# Your Price Is Not the Competitor's Price

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/premium-price-against-cheap-rivals · Last updated 28 October 2026

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 cheapest part sets the conversation

- You compare your price to the cheapest thing on the shelf.
- Every quote ends with a discount to stay in the conversation.
- You cannot say what the premium actually pays for.

**THE CLIENT AND THE MOMENT:** 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.

### 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

## 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.

## 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.

## 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: Price-Cash-Confidence Chain

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.

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.

It replaces the quote pulled down towards the imported price, the longer explanation nobody reads, and the discount offered to stay in the conversation.

### What goes on the page

1. The two prices: your part and the closest competitor, in the example $30 against $2 to $3
2. What fails on the copy: callbacks, replacements, downtime
3. What that costs the buyer: in their time, rework and lost work
4. The proof: the failure cost on one page, and the customer who already pays the premium
5. The sentence: what you say when the comparison comes up

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.

## 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 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?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: The quote that keeps sliding towards the imported price.
2. The numbers: Your price, the copy's price, and what the copy costs the buyer later.
3. The story: Why naming a price ten times the copy feels impossible to say out loud.
4. The commitment: The written price and the one sentence, used in the next quote.

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.

## 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 programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## 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 fits, and who does not

### 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.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** 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.

Included:

- 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.

- [Join Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](https://buy.stripe.com/eVq4gzdKgekN6pcbIcdQQ0t?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=premium-price-against-cheap-rivals)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=premium-price-against-cheap-rivals#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)

## Questions about 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.

- [Join Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](https://buy.stripe.com/eVq4gzdKgekN6pcbIcdQQ0t?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=premium-price-against-cheap-rivals)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=premium-price-against-cheap-rivals#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)
- [The full Price-Cash-Confidence Chain](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)
- [Anchor the first number before the call](https://ivankamenken.com/first-call-price-anchor)
- [The Gross Margin Floor](https://ivankamenken.com/gross-margin-floor)
- [The money and clarity scorecard](https://ivankamenken.com/scorecard)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka