INSIDE BUILDER-OF-LEADERS MENTORING
Move Monthly Pricing Off Your Plate
A composite client example.
You moved your clients to a monthly plan, and every question about it still lands on your desk. Ivanka Menken uses the Release Dial inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to move that conversation one notch away from you. One project lead explains the plan, you hear about it afterwards, and a 14-day test shows what still comes back. The case is a composite web design business.
The Release Dial is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
AN EXAMPLE RELEASE
One conversation. One notch. Fourteen days.
- THE PLANa month, the client’s price in the example$397
- THE OWNERone project lead explains the plan1 lead
- THE TESTno override, then review what came back14 days
THE RULE
“They explain the plan. You hear about it after. Only the exception comes to you.”
A composite example, not a client result. Your plan and price will differ.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
The price is set. The explanation is still yours.
- 01Every question about the monthly plan comes back to you.
- 02Your team passes on the first objection instead of answering it.
- 03You cannot tell which plan questions really need you.
THE MONTHLY PLAN, AS IT STANDS
- The price: set, $397 a month in the example
- Who explains it: the founder
- The first objection: passed to the founder
- What the team may answer: not written
- What comes back, and why: not counted
An example. The price is settled. The explanation is not.
THE EXAMPLE CASE
One monthly plan, read three ways
A composite client example.
01
THE CLIENT AND THE MOMENT
A monthly plan only the founder could explain
The founder of a small web design business had moved clients from a one-off build fee to a monthly plan, in the example $397 a month. The plan made sense to clients. Explaining it did not leave the founder's desk. Every question, what is included, what happens after twelve months, can we pay the build up front, came back to them, often in the middle of a client project. They came for help when the monthly plan they had built to steady the business had become another queue only they could clear.
02
WHAT THEY HAD TRIED
A pricing note for clients
The founder wrote a pricing note for clients: what the plan covers, what it costs and how to start. The team sent it out. The first time a client pushed back, the team still passed the question to the founder. The note answered the easy questions and none of the hard ones, and nobody had been told they were allowed to answer the hard ones.
03
WHAT IVANKA NOTICED
The founder owned the explanation, not just the price
Ivanka noticed that the price decision was made and settled. What the founder still owned was the explanation: how the plan is described, how the first objection is answered, and when a request is a real exception. The team had the note, but not the right to use their own words.
THE DIAGNOSIS AND THE INSIGHT
A release problem, not a pricing problem
It looked like a pricing problem: maybe the plan was too complicated, or the price needed a better story. The real block was a release problem. The plan conversation sat at they ask me first on the Release Dial, so every hard question waited for the founder.
The price is not the hard part to let go of. The explanation is. Once the Release Dial names who explains the plan, what they may say, and what the founder hears about after the fact, the next client decision gets made without a trip to the founder's desk.
The price is not the hard part to let go of. The explanation is.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Stay stuck, and the monthly plan you built to steady the business pulls you out of client work every time a question arrives. The team learns to wait, and the plan grows only as fast as you can explain it.
THE TOOL
The Release Dial, for a monthly plan
The Release Dial runs from I do it, through I review it, they ask me first and they decide then tell me, to I hear about it after. For a monthly plan, the dial moves one notch: from they ask me first to they decide, then tell me.
A composite example. Tap a part. Your area, your owner and your rule are yours.
Release Dial · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is the five positions of letting go, applied to one area of work. For this case, the area is the monthly-plan conversation, and the written release names its owner, the explanation script, the 14-day test and the one exception rule.
What it replaces
It replaces a pricing note nobody is allowed to stand behind, the first objection passed back to the founder, and a monthly plan that grows only as fast as the founder can explain it.
It sits at the centre of Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring: one release each fortnight, kept for 14 days with no override, and the release commitments scorecard each month. Ivanka does not talk to your clients. There is no separate checkout.
THE RELEASE, FOR ONE MONTHLY PLAN
- 01The area: the monthly-plan conversation with clients
- 02Where it sits now: they ask me first
- 03The next notch: they decide, then tell me
- 04The owner: one named project lead
- 05The script: what the plan includes, what it costs, what it does not cover
- 06The exception rule: what still comes to the founder
- 07The test: 14 days, no override, then a review
HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM
Write the release before the next client asks
In the example session, Ivanka starts from the last five plan questions: who asked, what they asked and who answered. She marks where the plan conversation sits on the Release Dial and names the next notch. The founder writes a one-page release commitment: the project lead who owns it, the explanation script, the exception rule and the 14-day test. Before the next session, the founder briefs the project lead, forwards the next plan question unanswered, and keeps a list of what comes back.
