Impact Pricing

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]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on December 22, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.
Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pricing-ai-when-algorithms-replace-buyers/
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/