, and all three can be removed together: change designed with the sales team, never imposed on it.
Lack of understanding
“I don't understand why we should change. I was not part of the decision.”
How we address it: A clear narrative on the why, leadership communication, transparent metrics.
Lack of involvement
“I did not contribute to the changes. I feel unheard and frustrated.”
How we address it: Co-design workshops, sales advisory groups, frontline pilots before scale.
Lack of control
“If I had more say in the process, I could accept the changes.”
How we address it: Empowerment within guardrails, exception paths, fast feedback loops.
The four-stage sales capability journey
From pricing unaware to pricing mastery: sales teams move through four stages, and each transition needs different shepherding. We know the journey because we have walked teams through it: engagement first, then coaching, then on-the-job implementation and reinforcement, until value-selling and price defense feel natural and the numbers improve without extra effort.
Unconscious Incompetence
Sales assumes pricing is dictated by competitors, customers or market norms. Discounts are granted almost automatically, and the pricing team is seen as the “sales prevention department”.
→Conscious Incompetence
Sales begins to recognize margin leakage and missed opportunities. Data reveals gaps in win rates and uncontrolled discounting, and reps acknowledge the need for pricing expertise.
→Conscious Competence
Sales deliberately applies pricing playbooks and guardrails. Joint deal reviews shape offers, and sales defends price with structured trade-off stories.
→Unconscious Competence
Value-selling and price defense become natural. Pricing guidance is embedded in CRM and CPQ (configure-price-quote) tools: higher win rates and stronger margins, without extra effort.
What a program looks like
We engage sales early, identify their pain points, co-create the new ways of working, and build buy-in before any tool or rule rolls out. Then we equip the team: playbooks, deal guidance, peer comparison without name and shame, and incentives that make defending price pay better than dropping it.
In their words
Frederic is passionate about the impact that pricing can have on an organization. He is willing to be a champion for change even when faced with resistance from other leaders. As a dotted line report to Frederic, I found him to be a fantastic coach that help me be successful with my direct management. I would welcome the opportunity for our paths to cross again.
Shape a program that works
Bring the transformation you have in mind, or the one that failed before. Forty-five minutes, and you will know how I would make it stick.