INSIDE CASH-TIGHT GROWTH MENTORING
Your Price Is Not the Competitor's Price
An example, not a client story.
A premium price against a cheap rival is a proof problem, not a pricing formula. Ivanka Menken works it through with the Price-Cash-Confidence Chain inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. A buyer puts your $30 part next to a $3 copy and asks why, and you start with the materials, then trail off. You write the failure cost of the cheap part on one page, and the one sentence you say when the comparison comes up.
The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
AN EXAMPLE QUOTE
Your part, next to the copy, with the proof beside it.
- THE IMPORTED COPYplus the callbacks, later$2 to $3
- YOUR PARTclose to ten times, in the example$30
- THE PROOFthe failure cost, in the quoteOne page
THE RULE
“Show the failure cost, not the engineering.”
An example, not a client result. Your prices will differ.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
The cheapest part sets the conversation
- 01You compare your price to the cheapest thing on the shelf.
- 02Every quote ends with a discount to stay in the conversation.
- 03You cannot say what the premium actually pays for.
THE QUOTE, AS IT GOES OUT
- Your part: better engineered
- The imported copy: $2 to $3
- Your quote: pulled down towards the copy
- What the copy costs the buyer later: not written
- The sentence for the comparison: none
An example. A better part, quoted like the copy.
THE EXAMPLE CASE
One quote, read three ways
An example, not a client story.
01
THE CLIENT AND THE MOMENT
A better part, quoted like the copy
The founder of a small parts manufacturer supplies repair shops. The component is better engineered than the imported copy, and everyone in the workshop knows it. Still, the founder quotes close to the imported price, to avoid the awkward conversation. Margin pays for every quote. The founder came for help when the discounts started to show in the cash.
02
WHAT THEY HAD TRIED
A longer quote about the engineering
The obvious fix was to explain the engineering in a longer quote: the materials, the tolerances, the testing. Buyers skimmed it, compared the number and bought the cheap part. More words did not make the difference visible. They made the quote longer and the discount more likely.
03
WHAT IVANKA NOTICED
The founder knew what failed, and never said it
Ivanka noticed the founder knew exactly what went wrong when a workshop fitted the cheap part: the callbacks, the replacements, the downtime. The founder talked about it in the session without being asked. That cost had never been put in front of a buyer.
THE DIAGNOSIS AND THE INSIGHT
Missing proof, not the wrong price
The price was not the problem. The missing proof was. A buyer comparing two numbers will pick the smaller one. A buyer comparing the part plus its failures will see a different sum. Once the failure cost sat on one page, the premium had something to rest on.
A price close to ten times the competition only works if the buyer can see what the extra nine parts of the dollar buy them. That makes it a proof problem, not a pricing formula.
The cheap part is only cheap until it has to be fitted twice.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Stay on the competitor's price and you compete on a number you cannot win, in a market where the cheapest part sets the conversation. Your margin pays for every quote, and the better part earns the same as the copy.
THE TOOL
The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain, for a premium price
The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain starts where the money starts: the price. For a premium against a cheap rival, Ivanka works it from the newest price outwards: what the product does that the copy does not, what that is worth to the buyer, and what margin the price must carry.
An example quote. Tap a part. Your prices, your proof and your sentence are yours.
Price-Cash-Confidence Chain, for a premium price · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is the chain at the centre of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, worked for one decision. It puts the two prices side by side, writes what fails on the copy and what that costs the buyer, and turns it into one page and one sentence.
What it replaces
It replaces the quote pulled down towards the imported price, the longer explanation nobody reads, and the discount offered to stay in the conversation.
It sits inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring with the monthly Money-and-Clarity Scorecard, which shows gross margin rather than unit volume. The numbers are worked through together and taken to your own adviser. No separate checkout.
