Loved this conversation with Fynn Glover. Pricing strategy is very similar to product strategy - there are an infinite numbers of ways to differentiate and win. But, pricing and packaging need to be completely aligned with the company's strategy to be impactful. We covered a lot of ground on strategy, pricing, packaging and more in this discussion.
Co-founder & CEO of Schematic | helping AI developers with feature management and pricing infrastructure
“The best software companies are constantly testing and evolving their pricing to align with the market and deliver more value.” — Adam Steinberg When Adam Steinberg joined PartnerStack, one of the first major opportunities he identified was restructuring pricing and packaging to better match customer value. PartnerStack was in a unique position: 1/ It served both a SaaS subscription model (Partner Relationship Management) and a transactional model (managing partner payouts). 2/ This reality made it non-obvious what the most intuitive price metric should be. Key Takeaways from the Episode: 1️⃣ Align Pricing with Customer Value PartnerStack’s customers weren’t buying based on seats—they were buying based on partner programs. This insight shifted their pricing model from seat-based pricing to program-based pricing, which better matched how customers perceived value. “We didn’t want to cap seats because we want teams to be successful. But we knew that running multiple programs meant they were scaling, so we structured our pricing around that.” 2️⃣ Pricing Must Be a Constant Iteration, Not a One-Time Decision Rather than relying on gut instinct, PartnerStack implemented a structured pricing A/B testing framework. This allows them to experiment without putting the entire pipeline at risk. “Just like you A/B test your website, you should A/B test your pricing. We roll out pricing experiments to a subset of deals and analyze the impact before making broad changes.” 3️⃣ Pricing & Packaging Are Different—And Both Matter Pricing is how much customers pay, but packaging is how they think about what they’re getting. PartnerStack structured its packages to ensure clarity and scalability for customers. “If customers have tons of questions about your pricing, you’ve made it too complex. The best pricing models feel natural and easy to understand.” 4️⃣ Winning on Price vs. Winning on Product A company can compete by offering a lower price through operational efficiency or by commanding a premium through innovation and service. PartnerStack focuses on balancing both. “If you can build a more efficient business, you can build a more aggressive pricing structure. But some businesses win by pricing at a premium—there’s no single right answer.” 5️⃣ Cross-Functional Pricing Teams Are Key PartnerStack’s pricing committee includes RevOps, Product Marketing, Business Analytics, Product, and Sales Leadership. “If you make pricing decisions without input from sales or product, where would you be?” Adam is a serial founder with an incredible business mind, and this was one of my favorite conversations on Monetizing SaaS. Full episode in comments.
