AI pricing is changing fast—and suddenly, everyone is selling credits. But here's the uncomfortable question: Are credits actually helping you scale… or quietly pulling you back into cost-plus pricing?

Steven Forth, co-founder of ValueIQ, joins Mark Stiving to unpack what's really going on behind the rise of credit-based pricing—and why so many companies are adopting it despite its obvious flaws.

This isn't a polite discussion. Mark challenges the very foundation of credits, arguing they break the connection between price and value. Steven pushes back, revealing why credits may be the only viable system in a world where AI usage is unpredictable, costs are real, and value is still being discovered in real time.

What emerges is a deeper truth most companies are missing about credit-based pricing. If you're navigating AI pricing—or even just rethinking your current model—this episode will force you to rethink not just how you price… but what you're really charging for.

Why You Have to Check Out Today's Podcast:

• Discover when credit-based pricing actually works—and when it quietly pulls you back into cost-plus thinking, weakening your ability to communicate real value.
• Learn how AI companies balance cost, value, and scale using the "two dials" of pricing—credit price vs. credit consumption—and why this changes how you design pricing systems.
• Avoid the hidden design traps that break credit models—including overages, rollovers, and pooling decisions that frustrate buyers and limit growth.

"AI is still early. Value is not preordained. Credits give you flexibility while you figure it out."

– Steven Forth

Topics Covered:

01:43 – Why Credits Break Value-Based Pricing (And Create Buyer Confusion). Mark explains why credits add a layer of abstraction between price and value—making it harder for buyers to connect what they pay to the outcomes they get.

05:47 – The Hidden Shift to Cost-Plus Pricing in AI. Why tokens = cost-plus pricing, and how rising compute costs are quietly pushing SaaS companies away from value-based pricing without realizing it.

10:11 – The "Two Dials" Strategy: How Credits Unlock Pricing Flexibility. Discover how adjusting price per credit vs. credits per action creates a more adaptable system—without constantly changing your pricing model.

12:05 – The Hardest Problem Nobody Solves: Mapping Credits to Value. Why most companies fail at credit pricing—not because of the model itself, but because they skip the deep work of aligning credits with real customer value.

15:22 – The 3 Critical Design Decisions That Make or Break Credits. A breakdown of pooling, rollovers, and overages—and how each one impacts buyer trust, revenue predictability, and product usage.

21:57 – Overage Mistakes That Kill Adoption (And What to Do Instead). Why hard stops frustrate users and reduce usage, plus smarter alternatives like soft limits, borrowing, and on-demand credit purchases.

25:34 – The Emerging Best Practice: Hybrid Credit + Subscription Models. How leading companies combine base subscriptions with flexible credit top-ups to balance predictability with scalability.

27:00 – The Only Rule That Matters: Understand How You Create Value. Steven's closing insight: pricing models don't matter if you don't deeply understand how your value is created—and how it's changing over time.

Key Takeaways:

"Credits add a layer of abstraction between price and value—and that's what makes them dangerous." – Mark Stiving

"Tokens are cost-plus pricing. Credits give you a way to reconnect pricing back to value." – Steven Forth

"Buyers are much more flexible with credits than with price increases." – Steven Forth

"Credits feel easier to allocate internally—because they've already been 'spent." – Mark Stiving

"Hard stops on usage are bad design—they hurt both the buyer and the seller." – Steven Forth

"Well-designed credit systems are actually buyer-centric—they give flexibility across different use cases." – Steven Forth

Resources and People Mentioned:

• Lovable (AI platform) – Referenced for its approach to on-demand credit purchasing and overage design, including A/B testing credit top-ups to improve revenue and user experience
• Box (company) – Example of a company implementing restricted credit pooling rules (e.g., limited sharing of AI credits), highlighting tension between buyer flexibility and revenue protection
• AI Token Pricing Models – Discussed as a contrast to credits; tokens represent cost-plus pricing tied to compute usage, while credits can be designed to reflect value instead of just cost
• Cell Phone Industry (Rollover & Subscription Models) – Referenced as the origin of many modern SaaS pricing mechanics like rollovers, ARR, and customer lifetime value thinking, influencing today's credit-based systems

Connect with Steven Forth:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenforth/
• Email: [email protected]
• Subscribe to Steven's Substack: Synthetic data in pricing: https://pricinginnovation.substack.com/p/synthetic-data-in-pricing

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 19, 2026, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/we-lost-on-price-truthful-and-useless/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Jim Kalbach is the Chief Evangelist at Mural, where he helps teams uncover what customers actually need—not just what they say they want. Known for his work in Jobs to Be Done, experience mapping, and innovation, Jim has spent years helping organizations see beyond their products and into how buyers really think, decide, and act.