THE CHAIN, ON ONE PAGE
- 01The two prices: your part and the closest competitor, in the example $30 against $2 to $3
- 02What fails on the copy: callbacks, replacements, downtime
- 03What that costs the buyer: in their time, rework and lost work
- 04The proof: the failure cost on one page, and the customer who already pays the premium
- 05The sentence: what you say when the comparison comes up
HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM
Put the failure cost on the page
In the example session, Ivanka starts with the newest price the founder has charged and the price of the closest competitor. She asks what fails when the cheap part is used, what that failure costs the buyer in callbacks and rework, and which customer already pays the premium without complaint. Those answers become one page: the price, the proof, and the sentence. Before the next session, the founder sends the next quote at the written price, with the failure cost in it.
THE PROOF PAGE, WRITTEN IN THE SESSION
- Your price
- $30
- Closest copy
- $2 to $3
- What fails on the copy
- Callbacks, replacements, downtime.
- Who already pays the premium
- The workshop that stopped taking callbacks.
- The sentence
- “The cheap part is only cheap until it has to be fitted twice.”
An example. Your prices and your proof are yours.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingThe quote that keeps sliding towards the imported price.
- 2The numbersYour price, the copy's price, and what the copy costs the buyer later.
- 3The storyWhy naming a price ten times the copy feels impossible to say out loud.
- 4The commitmentThe written price and the one sentence, used in the next quote.
THE QUESTIONS
- What is the newest price you have charged for this part?
- What does the closest competitor charge?
- What fails when the cheap part is fitted?
- What does that cost the buyer in callbacks and rework?
- Which customer already pays the premium without complaint?
Before the next session, the founder sends one quote at the written price, with the failure cost on the page, and notes what the buyer said.
WHAT CHANGED
The proof does the work, not the discount
By month 6, the premium has a written reason, and the quote no longer starts from the copy.
NOW
- The quote is pulled towards the imported price.
- The engineering is explained and skimmed.
- Every quote ends with a discount.
- The scorecard reads unit volume.
BY MONTH 6
- The premium price is written down with the sentence that defends it.
- The failure cost of the copy is in every quote.
- The newest-work price has moved once and stayed there.
- The scorecard shows gross margin rather than unit volume.
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, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In the example, the founder charges close to ten times the imported part, writes the failure cost into the quote, and stops discounting to stay in the conversation. Illustrative, not a client result.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
The next comparison is a proof decision
Ivanka Menken built Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses that are growing while cash tightens. She reads the numbers with you, asks the hard question, and holds you to the decision you write down.
If a buyer is about to put your product next to a cheaper copy, the decision in front of you is what you will show them. Write the failure cost and the sentence before the next quote.
“During our sessions Ivanka isn’t just talking theory. She is sharing her own lived experiences.”
Business owner
WHO IT IS FOR
It fits
- You run a $500K to $3M business with a better product than the cheap copy.
- Buyers compare your price to the cheapest one on the shelf.
- You know what fails on the copy and have never written it down.
- You will quote the written price in the next conversation.
It does not fit
- You want accounting or financial advice.
- You want someone to set your prices for you.
- You want a done-for-you fix.
- Your product is the same as the copy.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
It is part of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- The monthly Money-and-Clarity Scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain for each price decision
Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, are available at AUD $1,000/month ex GST, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. Claim a founding place.
The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain is part of the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about the Price-Cash-Confidence Chain
How do I justify a price ten times the competition?
With proof, not a longer explanation. Write down what fails on the cheap part, what that failure costs the buyer, and which customer already pays your price. Ivanka Menken turns those answers into one page and one sentence inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What if the buyer only sees the $2 part?
Then put the rest of the cost in front of them: the callback, the replacement and the downtime that come with the cheap part. The comparison changes when the failure cost sits beside the price. Ivanka Menken rehearses that conversation with you in Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Does the chain work for small components?
Yes. A small part with a big failure cost is where the gap is easiest to show, because one callback can cost more than the whole order. Ivanka Menken works the chain from the newest price outwards inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 1:1 programme that runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Is any of this financial advice?
No. Ivanka Menken does not give accounting or financial advice, and she does not set your prices. She asks the questions, writes the numbers down with you and holds you to the price you choose. You take the numbers to your own adviser. It is part of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Write the proof before the next quote
If your better product keeps being priced like the cheap copy, start with Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring. The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether it fits.
Not accounting, financial advice or a done-for-you fix.