If you spend any time talking to pricing professionals, you’ll hear a familiar frustration:
“We’re doing good work… but no one listens.”
The analysis is solid.
The data is directionally right.
The recommendations make sense.
And yet:
- Deals go through anyway
- Pricing gets overridden
- Or worse, pricing gets blamed when outcomes disappoint
The default explanation is usually some version of:
- “We need better data”
- “We need better models”
- “We need better tools”
But in my experience, that’s almost never the real issue.
This Isn’t a Capability Problem
I’ve seen very strong pricing teams — with excellent data and experienced people — struggle to have any real impact.
And I’ve seen smaller, less resourced teams drive meaningful change across an organization.
The difference isn’t capability.
It’s structure.
Why Pricing Teams Struggle to Have Impact
There are a few patterns that show up consistently:
- Asymmetric reward
Sales gets credit when deals close. Pricing gets blamed when they don’t. - Fragmentation
Pricing responsibilities are spread across regions, products, or processes, with no single owner. - Buried in the org chart
Pricing often sits inside Finance, Sales, or Marketing — without strong executive sponsorship. - Misaligned incentives
Good pricing is about long-term value, but most organizations optimize for quarterly results. - Data without influence
Analysis is used to justify decisions, not drive them.
Individually, each of these is manageable.
Together, they create a system where pricing struggles to influence outcomes.
The Real Issue: Authority, Not Analysis
If you step back, there’s a common thread.
Pricing is typically trying to influence people who have more organizational power:
- Sales leaders
- Product leaders
- General managers
And in most companies, the pricing leader is simply not at the same level.
They’re often a Director or Senior Manager, trying to push back on VPs or C-level executives who own the revenue number.
At that point, it doesn’t matter how good the analysis is.
Because this isn’t just a data problem.
It’s a power and authority problem.
What Effective Pricing Organizations Do Differently
When pricing does work well, the structure looks different.
You tend to see:
- A senior leader (often VP-level) with direct access to executive decision-makers
- A broader scope that goes beyond pricing alone
- Integration with adjacent functions like Deal Desk, Inventory Management, and Channel Management
In many cases, this evolves into a Yield or Revenue Management function.
Why does that matter?
Because it increases:
- Scope
- Context
- Decision authority
And that’s what allows pricing to actually influence outcomes.
A Note of Caution
There’s also a risk of overcorrecting.
Simply adding more senior roles or building a top-heavy organization isn’t the answer.
The goal isn’t size.
The goal is to ensure there is clear ownership and sufficient authority at the level where decisions are made.
A Better Question to Ask
If you’re part of a pricing team, it’s worth asking:
Are we trying to solve a capability problem…
or are we actually dealing with a structural one?
Because if the structure is wrong, improving the analysis won’t fix the problem.
For Full Context
In my latest video, I walk through:
- Why pricing teams are often under-leveled
- How organizational structure limits impact
- And what companies can do to fix it