“The best software companies are constantly testing and changing their pricing to align with the market and deliver more value.” — Adam Steinberg

When Adam Steinberg joined PartnerStack as Chief Strategy Officer, one of the first major opportunities he identified was restructuring pricing and packaging to better match customer value.

PartnerStack is in a unique position:

It serves both a SaaS subscription model (Partner Relationship Management) and a transactional model (managing partner payouts).

It had grown fast with enterprise sales, but pricing needed to evolve with market expectations.

It needed a repeatable framework for pricing experimentation to reduce risk and optimize for growth.

Key Takeaways from the Episode:

1️⃣ Align Pricing with Customer ValuePartnerStack’s customers weren’t buying based on seats—they were buying based on partner programs. This insight shifted their pricing model from seat-based pricing to program-based pricing, which better matched how customers perceived value. “We didn’t want to cap seats because we want teams to be successful. But we knew that running multiple programs meant they were scaling, so we structured our pricing around that.”

2️⃣ Pricing Must Be a Constant Iteration, Not a One-Time DecisionRather than relying on gut instinct, PartnerStack implemented a structured pricing A/B testing framework. This allows them to experiment without putting the entire pipeline at risk. “Just like you A/B test your website, you should A/B test your pricing. We roll out pricing experiments to a subset of deals and analyze the impact before making broad changes.”

3️⃣ Pricing & Packaging Are Different—And Both MatterPricing is how much customers pay, but packaging is how they think about what they’re getting. PartnerStack structured its packages to ensure clarity and scalability for customers. “If customers have tons of questions about your pricing, you’ve made it too complex. The best pricing models feel natural and easy to understand.”

4️⃣ Winning on Price vs. Winning on ProductA company can compete by offering a lower price through operational efficiency or by commanding a premium through innovation and service. PartnerStack focuses on balancing both. “If you can build a more efficient business, you can build a more aggressive pricing structure. But some businesses win by pricing at a premium—there’s no single right answer.”

5️⃣ Cross-Functional Pricing Teams Are KeyPartnerStack’s pricing committee includes RevOps, Product Marketing, Business Analytics, Product, and Sales Leadership. “If you make pricing decisions without input from sales or product, where would you be?”

🎧 Listen to the full episode for tactical lessons on:=

✅ Structuring pricing models for multi-product SaaS

✅ Testing pricing with low risk but high insight

✅ Scaling enterprise and PLG pricing motions together

Chapters

00:00 - Intro to Adam Steinberg & PartnerStack

02:15 - The Role of a Chief Strategy Officer in SaaS

05:45 - How PartnerStack Identified Its Pricing Challenges

08:30 - The Shift from Seat-Based to Program-Based Pricing

12:10 - A/B Testing Pricing Without Risking Revenue

15:20 - Why Packaging Matters as Much as Pricing

18:45 - Competing on Price vs. Product Innovation

22:05 - How PartnerStack Operationalizes Pricing Decisions

26:40 - The Importance of a Cross-Functional Pricing Team

30:00 - Adam’s Biggest Lessons on Pricing and Growth