My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Businesses competing on value engineering rather than price cutting
Timeframe: Already occurring, accelerating over next 3-5 years
What's Changing
Shift from race-to-the-bottom pricing toward sophisticated value creation and communication
Driving Forces
Increased customer sophistication about value vs price
Pressure on profit margins from traditional price competition
Success stories of premium pricing strategies
Winners
- Businesses that master value equation optimization
- Companies with strong credibility and proof mechanisms
- Service providers who can minimize customer effort
Losers
- Commodity businesses without differentiation
- Companies competing purely on price
- Businesses that can't articulate value propositions
How to Position Yourself
Focus on outcome achievement rather than feature lists
Build credibility through proof and guarantees
Minimize customer effort and sacrifice requirements
Create urgency and scarcity around valuable outcomes
Early Signals to Watch
Example Implementation
“SaaS company stops competing on price, instead offers implementation services, training, and success guarantees to charge 3x competitor pricing”
Related Knowledge
Value Equation Framework
A mathematical framework for maximizing offer value: (Dream Outcome × Perceived Likelihood of Achievement) ÷ (Time Delay
Transform existing offers to command premium pricing while increasing conversion rates
Doubling or tripling offer prices while maintaining or increasing close rates, leading to step-function business growth
Close more sales at higher prices using strategic bonus delivery instead of discounting
Higher close rates without discounting, maintaining profit margins while increasing customer satisfaction
Value Equation Lens
Evaluate all business decisions through the lens of how they impact the four value equation variables: dream outcome, pe
Price is determined by value equation optimization, not cost-plus margins
Businesses should focus on value engineering rather than cost reduction for profit growth
dream outcome times perceive elective achievement below that you have time delay and then effort and
Mathematical formula for determining offer value based on four key customer perception variables