# Respond When a Quote Feels Too High

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/handle-quote-too-high-without-guessing · Last updated 24 October 2026

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.

## Range-First Pricing Conversation

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.

## What happens when you hear too high

- You hear too high and start discounting.
- You are not sure which scope changes protect margin.
- You want the job but do not want to give away profit.

## 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.

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

## 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.

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

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.

## Questions about Range-First Pricing 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.

## What you leave with

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

## Start

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

- Part of Growth-vs-Financials Intensive: https://ivankamenken.com/pause-growth-or-fix-financials
- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka