Fear and emotion often creep into pricing conversations when decisions are made on instinct instead of evidence. The good news? The data you already have can provide crucial clarity.
By focusing on just three essential metrics, leaders and their teams can cut through the noise and make confident, evidence-based pricing decisions:
Together, these metrics move pricing conversations away from gut instinct and toward strategy; helping you strengthen your organization’s revenue, and everything it funds.
1. Seat Absorption and Sales Velocity
Together, these metrics show what sells (by price band/zone) and how quickly it sells (over time).
Why they matter:
Tracking absorption and velocity side by side reveals where demand is truly strongest. It helps you see whether low-priced seats are really driving sales, or whether higher price bands are absorbing demand. It also shows when urgency builds, when it stalls, and how campaign activity shifts the pace (or not).
How to calculate:
Apply it:
2. Average Ticket Price (ATP)
What it is:
The average ticket price paid by customers
Why it matters:
ATP reflects the real impact of your pricing strategy; beyond just “sellouts.” A rising ATP alongside strong demand indicates successful pricing and scaling.
How to calculate it:
Total ticket revenue ÷ Total tickets sold.
Apply it:
Track ATP against expenses. If inflation is rising but ATP is flat, your pricing strategy may be falling behind and creating revenue gaps that’ll need filling elsewhere (e.g. by philanthropy)
3. Conversion Rate
What it is:
The percentage of people who purchase after visiting your site or engaging with a campaign.
Why it matters:
A low conversion rate signals friction; either in pricing, messaging, or user experience.
How to calculate it:
Purchases ÷ Unique visitors to your purchase path or recipients of a specific piece of campaign material × 100.
Apply it:
Pair conversion data with pricing tiers. If audiences see low-price inventory but still don’t buy, the issue isn’t affordability; it’s possibly value communication.
Top tip: Many CRMs, website tools and analytics suites may offer cart abandonment rates as standard, helping you find what you need even quicker!
These three pricing metrics help to give you clarity on what’s working across your audience as a whole. But to make these insights even more powerful, leaders should amplify them by looking at how different audience segments behave.
Why this matters:
Different groups perceive value differently. First-time buyers often pay higher average ticket prices, while subscribers and donors expect (and deserve) loyalty benefits. Lower ATP for loyal households is not a problem; it’s often a positive sign of depth, because frequency and long-term value are higher.
How to apply it:
Layer segmentation onto your key metrics. Look at:
Tracking ATP, velocity, and conversion rates across these groups helps you calibrate campaigns, spot opportunities to adjust pricing or inventory, and align revenue strategy with relationship strategy.
Segmentation doesn’t replace the core metrics; it amplifies them, giving leaders a sharper picture of who is driving demand and how to respond.
Pricing decisions don’t have to be ruled by fear, guesswork, or emotion. These three metrics can help give you clarity, but data is only powerful when you act on it.
That’s why TRG is offering free 30-minute Pricing Surgeries. In your session, a TRG expert will help you apply these metrics to your own organization, uncover hidden opportunities, and identify practical first steps to strengthen your approach to pricing.