THE RELEASE COMMITMENT, AS WRITTEN
- The owner
- One named project lead, for every plan question.
- The explanation script
- What the plan includes, what it costs, what it does not cover.
- What you hear about after
- Each plan conversation, in a short note at the end of the week.
- The exception rule
- A change to price or terms, or a client asking to leave.
- Review
- 14 days out
A composite example. Your release is yours.
THE RELEASE COMMITMENT
- 1The ownerOne named project lead for the monthly-plan conversation.
- 2The scriptWhat the plan includes, what it costs and what it does not cover, in their words.
- 3The exception ruleA change to the price or terms, or a client asking to leave: those come to you.
- 4The 14-day testNo override for 14 days, then a review of what came back and why.
THE QUESTIONS
- Who asked about the monthly plan last fortnight, and what did they ask?
- Which of those could the project lead have answered?
- What may they say about the plan in their own words?
- What still comes to you, and only that?
- What will you hear about afterwards, and when?
Before the next session, the project lead answers every plan question for 14 days. The founder steps in only where the exception rule says so, and writes down what came back instead of taking the conversation back.
WHAT CHANGED
The plan conversation, owned by the team
By month 6, explaining the monthly plan is a written release kept by the team, not a queue on the founder's desk.
NOW
- Every plan question comes to the founder.
- The first objection is passed back.
- The pricing note goes out with no owner.
- Nobody counts what comes back, or why.
BY MONTH 6
- A named project lead owns the plan conversation.
- A written script and one exception rule.
- A 14-day test reviewed before the model changes.
- The next area moves one notch, each fortnight.
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 release each fortnight, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In this composite example, the founder briefed one project lead on the monthly plan, ran the 14-day test, and reviewed what came back before changing the model. Two questions came back, both covered by the exception rule. Illustrative, not a client result.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
The next plan question is a release decision
Ivanka Menken is co-founder of The Art of Service, with 25 years scaling across 160+ countries. She built Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who build leaders but still do it all. She asks which decision is really yours, and keeps you to the release you write down.
If your pricing is settled and every question about it still reaches you, the decision in front of you is who explains it. Name that person before the next client asks.
“Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.”
R.W., founder
WHO IT IS FOR
It fits
- You run a $500K to $3M service business with a team.
- Your pricing is settled, and the questions about it still reach you.
- There is one person who could own the client conversation.
- You will stay out of it for 14 days.
It does not fit
- You want leadership theory.
- You want a done-for-you fix or someone to talk to your clients.
- You are still deciding the price itself.
- You are not ready to let one conversation go.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
The Release Dial is part of Builder-of-Leaders 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 release each fortnight
- A monthly scorecard with release commitments kept
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
Founding places are AUD $1,000 a 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.
The Release Dial is part of the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about releasing the monthly plan
Who should explain the monthly plan?
The person closest to the client when the question arrives, usually the project lead already running their work. Pick one person, not the whole team, so the release has an owner and the review has a name on it. Ivanka Menken picks that person with you inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, a 1:1 programme that runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What counts as a real exception?
Only what the written rule names: a change to the price or terms, a client asking to leave, or a request the plan does not cover. A first objection is not an exception; it is the conversation the project lead now owns. Ivanka Menken writes that short rule with you in Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What should I measure in the 14 days?
Two things: how many plan questions the project lead answered, and what came back to you and why. Write each one down instead of answering it yourself. That list shows whether the script, the rule or the release needs work. Ivanka Menken reads it with you inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, which runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What happens after the test?
You review what came back before you change anything about the plan. If the rule worked, the conversation stays with the project lead and the dial moves on to the next area. If not, you rewrite the script or the rule, not take it back. Ivanka Menken works it through in Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Name who explains the plan
If your monthly pricing is settled and the questions about it still reach you, start with Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring. The Release Dial is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.
Not leadership theory and not a done-for-you fix.