In this episode, we unpack a simple but often overlooked truth: buyers don't start with problems—they start with solutions. Jim walks us through what's really happening beneath the surface—from how buyers recognize (or miss) their own problems, to how they search, evaluate, and eventually decide when to stop looking.

Along the way, you'll learn how identifying unmet needs doesn't just improve your product—it sharpens your messaging, builds trust faster, and gives you a clearer path to pricing around real value.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Understand why buyers struggle to explain their own problems and how removing the solution from the conversation reveals what they actually need.
• Learn how Jobs to Be Done helps you predict buyer behavior by uncovering the unmet needs driving their decisions.
• Understand the moment buyers stop searching and how aligning with their real problem builds trust and increases conversion.

"Understand the problems first—and then price around that."

– Jim Kalbach

Topics Covered:

02:08 – Why Buyers Struggle to Express Their Problems. Learn why buyers default to solutions instead of articulating real needs—and how that limits insight.

05:57 – The Jobs to Be Done Mindset Explained. Discover how removing the solution from the conversation helps uncover true customer problems.

10:06 – The Layers of Problems in Sales. Understand how to navigate from surface-level needs to deeper value-driving problems.

12:43 – Why Buyers Are Predicting the Future. Explore how every purchase is a bet on future outcomes—and what builds buyer confidence.

14:37 – Identifying Unmet Needs in the Market. Learn how uncovering unmet needs improves product-market fit, messaging, and adoption.

18:45 – Building Trust by Understanding Problems First. See how recognizing a buyer's problem before they articulate it creates instant credibility.

21:22 – Shifting from Product Thinking to Human Problems. Why focusing on the human problem—not the product—makes selling and pricing easier.

25:47 – Core Principles of the Jobs to Be Done Framework. Break down the key idea: temporarily remove the solution to better understand the job.

27:29 – Pricing Around Value Creation. Why pricing should be anchored in the problems you solve—not the product you sell.

Key Takeaways:

"Try to understand the value that you can create by shifting your attention to the problems that you solve." – Jim Kalbach

"The power of jobs to be done is let's not see things only through the lens of our own solution." – Jim Kalbach

"Jobs to be done is trying to predict the future by creating a solution that fills an unmet need." – Jim Kalbach

Resources and People Mentioned:

• Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) – Framework for understanding customer behavior by focusing.
• Henry Ford – Referenced for the "faster horse" analogy, illustrating how customers describe needs based on existing solutions.
• Theodore Levitt – Known for the classic insight: people don't want a drill, they want a hole—used here to illustrate layers of customer problems.

Connect with Jim Kalbach:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalbach
• Website: www.jtbdtoolkit.com
• Jobs to be Done Playbook: https://experiencinginformation.com/jtbd-playbook/

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

If buyers need to believe the value before they buy…why don't they trust ROI when we show it to them?

In Episode 5 of the Buyer Decision Series, Mark Stiving and Rebecca Kalogeris explore how to actually help buyers quantify value in a way they believe.

Because the real value conversation doesn't start with spreadsheets or ROI calculators — it starts by helping buyers connect their problems to measurable outcomes they already care about.

