# Build a Calling Floor That Lasts

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/funnel-day-calling · Last updated 28 October 2026

You look at next week's calendar and see no protected calling time, only meetings and the hope that referrals arrive. Ivanka Menken uses Funnel-Day Calling inside 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to set a four-hour calling floor and split it by funnel stage: new leads one day, follow-ups the next, past clients after that. You leave with a one-page weekly calling plan and a simple check on whether it lasted.

## Calling happens when the pipeline feels quiet

- You cannot say how many hours a week go to calling.
- Your pipeline depends on referrals and quiet weeks.
- You call the same funnel stage and ignore the rest.

**AN EXAMPLE WEEK:** It is Sunday afternoon and next week's calendar is full. Client meetings, a supplier, two internal catch-ups. There is no block for calling anyone. If a referral comes in, good. If not, you will start calling on Thursday when it feels quiet, ring the same three warm leads again, and forget the past clients and the proposals that went out last month.

### THE CALLING, AS IT STANDS

- Hours a week on calling: not known
- When it happens: when the pipeline feels quiet
- Who gets called: the same warm leads
- Past clients and open proposals: forgotten
- The check: none

## A floor split by funnel stage, not one vague block

A calling floor works when it is split by funnel stage, not when it is one vague block of cold calls. One block becomes cold calling only, and cold calling is the first thing a busy week pushes out. Give each day a stage, new leads, follow-ups, past clients, open proposals, and every part of the pipeline gets a call. The shift is from calling whenever it feels quiet to keeping a written floor across the stages.

> A calling floor works when it is split by funnel stage, not when it is one vague block of cold calls.

**The cost of staying stuck:** Without a calling floor, the pipeline stays at the mercy of referrals and quiet weeks. Busy months empty the next quarter, and the warmest conversations, past clients and open proposals, go quiet first.

## The tool: Funnel-Day Calling

Funnel-Day Calling sets a minimum number of calling hours, four in the example, and splits them by funnel stage, a different stage on a different day. The calendar keeps the hours; the weekly check shows whether the floor lasted.

It is a one-page weekly calling plan. Each row is a day, a funnel stage, an hour and what a call at that stage is for. Underneath sits a weekly check: hours kept, calls made and conversations started, by stage.

It replaces calling when the pipeline feels quiet, the same warm leads called again, and a cold-calling block that the first busy week pushes out.

### What goes on the page

1. The floor: four hours, in the example a week
2. The stages: new leads, follow-ups, past clients, open proposals
3. The days: one stage on each of four days
4. The block: protected in the calendar, like a client meeting
5. The check: hours kept, calls made, conversations started
6. The review: which stage produces conversations, every month

It sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, with the Fortnight Loop and the monthly scorecard. You or your team make the calls; Ivanka helps you set the floor and read the check. There is no separate checkout.

## Put the floor in the calendar

In an example session, Ivanka asks three questions: which funnel stages exist in your business, what happens at each, and how many hours a week can be protected for calling? She maps the four-hour floor across different days and stages with you, then tests it against next week's calendar. You write the one-page calling plan and the weekly check. Before the next session, you block the four hours and fill in the check each Friday.

### The questions

- Which funnel stages exist in your business?
- What is a call at each stage for?
- How many hours a week can you protect for calling?
- Which day suits which stage?
- What will you count each Friday?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: The pipeline that depends on referrals and quiet weeks.
2. The numbers: Hours on calling now, and the floor you will keep.
3. The story: Why calling feels like the first thing to drop.
4. The commitment: The four hours blocked, a stage for each day.

Before the next session, you block four calling hours across the week, one stage a day, and fill in the check every Friday: hours kept, calls made, conversations started.

## A calling floor with a weekly check

By month 6, calling is a written floor in the calendar, not a reaction to a quiet week.

**NOW**

- Calling hours are not known.
- The pipeline depends on referrals.
- One stage gets called; the rest go quiet.
- Nothing shows whether calling happened.

**BY MONTH 6**

- A written four-hour calling floor, split by funnel stage.
- A weekly check that shows whether the floor lasted.
- A clearer view of which stages produce conversations.
- The floor reviewed on the monthly scorecard.

The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## A strategic mentor who co-founded a business

Ivanka Menken is a strategic mentor for founders of $500K to $3M businesses, co-founder of The Art of Service, an author and an international speaker, based in Brisbane, Australia.
She asks where the next conversation will come from, and keeps you to the hours you write down. If next week has no calling time in it, the decision in front of you is four hours and four stages. Put them in the calendar before Monday.

## Who fits, and who does not

### It fits

- You run a $500K to $3M business that wins work through conversations.
- Your pipeline depends on referrals and quiet weeks.
- You call when you remember to, and the same people.
- You will block the hours and fill in the weekly check.

### It does not fit

- You want accounting or financial advice.
- You want a done-for-you fix or someone to make the calls.
- You want a call script or a sales training course.
- Your work never comes from conversations.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** It is part of 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- Funnel-Day Calling, if your work comes from conversations

Three founding places in total, shared across 1:1 Mentoring and its three focus programmes, are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=funnel-day-calling#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)

## Questions about Funnel-Day Calling

### How does Funnel-Day Calling work inside 1:1 Mentoring?

In a session, Ivanka Menken asks which funnel stages you have, what a call at each is for and how many hours you can protect. You split a four-hour floor across days and stages, test it against your calendar and write a weekly check. 1:1 Mentoring runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and the tool is part of it.

### Do I need to cold call for four hours a day?

No. Some sales teams keep four hours a day; for most founders, the example floor is four hours a week, one hour on each of four days. Most of it is not cold: follow-ups, past clients and open proposals. Ivanka Menken sets the number that fits your week inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### What if my funnel stages are different?

Use your own. Some businesses have three stages, some have five. Name what actually happens between a first contact and a signed client, then give each stage a day. Ivanka Menken maps your stages with you in the session, inside 1:1 Mentoring, which runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### How do we track the calling floor?

With one weekly check, filled in each Friday: hours kept, calls made and conversations started, by stage. It takes five minutes. Once a month it goes on the scorecard, so you can see which stage produces conversations. Ivanka Menken reads it with you at each session of 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.


## Block the four hours before Monday

If next week has no calling time in it, start with 1:1 Mentoring. Funnel-Day Calling is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=funnel-day-calling#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)
- [The Fortnight Loop](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring#fortnight-loop)
- [The monthly scorecard, free](https://ivankamenken.com/scorecard)
- [One posting number a fortnight](https://ivankamenken.com/posting-rhythm-fortnight-loop)
- [Hand the daily lead chase to an owner](https://ivankamenken.com/daily-lead-chase-handover)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka