In this article, originally featured in Elite Business: Businesses can move beyond price competition by solving higher-level client problems and building structured, recurring revenue models.
Most businesses don’t struggle because they lack effort, skill or brilliant offerings. They struggle because they’re competing in the wrong game.
Consider the owner of a £10-million business in a fiercely competitive industry. Low barriers to entry. Endless competitors. Constant price pressure. Wild swings in revenue.
On paper, the business supplied branded collateral and event support. In reality, it was trapped in a commodity war as every client discussion ended with price.
Here’s the hard truth: if every conversation ends in price, you haven’t defined the real problem you solve.
Growth doesn’t fix structural weakness
The business had finally hit a long-chased revenue milestone. But relief didn’t come from pushing harder. It came from tightening structure.
Many owners believe the next revenue jump will ease the pressure. It won’t.
The problems you have at 10 million reappear at 20 million, just larger and more expensive. Small inefficiencies become structural cracks and if you don’t fix them early, scale magnifies them.
Growth amplifies structure, both good and bad.
Stop selling items. Start solving headaches.
Nobody spends money for fun. Every spend solves a problem. The question is whether you’re solving the real one.
In the case of this business, when we started digging deeper, a pattern emerged.
Large organisations with multiple branches struggle with brand inconsistency.
Regional teams run events differently, budgets get wasted, collateral disappears and standards slip.
The senior decision-maker isn’t worried about the price of a pen. They’re worried about loss of control.
That’s the real problem.
Shift the conversation from: “Can you quote on 500 units?“ To: “How do we ensure every branch event across the country is executed consistently, within budget and on brand?“
Now you’re no longer selling merchandise. You’re selling governance, risk reduction and brand protection, and senior leaders pay for that.
The recurring revenue shift
Move from transactional sales to a recurring service model.
Instead of supplying items per event, design and manage the event system.
Imagine this:
• Each branch runs a predictable number of events annually. • Each event has a standardised “kit“ that could include signage, uniforms, gifting and collateral. • The kit is stored, maintained and deployed by you, then reused. • Usage is tracked, waste drops and brand quality improves.
You’ve shifted from selling products to delivering reliable execution at scale.
That stabilises revenue. It smooths cash flow. It builds predictability. And predictability increases valuation.
Buyers don’t pay for erratic project income. They pay for contracted, repeatable revenue streams.
Three practical actions
1. Identify the bigger problem Ask: what keeps my customer’s boss awake at night? Aim there.
2. Package outcomes, not inputs Sell consistency, control and predictability, not physical products or one-off services.
3. Design for revenue stability Build recurring agreements that reduce seasonal volatility and protect cash flow.
The moment you stop fighting over the price of the pen and start solving the headache in the boardroom, you step out of the commodity trap.
And that’s when you start building a scalable business.
By Pavlo Phitidis