Discover how guiding buyers to use their own assumptions, their own numbers, and their own logic transforms value from something you claim… into something they trust — and why that trust is what ultimately increases the confidence needed to say yes.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Discover why buyers don't trust ROI; even when your numbers are right and how this skepticism silently kills deals and drives unnecessary discounting
• Learn how to guide buyers to calculate value using their own numbers so the outcome feels credible, defensible, and worth paying for
• Master a simple framework to connect features to real business impact; turning vague problems into measurable results buyers can justify internally

Catch Up on the #BuyerDecisionSeries:

• Episode 1: Buying Is a Prediction of the Future
• Episode 2: Buyers Buy Futures, Not Features
• Episode 3: What Buyers Actually Pay For
• Episode 4: Why Buyers Can't Articulate Their Real Problems (And Why That Matters for Pricing)

"Buyers believe it more when they use their own numbers than when you tell them the answer."

— Mark Stiving

Topics Covered:

00:00 – Why Buyers Don't Trust ROI (Even When It's True). The core problem: telling buyers the value doesn't build confidence — it often creates skepticism.

01:30 – The Value Table: Turning Features into Business Impact. A simple framework — Feature → Problem → Result → KPI — to connect what you sell to what buyers actually care about.

03:30 – The Hardest Step: Defining the Real Problem. Why companies (not just buyers) struggle to articulate the problem — and how the "curse of knowledge" gets in the way.

05:00 – From KPIs to Money: Where Value Actually Comes From. How to link metrics like churn or productivity to real financial impact (cost savings or revenue growth).

06:30 – Step 2: How to Quantify Value in a Live Conversation. How to guide buyers through their own logic — starting from their problems and moving toward measurable outcomes.

08:00 – Let the Buyer Do the Math (And Why It Works). Why using their assumptions and their numbers makes the value more believable than any pitch.

09:30 – Why Smaller Numbers Increase Credibility. Using conservative estimates builds trust — and still leads to compelling value.

10:30 – Why ROI Calculators Backfire (and What to Do Instead). Big, polished numbers feel manipulative — buyers trust what they help build.

11:15 – The Real Goal: Build Confidence, Not Just Prove Value. Quantifying value isn't about proving ROI — it's about making buyers believe the decision is right.

Key Takeaways:

"When we can articulate problems to our buyers, they trust us more." — Mark Stiving

"If we could solve this problem for you, what do you think that's going to do for your employee turnover?" — Mark Stiving

"The buyer...once they've done the math and used their own numbers, they believe this way more than if you walked in and said, we're going to save you a million dollars." — Mark Stiving

"We show that we understand their business, which is key." — Rebecca Kalogeris

Connect with Rebecca Kalogeris:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-kalogeris

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 12, 2026, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/ai-didnt-kill-per-user-pricing-it-exposed-it/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

If value comes from solving problems… why do buyers struggle to explain the problems they actually have?

In Episode 4 of the Buyer Decision Series, Mark Stiving and Rebecca Kalogeris explore why buyers often jump straight to solutions instead of clearly articulating their problems.

But the real value conversation doesn't start with features or products — it starts with understanding the problem behind the purchase.

Discover why the sellers who understand a buyer's problems best are the ones buyers trust most… and why that trust increases the confidence needed to say yes.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Understand why value only exists when a real problem is being solved—and why no problem means no value.
• Learn why buyers often jump to solutions and features instead of articulating their real problems.
• See why the best sales conversations focus less on products and more on diagnosing the buyer's situation.

Catch Up on the #BuyerDecisionSeries:

• Episode 1: Buying Is a Prediction of the Future
• Episode 2: Buyers Buy Futures, Not Features
• Episode 3: What Buyers Actually Pay For

"If there's no problem, there's no value."

— Mark Stiving

Topics Covered:

00:00 – The Question Most Buyers Never Stop to Ask. Mark opens with a simple but powerful question: what problem are we actually trying to solve? The starting point behind value — and why most buyers skip it.

02:00 – The Rule That Explains Why Value Only Exists When Problems Exist. Mark introduces the second half of the Second Law of Value: value is the result of solving problems. If there's no meaningful problem, there's no reason to pay.

02:28 – The "Drill Aisle" Mistake Buyers Make. Why buyers walk into a store asking for a drill instead of understanding what they actually need — and how jumping straight to solutions leads to bad decisions.

05:12 – Why Feature-Focused Buyers Often Choose the Wrong Solution. From cars to CRM systems, buyers instinctively compare features instead of identifying the deeper problems they're trying to solve.

