The 8 Steps to Value Pricing with special guest Ron Baker

Special guest Ron Baker talks about overcoming pricing objections, managing scope creep, safely offering guarantees, and much more.Today I’ve got a very special episode of Ditching Hourly for you. I'm joined by value pricing pioneer, Ron Baker.Ron is a recovering CPA who began value pricing in 1989. He’s the author of seven best-selling books, including: Pricing on Purpose; Measure What Matters to Customers; and Implementing Value Pricing. He’s the founder of pricing think-tank VeraSage Institute and a radio talk-show host on the VoiceAmerica.com show: The Soul of Enterprise.This episode clocks in at nearly an hour - which I realize is longer than usual - but you’re going to want to listen to every single minute of it because Ron drops non-stop value bombs.Just to give you a taste, here are some of the killer quotes Ron shares:“The billable hour takes your focus away from measuring what matters to the customer.”“The billable hour delivers a lousy customer experience.”“Focusing on the tasks comes at the cost of focusing on the value.”“People don’t want to hear about the contractions, they want to see the baby!”“Value pricing is a skill like golf or tennis. The more you do it, the better you get.”“Don’t ask your client ‘What do you need?’ ask ‘What are you trying to achieve?’”“If you prescribe without diagnosis, it’s malpractice.”“A professional takes responsibility for creating an outcome, not delivering a series of tasks.”“What the client is trying to achieve determines the scope of work.”“Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted.”“We have to get over the idea that we are pricing a series of tasks.”“Value is not a number, it’s a feeling.”“Two options encourages a price decision. Three options encourages a value decision.”“It’s a huge fallacy to think that just because you’re giving a fixed price, you’re not scoping.”“When would you rather find out your client is unhappy with your price: before you do the work or after?”LinksRon Baker on TwitterImplementing Value PricingPricing On PurposeVerasage InstituteSeinfeld clip of indecisive carpenterTSOE #76: Lessons from the Trading GameChange Order BoatExtraordinary Guarantees by Christopher Hart ----Do you know you need to niche down, but keep hesitating because you're afraid of picking the wrong niche, cutting off good opportunities, or boxing yourself in?You DON'T need more convincing that vague positioning is a problem.You DO need a way to make positioning feel less risky so you can finally choose a direction, test it in the market, and adjust without blowing up your business.On Tuesday, September 8th, 2026, at noon Eastern Time, I'm running a live workshop called Positioning For Soloists Having A Hard Time Niching Down.That's what we'll tackle in this workshop.It's the second session of my Fall 2026 Soloist Growth Workshop series for expertise-based business owners just like you.Live attendance is limited to 20, so don't wait.Learn more at: https://jonathanstark.com/sgsEnroll in Positioning For Soloists now »Hope to see you live in Zoom on Tuesday.