INSIDE LETTING-GO MENTORING
Turn a Project Into a Retainer
An example, not a client story.
You finish a $2,500 project, the client is happy, and there is no agreed next step. Ivanka Menken uses Lump-Sum to Retainer inside Letting-Go Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to plan the path before the project ends: the project fee, the ongoing work that follows, when the retainer is offered, and who on your team delivers it. You leave with a one-page conversion path, tested with one client.
Lump-Sum to Retainer is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
AN EXAMPLE PATH
One project, then a monthly retainer
- The project$2,500, paid once
- The retainer$1,500 a month, for the client
- The momentBefore the final invoice
THE PATH
“A project fee is a test. The retainer is the relationship.”
An example, not a client result. The prices are the client’s.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
The project ends, and so does the revenue
- 01Your project ends and the revenue stops.
- 02You have no agreed next step after the initial fee.
- 03You want a retainer but have not priced the path.
AN EXAMPLE WEEK
It is Friday, and the final invoice for a $2,500 project has gone out. The client said thank you and meant it. There is more work they will need: the updates, the monthly report, the next round of changes. Nobody has said so. On Monday you will be looking for the next project again.
THE PROJECT, AS IT ENDS
- The project fee: $2,500, paid once
- The work that follows: obvious, not offered
- When to raise a retainer: not decided
- The retainer price: not worked out
- Who would deliver it: you, by default
An example week. Your projects are yours.
WHAT IVANKA SEES
A project fee is a test; the retainer is the relationship
A project fee is a test. The retainer is the relationship. The client tries you on a fixed piece of work; the ongoing work is what they actually need. Without a written path from one to the other, a $2,500 project ends at $2,500, and the retainer never starts. And if the retainer only works when you do all of it yourself, it will fill your week instead of steadying it.
A project fee is a test. The retainer is the relationship.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Stay stuck, and revenue keeps stopping at the end of every project. You spend each month finding the next one, and the clients who would have stayed go to whoever offered to.
Lump-Sum to Retainer
From the project fee to the retainer, on one page
Lump-Sum to Retainer maps the path from a one-off project fee to a monthly retainer: what the project proves, the ongoing work that follows, the moment the retainer is offered, its terms, and who on the team delivers it.
An example path. Tap a part. Your project, your retainer and your team are yours.
Lump-Sum to Retainer · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is a one-page conversion path, written before the project ends. It names the retainer work and its price, the point in the project where you raise it, and the person who will deliver it month to month.
What it replaces
It replaces hoping the client asks for more, the awkward conversation after the final invoice, and a retainer priced on the spot.
It sits inside Letting-Go Mentoring, beside the Step-Out Log. A retainer the team can deliver is a handover as much as a sale. There is no separate checkout.
THE PATH, ON ONE PAGE
- 01The project: what it costs, in the example $2,500, and what it proves
- 02The ongoing work: what the client needs every month
- 03The moment: when in the project the retainer is offered
- 04The terms: in the example, the client's retainer at $1,500 a month
- 05Who delivers it: the named person, not only you
- 06The test: one client, offered before the project ends
INSIDE A SESSION
Map the path before the project ends
In an example session, Ivanka asks three questions: what is the initial project fee, what ongoing work follows it, and when should the retainer be offered? She maps the conversion path with you, then the retainer terms and who on your team delivers the monthly work. You leave with the one-page path. Before the next session, you raise the retainer with one current project client, at the point the path names.
THE PATH, FILLED IN
- The retainer
- $1,500 a month
- The project
- $2,500, paid once, and what it proves.
- The ongoing work
- What the client needs every month after it.
- The moment
- The last fortnight of the project, not after the invoice.
- Who delivers it
- A named team member, with you reviewing.
An example. Your path is yours.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingOne project that should become ongoing work.
- 2The numbersThe project fee, the retainer price and the hours it takes.
- 3The storyWhy asking for ongoing work feels pushy.
- 4The commitmentThe written path, and the retainer raised with one client.
THE QUESTIONS
- What did the last project cost the client, and what did it prove?
- What does that client need every month after the project?
- At what point in the project do you raise the retainer?
- What does the retainer include, and at what price?
- Who on your team delivers it, month to month?
Before the next session, you offer the retainer to one project client at the point the path names, and write down exactly what they said.
WHAT CHANGES OVER THE PROGRAMME
Projects with a planned next step
By month 6, the retainer is a planned step in the project, not a hope after it.
NOW
- Projects end, and the revenue stops.
- The retainer is never offered, or offered too late.
- It is priced on the spot, if at all.
- Any ongoing work lands on you.
BY MONTH 6
- A written conversion path from project to retainer.
- A retainer offer tested with one client.
- A clearer view of which projects should become ongoing work.
- A named person on the team delivering the monthly work.
THE 12 FORTNIGHTS
- 1Call
- 2Call
- 3Call
- 4Call
- 5Call
- 6Month 3
- 7Call
- 8Call
- 9Call
- 10Call
- 11Call
- 12Month 6
The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, one handover each fortnight, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In the example, a $2,500 project is planned with a monthly retainer at $1,500 for the client, offered in the last fortnight of the project and delivered by a named team member. The founder tests it with one client before using it on the next project. Illustrative, not a client result.
WHY IVANKA
She has built a business across 160+ countries
Ivanka Menken shares her own experience of building a business across 160+ countries. She built Letting-Go Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who became the bottleneck by being good at everything.
She asks what the client will need after the project, and who on your team will deliver it. If your projects keep ending at the final invoice, the decision in front of you is one page. Write the path before your current project ends.
“During our sessions Ivanka isn’t just talking theory. She is sharing her own lived experiences.”
Business owner
WHO IT IS FOR
Who fits, and who does not
It fits
- You run a $500K to $3M business that sells projects.
- Clients come back for more, but only when they think of it.
- Revenue rises and falls with every project.
- You will raise a retainer with one client before the project ends.
It does not fit
- You want open-ended coaching.
- You want a done-for-you fix or someone to sell the retainer for you.
- You want contract or legal advice on retainer terms.
- Your work is genuinely one-off, with nothing that follows.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
Lump-Sum to Retainer is part of Letting-Go Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- One handover each fortnight
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
Founding place, AUD $1,000/month. Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. GST is added at checkout. Claim a founding place.
Lump-Sum to Retainer is one of the tools inside the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about turning a project into a retainer
How does Lump-Sum to Retainer work inside Letting-Go Mentoring?
In a session, Ivanka Menken asks for the project fee, the ongoing work that follows and the moment to offer the retainer. You map the path, the terms and who delivers the monthly work on one page. Letting-Go Mentoring runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and the tool is part of it, not a separate product.
When should I offer the retainer?
Before the project ends, at the point where the client can see what comes next: often when the first results land, not after the final invoice. Write that point into the path in advance. Ivanka Menken helps you choose it for your kind of project inside Letting-Go Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
How do I price the retainer after a project?
From the monthly work the client needs, the hours it takes and who delivers it, not from the project fee. In the example, a $2,500 project leads to a retainer at $1,500 a month for the client. Ivanka Menken works the numbers through with you inside Letting-Go Mentoring, which runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What if the client does not want ongoing work?
Then write down why, and test the path with the next project client. Some projects are one-off; the path shows you which. Change one thing at a time: the moment, the scope or the price. Ivanka Menken reviews it with you at the next session of Letting-Go Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Write the path before this project ends
If your projects keep ending at the final invoice, start with Letting-Go Mentoring. Lump-Sum to Retainer is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether it fits.