08:09 – The Question That Instantly Builds Buyer Trust. Why great sellers ask deeper questions about context and behavior — revealing problems the buyer hasn't fully articulated.

09:55 – The Confidence Equation Behind Every Buying Decision. Mark revisits the confidence framework — payoff, probability, and anticipated regret — and explains why understanding problems increases the probability a buyer believes your solution will work.

11:04 – The "Doctor Test" for Great Selling. Rebecca compares great sellers to doctors: when someone clearly diagnoses your problem, you immediately trust their solution.

12:48 – The Next Puzzle: Turning Problems Into Measurable Value. Mark previews the next episode: how companies can help buyers quantify value once the real problems are understood.

Key Takeaways:

"Buyers typically are horrible at articulating their own problems." — Mark Stiving

"Nobody cares about your product. What they care about are the problems you can solve and the results they'll achieve." — Mark Stiving

"The better a salesperson is at understanding your problems, the more likely you are to believe that solution solves your problem." — Mark Stiving

"When someone can articulate your problem with nuance and detail, suddenly you believe they can solve it." — Mark Stiving

"Confidence changes when someone demonstrates they truly understand your situation." — Rebecca Kalogeris

People / Concepts Mentioned:

• Theodore Levitt. Referenced for the famous insight: "People don't want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole."
• Jobs to Be Done. A framework focused on understanding the underlying job a customer is trying to accomplish.

Connect with Rebecca Kalogeris:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-kalogeris

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 5, 2026, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/price-is-the-tradeoff/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

If buyers are predicting the future… and confidence determines when they act… what are they actually paying for?

In Episode 3 of the Buyer Decision Series, Mark Stiving and Rebecca Kalogeris explore the next piece of the puzzle; and challenge a common assumption about value.

Because what buyers pay for may not be what you think.

Discover what buyers are really evaluating; and why understanding it can completely change how you talk about value and pricing.

Why You Have to Listen:

• Understand what buyers are really paying for—and why it's rarely the product itself
• Learn the Second Law of Value and how it reshapes the way pricing conversations work
• See how B2B buyers think about results through revenue, cost savings, and risk
• Recognize the hidden personal outcomes buyers consider—even in business decisions
• Build the next layer of the Buyer Decision framework introduced in Episodes 1 and 2

Catch Up on the #buyerDecisionSeries:

• Episode 1: Buying Is a Prediction of the Future https://impactpricing.com/podcast/buying-is-a-prediction-of-the-future/
• Episode 2: Buyers Buy Futures, Not Features https://impactpricing.com/podcast/buyers-buy-futures-not-features/

"Value is the result of solving problems." — Mark Stiving

Topics Covered:

00:22 - Recapping the First Two Episodes. Buying is prediction, and confidence determines when someone acts 01:32 - Confidence Threshold in Buying Decisions 02:11 - Introduction to Laws of Value 02:42 - Umbrella Law: Buyers Trade Money for Value 03:14 - Law One: Buyers Make Predictions 04:02 - Law Two: Value is the Result of Solving Problems 05:02 - Confidence Components: Payoff, Probability, Anticipated Regret 06:07 - B2B Results: Incremental Profit + Reduced Risk in B2B 08:22 - Results in B2C: Functional, Social, and Emotional Value. Consumers buy outcomes like better performance, social perception, or emotional satisfaction 10:43 - Why Individual Buyers Still Matter in B2B. Even business decisions include personal outcomes like reputation and career impact 12:50 - What Comes Next: Quantifying Value. How sellers can help buyers understand the payoff they expect

Key Takeaways:

"Value is the result of solving problems." — Mark Stiving

"Individual buyers inside companies still care about how decisions make them look and feel." — Rebecca Kalogeris

Connect with Rebecca Kalogeris:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-kalogeris

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on December 29, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/buyers-dont-buy-features/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Buying isn't logical; it's predictive.

In this episode, we explore why buyers hesitate, stall, and say "let me think about it" — even when the value is clear. Mark Stiving and Rebecca Kalogeris break down the real driver behind purchase decisions: confidence — the balance of payoff, probability, and anticipated regret.

