The best pricing model isn’t the one that maximizes revenue per deal — it’s the one that removes friction from expansion. Here’s the four-stage progression that turns pilots into platform deals.
Stage 1: Pilot — Fixed Fee
De-risk the initial engagement with predictable costs:
- 12-week engagement with clear scope
- Defined workflow — one use case, one department
- Success criteria upfront — agree on what “works” means
Why it works: Fixed fees eliminate procurement fights. Champions can get budget approval for a defined project without triggering enterprise software reviews.
Stage 2: Foundation — Platform + Usage
Establish baseline with platform fee and variable usage:
- Annual platform license — predictable base cost
- Per-user or per-seat pricing — scales with team size
- Consumption overage tiers — usage beyond baseline
Why it works: Separates “access” from “usage” — everyone gets access, heavy users pay more.
Stage 3: Expansion — Tiered Consumption
Scale naturally as value compounds across workflows:
- Volume discounts unlock — more usage = lower per-unit cost
- New department onboarding — easy to add teams
- Workflow multiplication — expand use cases without renegotiation
Why it works: Champions can expand without re-budgeting. Growth happens automatically.
Stage 4: Enterprise — Value-Based
Pricing tied to business outcomes and ROI delivered:
- Outcome guarantees — shared risk, shared reward
- Gainsharing models — vendor participates in upside
- Multi-year strategic deals — embedded partnership
Why it works: When you’ve proven value, capture the upside. Value-based pricing only works after trust is established.
The Core Principle
Each stage removes friction for the next. Fixed-fee pilots prove value without procurement fights. Consumption pricing lets champions expand without re-budgeting. Value-based pricing captures upside once you’re embedded.
Strategic Insight
The best pricing model is one that gets out of the way of expansion — making it easier to grow than to stay flat. Price for the relationship you want, not the transaction you’re in.
This is part of a comprehensive analysis. Read the full AI Embedding GTM Playbook on The Business Engineer.
