Price with confidence

The fastest, most engaging way to move managers from discount reflex to confident, value-based pricing.

How does it work

Participants run a fictional business in small competing teams, setting prices across three rounds to win customers in a live market. Each round they balance price against investment in the differentiators their customers value most, and every decision flows through to profit and cash in real time. Across the rounds they move from gut-feel discounting to disciplined, value-based pricing, learning to read what each customer actually values, judge when to hold price and when to flex, and feel the real cost of leaving money on the table.

Key outcomes

• How customer value should drive price, not cost or competition
• When to hold price, when to flex, and when to walk away
• How every pricing decision flows through to profit and cash
• How to defend price with confidence on value, not discount

Business Benefit

• Teams that defend margin instead of buying revenue
• Sharper pricing decisions grounded in customer value
• Stronger alignment between sales, finance and product
• A shared pricing language that travels across functions and markets

Companies who are playing this game

• Univar Solutions
• Ecolab
• Cargill
• Pinsent Masons
• Lesaffre
• Smurfit Westrock

Who is it for

• Sales, finance, product and commercial managers
• Anyone who owns or influences pricing decisions

Guide price

£80

per participant
per hour

Game Modules

The game is played across three rounds, with three core modules: profit and cash, value and price, and pricing discipline.

Module 1

Profit &
Cash

Topics & Tasks
1) How price flows through to gross and net profit
2) The real cost of discounting
3) Protecting cash while still winning customers

Key Learning
Understanding how every pricing decision flows through to profit and cash in real time

Module 2

Value &
Price

Topics & Tasks
1) Reading what each customer values most
2) Pricing to value, not to cost or competition
3) Investing in the differentiators that win the deal

Key Learning
Understanding what customers actually value and how to price and invest against it

Module 3

Hold or
Flex

Topics & Tasks
1) Knowing when to hold price and when to flex
2) Walking away from the wrong deal
3) Defending price with confidence

Key Learning
Understanding how to defend price on value and judge when to flex, hold or walk away

Feedback

This is what participants have to say about this game

Julie Mauny

Corporate Account Manager, Ecolab

"I'll stop chasing customers who put price as their first criteria."

Nicole Bergtrome

District Commercial Specialist, Univar Solutions

"I'll think more about the services we offer, rather than just trying to win the sale with a low price. That was lots of fun."

Iain Brown

Head of UK & ME Centre of Excellence

"Interactive, engaging and informative. We came away clearer on our strengths and USPs."

Who it involves

Normally between 12 to 24 participants in each session (but this is flexible), competing in smaller teams against each other.

They are led at all times by a facilitator either from PBS or the client.

How long it lasts

Most games are 2-8 hours. Some classroom courses last up to 4 days. We tend to avoid playing online for more than half a day in one go.

There is normally some brief pre-work for participants to complete and we suggest a short follow-up workshop to embed the learning.

Where it happens

Almost all of our games can be played face-to-face, virtually or a combination of both.

Increasingly, we are seeing demand for digital games to be played face-to-face in the classroom.