If buyers are betting on a future, your job isn't to explain features; it's to increase their belief that the future you promise will actually happen.

Listen in to understand why buyers buy futures, not features and how to close the confidence gap without lowering your price.

Why You Have to Listen:

• Understand why buying is closer to gambling than logic; and what that means for pricing.
• Learn the three drivers of buyer confidence and how to increase them without discounting.
• Discover why more information often reduces clarity instead of increasing commitment.

"Buyers buy futures, not features."

— Mark Stiving

Topics Covered:

01:00 – Buying Is a Prediction. Every purchase is a bet on the future — and we're surprisingly bad at making predictions

02:30 – Buying as Gambling. Why customers are placing bets without knowing the odds — and what sellers misunderstand about that

04:00 – Confidence = Payoff + Probability. The two core levers behind every buying decision:

06:30 – Belief Beats Information. Why more facts don't necessarily increase confidence — and why belief often wins

08:30 – The Confidence Threshold. Buyers must cross a psychological line before they commit — and most sellers don't know where that line is

10:00 – Anticipated Regret: The Hidden Variable. What happens if I'm wrong? Will I get blamed, embarrassed, or fired?

11:45 – The Real Buyer Disconnect. Sellers talk about features. Buyers are trying to predict their future.

13:00 – Mic Drop Moment. The insight that reframes everything: buyers buy futures, not features

Key Takeaways:

"Predictions are really hard — especially when they're about the future." – Referencing Yogi Berra, discussed by Mark & Rebecca

"Confidence isn't just value. It's payoff, probability… and anticipated regret." – Mark Stiving

"There's a confidence threshold you have to cross before you're willing to buy." – Mark Stiving

"If I don't believe it, no amount of facts I'm reading are going to help me." – Rebecca Kalogeris

People/Resources Mentioned:

• Yogi Berra
• Buyer Disconnect (Mark Stiving's Upcoming Book)

Connect with Rebecca Kalogeris:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-kalogeris

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

Before we talk about confidence. Before we talk about willingness to pay. Before we talk about buyer disconnect.

We need to question something far more fundamental: What are buyers actually doing when they decide?

In this pilot episode of the Decision Series, Mark Stiving and Rebecca Kalogeris unpack a deceptively simple idea that reframes how every purchase works; especially in B2B.

They explore why value isn't as concrete as we assume, why certainty is often an illusion, and why so many pricing conversations miss what's really driving the decision.

If pricing sometimes feels disconnected from buyer behavior, this episode starts to reveal why.

Why You Have to Listen:

• Understand why value doesn't exist at the moment of purchase; and what buyers are actually evaluating instead.
• Reframe perceived value as a belief about the future, not a fact in the present.
• Lay the foundation for everything that follows in the Buyer Decision series.

"Buying is a prediction of the future."

– Mark Stiving

Topics Covered:

00:00 – Buying Is a Prediction of the Future. The foundational idea that reshapes how we think about value

01:40 – What Is Buyer Disconnect? The gap between how buyers perceive value and how sellers think buyers perceive value

04:30 – The Drill Example: When Does Value Actually Happen? Value doesn't exist at purchase — it only exists if the future plays out as expected

06:20 – Perceived Value vs. Real Value. Why perceived value is all buyers have when they decide

09:45 – Why B2B Raises the Stakes. Business buyers are predicting both product outcomes and reputational consequences

11:40 – What Comes Next: Confidence. If buying is prediction, the next question is obvious — how do buyers build enough confidence to act?

Key Takeaways:

"Value doesn't exist at the time of purchase." – Mark Stiving

"Buyer disconnect is the gap between how buyers perceive value and how sellers think buyers perceive value." – Mark Stiving

"In B2B, buyers aren't just predicting product outcomes — they're predicting what happens to their reputation." – Mark Stiving

"There are two predictions in every purchase; I assume the product will behave the way I expect, and I assume I'll behave the way I expect." – Rebecca Kalogeris

Resources and People Mentioned:

• Yogi Berra
• Buyer Disconnect (Mark Stiving's Upcoming Book)

Connect with Rebecca Kalogeris:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-kalogeris

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]