Price the Job, Not the Tool

A First Principles guide to deconstructing value and building outcome-based contracts for an AI-powered world.

Part 1 of a 6-Part Series on pricing based on outcomes

Introduction: The Ticking Time Bomb in Our Software

The dashboards glow in the conference room at 7:00 p.m. A Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Marketing Officer, and a VP of Operations are in their third hour of a tense budget review. On one screen is the consolidated expense report. The number is clear, predictable, and climbing: $50,000 per month for the new, enterprise-grade, “AI-Powered Customer Intelligence Platform.” On the other screen are the metrics that truly matter: customer churn rate (stagnant), qualified lead conversion (anemic), and net promoter score (flat).

The CMO breaks the silence. “The vendor says our team’s adoption is at 90%. They’re using the tool every day. We’re getting exactly what we paid for.”

The CFO looks at the two screens—the $50,000 cost and the flat-lining value—and replies, “Then we are paying for the wrong thing.”

This scene, playing out in boardrooms across the globe, is the quiet, ticking time bom…