Your Costs vs. Your Price Change Decisions with Jon Lucas

<p><strong>Jon Lucas</strong> started as an Accounting Manager before working as the Strategic Pricing & Business Development Manager of <a href= "https://www.cornerstonebuildingbrands.com/"></a><a href= "https://www.cornerstonebuildingbrands.com/">Cornerstone Building Brands Inc.</a> Jon loves hiking, and he is loving it even better since he moved out of Ohio.</p> <p>In this episode, Jon engages in a discussion with Mark Stiving about making price changes in relation to the importance of value and volatility of costs in the market nowadays.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Why you have to check out today’s podcast:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Discover the importance of differentiating your business with the general market when thinking about value and making price changes;</li> <li>Learn how you can manage cost volatility and even add value when deciding on your products’ prices; and</li> <li>Find out why a safe and sound relationship with the sales team is a must when you’re doing pricing</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>“To experienced pricing managers, structure your department, borrow what everybody else in the organization is doing and have an org chart. Put some procedures around it. It kind of sounds like common sense, but I honestly don't see that happening in pricing in a lot of organizations.”</strong></p> <p><em>– Jon Lucas</em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Topics Covered:</strong></p> <p>01:21 – How Jon got into pricing; Was it about value or cost plus at first?</p> <p>03:00 – Jon discusses what Cornerstone does; Thinking about value and differentiating oneself in the market</p> <p>07:19 – How Jon adds value as he manages cost volatility when making prices</p> <p>11:29 – Rapid cost fluctuations in the industry as an excuse to change prices frequently</p> <p>12:35 – Jon talks about Cornerstone’s sales cycle</p> <p>15:35 – How SAS-based programs help Jon and the company in terms of pricing</p> <p>16:43 – Does Cornerstone change prices weekly?</p> <p>19:04 – Jon shares what it’s like working with salespeople</p> <p>21:03 – J