# Set a Retainer With a Share of Upside

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/retainer-plus-upside · Last updated 4 November 2026

A client asks you to drop the monthly fee in exchange for a share of the extra revenue you bring in, and you have nothing written to answer with. Ivanka Menken uses Retainer-Plus Upside inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to write the base retainer, the baseline the upside is measured from, a small percentage and a minimum term on one page, before the proposal goes out.

## A client wants upside, and you have no rule for it

- A client offers a share of growth if you lower the monthly fee.
- You quote a new fixed fee every time and improvise the terms.
- You have never written down what counts as extra revenue.

**THE MOMENT:** The client likes the work and wants to keep going. Then the question: could the monthly fee come down if you took a share of the extra revenue instead? It sounds like confidence in you. You say you will think about it. That night you open an old proposal from someone else and copy a percentage from it, with no idea what it is a percentage of.

### THE PROPOSAL, AS IT STANDS

- Current fee: $6,000 a month, fixed
- Client request: a lower base and a share of growth
- Baseline for the share: not defined
- Minimum term: none
- Percentage: copied from another proposal

## A percentage borrowed from another proposal

In this case, the founder ran a five-person growth agency at about $700k revenue, mostly on fixed monthly fees. A good client asked for a lower base and a share of the incremental revenue. The founder copied a percentage from another agency’s proposal. With no baseline and no minimum term, the client could leave after one strong month, and the base no longer covered the people on the account.

## No baseline, no trigger, no term

Ivanka noticed the founder was arguing about the percentage while three things were still unwritten: what the base had to cover, which revenue counted as incremental, and how long the client had to stay for the upside to be worth the lower base. Each fixed fee had been improvised, so this one would be too.

## An unwritten base, trigger and term, not the wrong percentage

The issue was not the percentage. It was a base with no floor, a trigger with no baseline and a deal with no minimum term, so the cash case could not work whatever share was agreed.
The reframe: write the base first, at the level that pays for the work. Then define the baseline the upside is measured from, set a small share above it, and protect the base with a minimum term. Only then talk percentages.

> Write the base first. The share is only worth having on top of a base that pays for the work.

**The cost of staying stuck:** Every upside deal without a baseline invites an argument about what counts, and every one without a minimum term lets the client leave in the month the share starts to pay.

## The tool: Retainer-Plus Upside

Retainer-Plus Upside is how Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring prices a base retainer with a share of growth. It writes the base, the baseline, the trigger, a small percentage and the term on one page, so the founder answers the request with numbers instead of a guess.

It is one page. At the bottom, the base retainer, set at what pays for the people on the account. Above it, the baseline: the client’s average monthly revenue over the last three months. Above that, the share: a small percentage of revenue over the baseline. Along the side, the term: three to six months, with a three-month minimum.

It replaces a fixed fee improvised for each client, a percentage copied from someone else’s proposal and an upside promise with no definition of what counts.

### What goes on the page

1. The old fee: $6,000 a month, fixed
2. The base: $4,500 a month, which pays for the account team
3. The baseline: the client’s average monthly revenue over the last three months, $80,000
4. The trigger: revenue above $80,000 in a month
5. The share: 5% of revenue above the baseline, paid monthly
6. The term: six months, with a three-month minimum

It sits inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, next to the monthly five-number scorecard, because the base protects payroll cover and the share shows up in margin. It is coaching, not legal or financial advice, and there is no separate checkout.

## From a borrowed percentage to a written option

In the session, Ivanka asked the founder what the account actually cost to run each month, then what the client’s revenue had averaged over the last three months. Together they set the base at the cost of the team, wrote the baseline from the client’s own numbers, chose a small share above it and added a minimum term. The founder left with a one-page pricing option for the next proposal.

### The questions

- What does this account cost you to run each month?
- What has the client’s revenue averaged over the last three months?
- Which revenue counts as incremental, and who reports it?
- How long must the client stay for the lower base to pay back?
- What do you say if they ask to change the terms mid-conversation?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: An upside request with no written terms.
2. The numbers: Base, baseline, share and a three-month minimum.
3. The story: Why a borrowed percentage did not protect the base.
4. The commitment: One pricing option in the next proposal, terms unchanged.

Before the next session, the founder sent the one-page option to the client, kept the terms as written through the conversation and brought the reply to the scorecard.

## One written option, used in every proposal

By month 6, upside requests get a written option instead of a guess, the base covers the team on every account, and the monthly scorecard shows what the shares add on top.

**BEFORE**

- A new fixed fee improvised each time.
- A percentage borrowed from another proposal.
- No baseline for what counts as growth.
- Clients free to leave after one good month.

**BY MONTH 6**

- A base set at what the work costs.
- A small share above a written baseline.
- A three-month minimum protecting the base.
- The same option in every proposal.

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

## Write the base before you agree the share

Ivanka Menken built Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses that are growing while cash tightens. A share of upside is only good business when the base still pays the people doing the work.
This fits if clients ask for performance pricing and you answer with whatever feels fair on the day. It does not fit if you want a contract drafted or tax advice. The decision in front of you is the base. Write it first.

> 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 service business on monthly fees.
- Clients ask for a lower base and a share of growth.
- You can see the revenue your work affects.
- You will put one written option in the next proposal.

### It does not fit

- You want a contract drafted or reviewed.
- You want tax or accounting advice.
- Your work has no measurable link to revenue.
- You want a done-for-you pricing model.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** The Retainer-Plus Upside is part of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- The monthly five-number scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- Retainer-Plus Upside for your next proposal

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=retainer-plus-upside)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=retainer-plus-upside#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)

## Questions about Retainer-Plus Upside

### How do I price a retainer with a share of revenue?

Set the base first, at what the people on the account cost. Then write the baseline the share is measured from, choose a small percentage above it and add a minimum term. Talk percentages last. Ivanka Menken builds that one-page option with you inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### What counts as incremental revenue in an upside deal?

Whatever you both write down before the work starts. A common choice is revenue above the client’s average month over the last three months, from their own reports. Without that line, every month becomes an argument. Ivanka Menken helps you write the baseline inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is coaching, not legal advice.

### Why have a minimum term on a retainer with upside?

Because the lower base only pays back if the client stays long enough for the share to work. A three-month minimum inside a three-to-six-month term stops a client leaving after one strong month. Ivanka Menken sets the term with you inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, next to your payroll cover.

### Should I lower my base fee to get a share of upside?

Only as far as the base still pays for the work. Below that, a slow month leaves you funding the client. Write the cost of the account first, then decide how much base you can trade for share. Ivanka Menken works through that trade inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.


## Write the base first

If a client is asking for a lower fee and a share of the growth, start with Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring. Retainer-Plus Upside is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme 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=retainer-plus-upside)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=retainer-plus-upside#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)
- [Turn a project into a retainer](https://ivankamenken.com/lump-sum-to-retainer)
- [Let a leader own retainer pricing](https://ivankamenken.com/retainer-pricing-release-dial)
- [The Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)

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