In a recent video from the "AI, SaaS & Agentic Pricing with Monetizely" channel titled "What the $@*# is an 'Agent Force Conversation'? | A SaaS Pricing Disaster," industry experts dissect Salesforce's confusing new pricing and positioning strategy. The discussion highlights how Salesforce's attempt to implement an "agent first" approach with per-conversation pricing creates significant confusion and frustration for potential customers.
The Confusion of "Agent Force Conversation" Pricing
The video begins with the speaker's exasperation, perfectly encapsulating the market's reaction to Salesforce's new pricing model: "Pardon my French but what the fruit okay like what is an agent for conversation how do you define an agent for conversation and why should I give you $2 per agent for conversation."
This central question drives the discussion—what exactly constitutes a "conversation" in Salesforce's pricing model, and how does this translate to value for customers? The speakers highlight how this ambiguity makes it nearly impossible for customers to budget effectively or understand what they're actually paying for.
When Platform Positioning Fails to Connect with Customer Problems
One of the most insightful observations from the video addresses the disconnect between how Salesforce positions its platform versus what customers actually need:
"When we were building our first iteration of our product and we later on moved to consulting one of the main things I kept encountering when I would talk to VCs… VCs want to see the whole platform right but when I go to a customer do you have Aspirin because I am having a headache or do you have that cold packs because I have a shoulder issue."
This metaphor brilliantly illustrates how customers approach SaaS purchases—they don't want to hear about comprehensive platforms; they want specific solutions to their specific problems. The speaker continues: "This is what Salesforce does instead of saying like these are the use cases and here is what I'm going to offer here is how it will solve they first create platform positioning."
The Dangers of Confusing Pricing Models
The video explains how Salesforce's pricing strategy creates multiple layers of uncertainty:
- Customers don't understand what constitutes a "conversation"
- They can't predict how many conversations they'll need
- They face higher costs ($2.50 vs. $2.00) for exceeding their limits
- There's ambiguity around additional costs for the "Data Cloud"
As the speaker notes: "This creates a lot of confusion right you don't know how many conversation even if I get have a sense of what a conversation is. I don't know how many conversations I'm going to use and if I exceed them you're charging me extra."
Market Context: Why This Approach Is Particularly Problematic Now
The timing of this pricing strategy is particularly questionable given current market conditions. As mentioned in the video: "How can you keep a straight face and say I will charge you dollar two per conversation you cannot and add to that add to that the people who truly have the power to pay like the sales why."
The video points out that with innovations like DeepSeek impacting the American market by 10%, enterprise customers now have more options than ever: "If I am a whale I am someone who who's typically paying hundreds of thousands to Salesforce per year why would I default to agent force when I have the option of building a better more specific or more catered to my needs somewhere on AWS openi anywhere."
The Bureaucracy Behind Poor Positioning
The speakers suggest that Salesforce's misstep isn't just a marketing failure but rather a symptom of larger organizational issues:
"What is actually happening is bureaucracy these people would have done a better job but somebody said we need to get this out the door clearly designed by commit is happening here okay everyone wanted to get their stamp."
This insight into the potential internal dynamics at Salesforce offers a cautionary tale for other SaaS companies about how committee-driven product development and marketing can lead to confusing offerings that fail to resonate with customers.
The Fear Factor in Enterprise SaaS
The discussion concludes with a powerful observation about what this approach reveals about Salesforce's internal state: "I can only feel like a company like Salesforce whatever they may be saying they are very scared right."
This statement suggests that confusing pricing models and forced terminology might actually indicate deeper insecurities within established companies as they face increasing competition and innovation in the market.
Key Takeaways for SaaS Leaders
This analysis of Salesforce's "Agent Force Conversation" pricing reveals several important lessons for SaaS executives:
- Pricing should clearly connect to tangible value and be easily understood by customers
- Position your products around specific customer problems, not platform capabilities
- Avoid forcing industry jargon that doesn't resonate with customers' understanding
- Consider the market context when developing pricing strategies
- Be wary of committee-driven positioning that tries to please internal stakeholders rather than customers
When it comes to SaaS pricing and positioning, clarity and customer-centricity will always outperform forced terminology and complex pricing models that leave potential buyers asking, "What the $@*# is this anyway?"