Posts by: Tim J. Smith, PhD

Product Management v. Sales: Profit Based Incentives for Both

By Tim J. Smith, PhD May 15, 2017

Can both product managers and salespeople have their incentives and key performance indicators aligned to the corporate goal: profits? Yes. They can…

Product Management v. Sales: Don’t Confuse Your Market

By Tim J. Smith, PhD April 12, 2017

Notice that the solution many companies have taken results in sales and product management being unaligned. Sales focuses on their individual account needs while product managers focus on creating solutions to address challenges, which may be faced by multiple customer segments.

Strategic Movements: April 2017

By Tim J. Smith, PhD April 12, 2017

What can sales managers do to reduce the risk of account loss? According to their research, putting top salespeople on the account doesn’t do the trick at all. Rather, putting a person familiar with the account’s industry on it, even if their past sales performance is average or even below average, can almost eliminate the risk of account loss.

Collaborative and Dynamic Pricing for Product Manufacturers

By Tim J. Smith, PhD March 8, 2017

Treating pricing as a verb, not a noun, applies pressure to the management of pricing decision making. But who makes pricing decisions? …

Is Pricing a CEO Level Issue?

By Tim J. Smith, PhD February 7, 2017

CEO’s are responsible for organizing productive operations, and ultimately generating revenue. When it comes to their pricing responsibility, CEO’s manage pricing decisions by defining the culture, structure, and routines necessary for producing sound decisions that align with their strategy.

Strategic Movements: February 2017

By Tim J. Smith, PhD February 7, 2017

Dismal earnings have been reported at Macy’s, JC Penney, Kohl’s, Barnes & Noble, Sears, and many other retailers—countered by increase sales at Amazon.com. Even Walmart is investing in online capabilities, begging the question will all physical retail fail? No.

Price is a Verb

By Tim J. Smith, PhD January 3, 2017

So what do executives get wrong about pricing? They treat it as a noun not as a verb. Treating price as a verb drives executives to define the culture, organizational structure, and process for making pricing decisions. Leading firms do this. Failing firms don’t. Executives, you have a choice.

Strategic Movements: January 2017

By Tim J. Smith, PhD January 3, 2017

“Discounting becomes a drug that is hard to get off, and creates this basis for consumer to not trust regular prices,” Uri Minkoff.

Nicholas Woodman: Learning in Business is the Ultimate Action Sport

By Tim J. Smith, PhD December 10, 2016

I suspect Mr. Woodman believed that the GoPro could become the hot item for the holiday season. But $400 seemed a bit high for the average consumer. Why not drop it? If the price was lower, then more people may buy it, and GoPro may become a consumer product giant. Perhaps it could join the leagues of Apple, Cannon, and Sony?

Tim J. Smith, PhD, is the founder and CEO of Wiglaf Pricing, an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Economics at DePaul University, and the author of Pricing Done Right (Wiley 2016) and Pricing Strategy (Cengage 2012). At Wiglaf Pricing, Tim leads client engagements. Smith’s popular business book, Pricing Done Right: The Pricing Framework Proven Successful by the World’s Most Profitable Companies, was noted by Dennis Stone, CEO of Overhead Door Corp, as "Essential reading… While many books cover the concepts of pricing, Pricing Done Right goes the additional step of applying the concepts in the real world." Tim’s textbook, Pricing Strategy: Setting Price Levels, Managing Price Discounts, & Establishing Price Structures, has been described by independent reviewers as “the most comprehensive pricing strategy book” on the market. As well as serving as the Academic Advisor to the Professional Pricing Society’s Certified Pricing Professional program, Tim is a member of the American Marketing Association and American Physical Society. He holds a BS in Physics and Chemistry from Southern Methodist University, a BA in Mathematics from Southern Methodist University, a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago, and an MBA with high honors in Strategy and Marketing from the University of Chicago GSB.