INSIDE THE GROWTH-VS-FINANCIALS INTENSIVE

Respond When a Quote Feels Too High

A range-first pricing conversation is what Ivanka Menken rehearses with you inside the Growth-vs-Financials Intensive, a 90-minute session at AUD $1,500 ex GST. When a buyer says your quote is too high, you do not defend the number or start discounting. You ask what range they planned, then choose between changing the scope and changing the price with the margin effect written down. You leave with a script for the next quote and a simple margin check for every scope change.

Email the quote that got pushbackSee the Growth-vs-Financials Intensive →

THE QUOTE REPLAY

One number, one question

YOUR QUOTE

$18,400

An example quote, sent without a range.

THE BUYER

“That is higher than we planned.”

  • DEFEND THE NUMBER
  • DISCOUNT IT
  • ASK THE RANGE

Ask what range they planned before one number changes.

THE DISCOUNT REFLEX

What happens when you hear too high

The pause after a buyer says the number is high is where the margin is won or lost. Most founders fill it with a discount.

01

You hear too high and start discounting.

What it costs

The first number you cut is the margin.

02

You are not sure which scope changes protect margin.

What it costs

Every scope change starts to feel like a guess.

03

You want the job but do not want to give away profit.

What it costs

The job is won, and the profit is not.

Range-First Pricing Conversation

Ask for the range before you defend the number

Range-First Pricing Conversation asks for the buyer's range before the number is defended, then makes scope and price two separate levers with the margin cost of each on the same page.

Range-First Pricing ConversationA quote of 18,400 dollars comes back as too high. Instead of defending or discounting, the founder asks what range the buyer planned and puts it on the same line as the quote. Scope and price then become two separate levers, each with its margin effect, and the founder-set margin floor decides whether to sign, re-scope or walk away.AN EXAMPLE QUOTE · YOUR RANGE, YOUR FLOORTHE QUOTE$18,400One number, no range.The buyer says it is high.ASK THE RANGEWhat range were you planning?Before one number changes.THEIR RANGE NEXT TO YOUR NUMBERTHEIR RANGEYOUR QUOTE12k14k16k18k20kCHANGE THE SCOPELet the job flexRemove, phase or add.Each change gets a margin line.CHANGE THE PRICESay what it buysHold the number or move it.A discount comes out of margin.CHECK THE MARGINWhat winning costsScope and price meet here.Below your floor, walk away.Ask the range first. Then choose scope or pricewith the margin in front of you.

An example quote. Tap a step. The range, the levers and the floor are yours.

Range-First Pricing Conversation · a framework by Ivanka Menken

THE CONVERSATION

How the range-first conversation works

Range-First Pricing Conversation keeps the quote alive by moving the conversation from the number to the range, then to the two things you can actually change.

01Start with the quote that got pushback, not a hypothetical one
02Ask for the buyer's range before defending the number
03Put the scope options and the price options on one page
04Check the margin on each option, then choose or walk away

THE 90 MINUTES

Replay the quote, then rebuild the answer

The 90 minutes work on a real quote. You hear the conversation again, then rehearse the range question and the two levers before the next one.

AN EXAMPLE EXCHANGE

  • BUYER

    “That is higher than we planned.”

  • YOU

    “What range were you working with?”

  • BUYER

    “Somewhere around 14 to 16.”

  • YOU

    “Then let us look at what can move.”

The range comes before the defence. Then the scope and the price each get their own line.

  1. 01Replay the quoteYou bring a quote that got pushback and the words the buyer used.
  2. 02Ask the rangeYou rehearse the question, the silence after it, and what to do if the buyer will not answer.
  3. 03Two leversYou split the response into scope changes and price changes, each with its margin effect.
  4. 04Choose or walkYou write the margin floor first, then decide what to send back and when to walk away.

WHAT YOU LEAVE WITH

A pricing conversation script for the next quote, and a simple margin check for every scope change.

A short script, a range question, and a margin line beside every scope change, ready for the next quote you send.

AFTER THE SESSION

You use the script on the next quote, with the margin check beside every scope change. The follow-up call 30 days after the Intensive asks whether the decision held.

THE INVESTMENT

AUD $1,500

90 minutes · 1:1 on Zoom · ex GST

The range-first conversation is rehearsed inside the Growth-vs-Financials Intensive, a 90-minute session with Ivanka Menken. It is one session, not a separate product.

See the Growth-vs-Financials IntensiveBook a 20-minute conversation

Or email ivanka@ivankamenken.com

“Ivanka has the unique ability to ask the challenging questions and be supportive at the same time.”

Business owner

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Questions about the quote conversation

What if the buyer will not share a range?

Then you offer two or three ranges and ask which is closest, rather than guessing. In the Growth-vs-Financials Intensive, Ivanka Menken rehearses that question with you and the silence after it. If the buyer still will not answer, you treat it as a signal about fit and decide whether to scope a smaller first piece. The session runs 90 minutes for AUD $1,500 ex GST.

Should I lower price or change scope?

Change scope first when the work can flex, because it protects the margin on what remains. Ivanka Menken uses the Growth-vs-Financials Intensive to put both options on one page: what leaves the job and what leaves the price. If the buyer wants the same scope for less, that is a price decision with a visible margin cost. The session is 90 minutes at AUD $1,500 ex GST.

How do I know when to walk away?

You walk when the work at the buyer's number falls below the margin floor you set before the conversation. In the Growth-vs-Financials Intensive, Ivanka Menken has you write that floor down first, so the decision is not made in the room under pressure. Then the range, the scope and the price can move without guessing. It runs 90 minutes for AUD $1,500 ex GST.

Can this work for one-off jobs?

Yes, and one-off jobs need the range question even more because there is no next invoice to recover the margin. Ivanka Menken uses the Growth-vs-Financials Intensive to build a short script for a single quote, with a scope change and a price change ready. You leave with a margin check for that job. The session is 90 minutes at AUD $1,500 ex GST.

Email ivanka@ivankamenken.com with the quote you want to answer differently.

See the Growth-vs-Financials Intensive →Test each move by margin →If the pricing problem runs deeper →