Below is a summary of our interview with Per Sjöfors. You can listen to the full interview using the embedded media player below or on your favorite podcast platform (e.g., Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music).
In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we sit down with Per Sjöfors, founder and CEO of Sjöfors & Partners and the author of The Price Whisperer: A Holistic Approach to Pricing Power. Known in the industry as “The Price Whisperer,” Per brings more than 35 years of executive leadership experience and has helped over 750 companies improve margins and grow revenue by understanding how pricing shapes customer behavior. His consultancy combines proprietary AI, predictive analytics, and behavioral economics to deliver practical, data-driven pricing strategies that align with customer value perception — not just internal targets.
Earlier this year, Per was one of nine experts who contributed to our 2025 Pricing Predictions episode and correctly forecasted that tariffs would become a defining influence on pricing strategy. Days before this conversation, the Trump administration announced a 90-day delay on the latest round of tariffs. That move provided short-term relief — but it also reignited uncertainty. In this episode, we unpack what that means for retailers and explore how companies can build pricing strategies that are resilient in the face of unpredictable policy changes.
From CEO to Price Whisperer: Turning experiments into expertise
Per’s journey into pricing began long before he founded his consultancy. As a CEO, he had conducted his own pricing experiments — some wildly successful, others complete failures. What frustrated him was the lack of guidance. “In business school, we had 90 minutes on pricing — on a Tuesday afternoon,” he recalls. “It was theoretical, academic, and didn’t help me as a business leader.” So he decided to build his own method, one that would reliably predict which pricing moves would improve both margins and sales volume.
That hands-on experimentation became the foundation for what is now Sjöfors & Partners, a Los Angeles–based consultancy powered by AI and grounded in behavioral science. Per emphasizes that pricing is never just a number — it’s a reflection of how a product is marketed, positioned, and sold. In one example, his team helped a vending machine company reframe its marketing strategy, allowing it to raise prices and grow revenue from $200 million to $240 million in a single week. In another case, a B2B software and infrastructure provider shifted its monetization model from system-level pricing to per-user pricing — leading to a 28% price increase without losing a single deal. Per’s holistic approach views every business decision as a pricing lever — a philosophy he explores in his book and applies in client engagements.
What tariffs really mean for pricing — and who actually pays
When tariffs are introduced, the question that quickly follows is who absorbs the cost. Per is quick to point out that tariffs do not impact willingness to pay — they are simply another cost to manage. For companies with strong margins, there may be room to absorb the impact. But for many others, passing those costs along to customers becomes a business necessity. The key, however, is understanding how much you can raise prices without damaging volume — and that means knowing where psychological “price walls” exist.
“If you increase prices and cross a price wall, you might lose 30 to 40 percent of your volume,” Per warns. On the other hand, if you raise prices and see no change in demand, that’s an indication you’ve been leaving money on the table. Unfortunately, most companies don’t actually know where their price walls are — or what their customers are truly willing to pay. Compounding the problem is that customers rarely tell the truth. “Buyers either lie, withhold information, or say what they think you want to hear,” he says. That’s why Per relies on anonymized, third-party research that bypasses customer bias and reveals authentic pricing signals from the market.
The hidden danger of tariff surcharges
One option some companies consider is separating the tariff into a line-item surcharge. Per strongly discourages this. “A tariff surcharge points directly at the customer and says, ‘your cost just went up’ — which invites pushback and negotiation,” he explains. That’s especially problematic in B2B, where every additional charge becomes a potential sticking point during contract review. But even in consumer environments, the practice can erode trust. “I once visited a restaurant that added a COVID surcharge to the bill. I paid it — but I never went back.”
Instead, Per recommends incorporating the cost into the overall price and leading with a clear value proposition. Transparency matters — but nickel-and-diming customers through surcharges often feels deceptive. If the price is going to increase, he argues, it should be communicated openly and framed in the context of what customers are gaining.
Lead with value, then talk price
Throughout the episode, Per returns to a central theme: price should never be presented in a vacuum. “Start with value — always,” he says. That advice applies across industries, from retail to software to professional services. He points to Netflix as an example. While the company now notifies users about upcoming price increases, it rarely explains what those increases are funding.
“They don’t say, ‘You watched 127 hours of content last month — and here’s what we’re investing in next.’ They just say, ‘We’re raising your price.’ That’s a missed opportunity.”
In B2B contexts, the same principle applies. Per encourages teams to present proposals, not just send them — and to ensure the value story comes before the pricing slide. “If your customer sees the price first, they start negotiating. If they see the value first, they start understanding.”
Planning for the unplannable: What tariffs teach us about resilience
Per believes the most harmful part of tariffs isn’t the financial cost — it’s the policy whiplash. “Tariffs on, tariffs off. It creates paralysis,” he says. “Companies stop investing in people, in product, in marketing — because they don’t know what’s coming next.” That uncertainty, he argues, is far more damaging than the tariff itself.
To weather volatile markets, companies need to understand their pricing power before disruption strikes. That includes identifying price walls, understanding how customers and noncustomers perceive value, and aligning strategy across marketing, sales, and product. Many companies assume they already know how the market sees them — but when Per compares internal perceptions to external research, he often finds massive gaps. Closing those gaps is the first step toward building the resilience needed to navigate a shifting policy landscape.
Avoiding exploitation: Ethics in a time of price pressure
The temptation to raise prices under the guise of tariffs or inflation is real — especially for companies under pressure to deliver quarterly results. But Per encourages clients to view this moment as a strategic inflection point, not an excuse. “If you’re going to raise prices, use that margin to invest in better products, better messaging, better reach,” he says. “Otherwise, you’re just inflating your margins without adding value — and customers will feel that.”
He argues that even if tariffs are ultimately delayed or dropped, companies that reinvest in customer value today will emerge stronger than competitors who held back.
Recommended resources
For pricing professionals looking to go deeper, Per recommends several foundational texts in behavioral economics:
- The Price Whisperer: A Holistic Approach to Pricing Power by Per Sjöfors
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Nudge by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein
- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
