THE PRICE OVERRIDE PARADOX: Why the Best Pricing Teams Don't Fight Overrides—They Learn From Them

In B2B distribution and manufacturing, we've been taught to treat overrides as mistakes.

But what if overrides aren't the problem?

I just wrapped a three-part series that challenges that mindset:

Overrides aren't always a sign of lack of discipline. They're frontline intelligence we've overlooked.

Part 1: The Problem with "Control" https://lnkd.in/gDSTDbKw

Override controls don't fix pricing—they hide its failures.

• •Why overrides are feedback, not disobedience
• •Why control slows you down in fast-moving markets
• •Why measuring override volume misses the point

"The more you enforce bad logic, the more your team checks out."

Part 2: The Metrics That Mislead https://lnkd.in/gTNfsRFd

We're celebrating the wrong KPIs.

Price attainment ≠ pricing effectiveness.

• •How price attainment creates fear-based selling
• •Why "data-driven pricing" often recycles outdated logic
• •What to measure instead (win rate by band, velocity, sensitivity signals)

"If price attainment is your North Star, you're not measuring success. You're measuring fear."

Part 3: From Control to Intelligence https://lnkd.in/giGHXRnr

This is where the shift begins: from control to capability.

• •Capture full deal context (urgency, alternatives, decision criteria)
• •Equip sellers to be value defenders, not discount dispensers
• •Build pricing systems that learn from every transaction

"The best pricing teams don't eliminate overrides. They update their models with them."

The Takeaway

We don't need more guardrails.

We need smarter feedback loops.

And pricing models that evolve with the market, not against it.

If you're still fighting override volume, you're solving the wrong problem.

Read the full series. Start a smarter conversation.

Let's build pricing systems that think.