Zoom has just revamped its pricing strategy. It slashed thousands of SKUs from its product catalogue and introduced a single-unit model—ushering in a simplified pricing approach that makes its services far easier to sell and understand. At the same time, it rolled out new self-service tools that allowed partners to generate quotes in minutes. During one pilot, a partner closed a deal in under 30 minutes. For a company that once took days to quote, that’s a seismic shift.
But this wasn’t just a clean-up job. It was a fundamental reset in how Zoom thought about pricing—and whom it was for. It marked a move from being sales-led and customer-facing, to becoming partner-first and growth-focused. It’s a lesson every B2B SaaS business should take seriously. Because the truth is: complexity in pricing isn’t clever. It’s costly.
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The Flaw in the Pricing and Sales Strategy of B2B SaaS Companies
Most B2B companies don’t set out to create a pricing mess. It happens slowly. New features are bundled in. Add-ons stack up. Discounts get handed out inconsistently. Before long, the pricing team is managing thousands of permutations—and nobody else can keep up.
Zoom was no different. Its catalogue of thousands of SKUs might have looked like flexibility on paper, but in reality, it created confusion for partners, longer sales cycles, and internal friction. Partners had trouble quoting quickly. Salespeople spent too much time navigating product configurations. Customers, ironically, had more difficulty seeing the value.
This is a familiar pain point. Many SaaS leaders believe that more choices help close deals. In practice, too many pricing options overwhelm buyers and stall momentum. Worse, they create internal bottlenecks. Every minute a salesperson spends explaining pricing is a minute not spent building relationships or solving customer problems.
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Why Zoom’s Pivot to a Partner-First Pricing Strategy Matters
Zoom realised something powerful: in B2B, your partners are your salesforce, and your pricing must work for them first—not just for your internal team.
Under Nick Tidd, Zoom’s new global head of channel go-to-market, the company shifted focus toward what he calls a “partner-first” model. The sales team no longer gets extra pay for selling directly. Instead, they now support partners as equals.
This isn’t just a change in attitude; it’s a shift in incentives, systems, and strategy.
By putting partners first, Zoom is investing in scalable growth. The maths is simple: a single sales team can only do so much, but an empowered network of channel partners can grow your reach exponentially—if you make it easy for them to sell.
Too often, SaaS companies treat partners like an afterthought in their pricing strategy. Zoom’s reset shows that when you design pricing around your ecosystem, not just your product, everyone wins.
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How Self-Service Became a Strategic Advantage
Zoom’s move to self-service tools didn’t just simplified their pricing—it also made selling faster.
Historically, quoting a B2B software product could take days. It required emailing a sales rep, waiting for internal approvals, confirming SKUs, and building a proposal. But in a post-pandemic world where speed is everything, this process is now outdated.
Zoom’s beta tests showed that with the right tools, partners could quote, provision, and close deals on their own—without handholding. That’s game-changing.
B2B buyers now expect the kind of speed and autonomy they get in consumer settings. Yet many SaaS vendors still force partners and customers through manual processes. This is not just inconvenient—it’s a deal-killer. As Zoom discovered, investing in tools that support autonomy unlocks growth that no discount ever could.
Growth Through a Simplified Pricing Approach
Zoom’s pivot towards simplified pricing teaches a vital lesson: the most effective pricing strategies remove friction.
Simplified pricing isn’t about dumbing things down. It’s about aligning your model with how people buy, how your partners sell, and how your team operates. It’s about clarity over control.
Many companies fear simplifying pricing will reduce flexibility or hurt revenue. But Zoom’s example proves the opposite: less complexity leads to faster sales, stronger partnerships, and scalable growth.
This approach shifts pricing from being an internal accounting exercise to a strategic growth lever.
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What B2B Leaders Should Do Next
If you’re in a SaaS business struggling with bloated pricing or sales friction, now’s the time to consider a simplified pricing strategy. Here’s where to start:
1. Audit your SKUs and price points. Cut what’s unused or creates confusion. Focus on value, not volume.
2. Talk to your partners or resellers. Ask where your pricing makes their life harder. Then fix it.
3. Invest in self-service tools. Quoting, provisioning, and support need to be fast and frictionless.
4. Align incentives across teams. Make sure internal sales and external partners are on the same page.
5. Reframe pricing as a growth tool. Think less about price tags and more about enabling others to sell.
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Turn Simplified Pricing into Your Growth Engine
Zoom’s pricing transformation shows how simplifying your business model can multiply your impact. And it’s a call to every B2B leader: stop treating pricing like a back-office function. Start treating it like the growth engine it is. Because when you price to empower—not to complicate—you don’t just close deals. You open doors.
Take a fresh look at how your pricing works—for your team, your partners, and your customers. And if you’re not sure where to start, we are here to help. Reach out any time for a chat. Let’s make your pricing work better for your business.
For a comprehensive view of maximising growth in your company, Download a complimentary whitepaper on How to Drive Pricing Strategy to Accelerate Sales & EBIT Growth.
Are you a business in need of help aligning your pricing strategy, people and operations to deliver an immediate impact on profit?
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