Pricing strategy · 26 May 2026
Same price as Tanya for the same build.
Bolt-ons for what Tanya doesn't have.
Noelene walks in expecting less than R 81k because she thinks the build is smaller. Reset the anchor with policy, not negotiation: the 10% referral discount applies because Tanya referred her — so the core matches Tanya's price exactly, and anything Tanya didn't get is honestly priced as an add-on.
01The policy — say this out loud, in this order
The FreedomHub referral policy
List price applies to every new client. Referred clients get 10% off — same rule that gave Tanya R 81k.
This isn't a one-off discount you're inventing for Noelene. It's the policy you already applied to Tanya. Naming it as policy reframes the whole conversation:
- You're not negotiating downward — you're applying an existing rule.
- Noelene gets exactly what Tanya got — no awkwardness in either direction.
- Future referrals from Tanya (and from Noelene later) get the same 10%, predictably.
- The list price stays intact, so the network doesn't spiral into ever-smaller numbers.
Core build · list priceR 90,000
10% referral discount– R 9,000
What Noelene pays for the coreR 81,000
Same number as Tanya. By policy, not by pleading.
02The core build · same as Tanya
This is the TAC-equivalent: the same scope Tanya bought, in the same shape. Anyone in her family network paying for the same build pays the same number.
Core build
The workshop OS — TAC-equivalent
8–10 weeks · same scope as TAC core
R 90,000 list
R 81,000
– 10% referral applied
The same envelope of work Tanya bought, retooled for a tarp & tent manufacturer instead of an accounting firm.
- Public website refresh on her existing brand · real photography · lead-capture quote form that lands in the portal
- Quote builder · capacity calculator · branded PDF · WhatsApp send
- Jobs pipeline · Kanban (Quoting → Deposit → Production → Delivery → Done)
- Basic repair queue · 5 stages · tech assignment · ETA
- Sage Pastel two-way sync · invoices + payments
- WhatsApp Business templates · quote follow-up · deposit reminder · post-strike review
- Noelene + Peter login · full admin dashboard
03The three bolt-ons · honestly priced add-ons
These are the pieces Tanya doesn't have. They cost what they cost. Noelene chooses whether she wants them — same 10% referral discount applies because the policy is the policy.
Bolt-on · A
Crew mobile app
3–4 weeks · adds to core
R 45,000 list
R 40,500
– 10% referral applied
For Sipho on the truck at 06:30 on a Saturday. Phone-sized, offline-tolerant. The damage-attribution and quality-control piece TAC never needed because Tanya doesn't have a crew in the field.
- Today's erection jobs · items checklist · big buttons
- Mandatory photo on erection (before + after, 3 angles each)
- GPS-stamped client sign-off form
- Auto-trigger of invoice + WhatsApp on completion
- Damage attribution audit trail
Bolt-on · B
Multi-client B2B portal
4–5 weeks · adds to core
R 70,000 list
R 63,000
– 10% referral applied
For BB Transport, Imperial Logistics, Anglo Plat — the fleet customers with 10-20 covers in rotation. They log in, see their own warranty register, their repair queue, their job history. The moat against every competitor in the country.
- Separate login per fleet client · isolated data
- Warranty register on every cover they own
- Live "where's my tarp" repair queue
- One-click reorder of items previously purchased
- 30-day-terms invoice tracking
- Photo proof of every repair + erection job
Bolt-on · C · Peter asked for this
Website refresh + Social engine + Specials template builder
3–4 weeks · adds to core
R 35,000 list
R 31,500
– 10% referral applied
The new MT&T website (modern, mobile-first, in your brand) plus the social-integration layer that pushes every new job, review and special out to the platforms that actually move work — and the in-portal specials template builder so anyone at MT&T can produce a Facebook / Instagram / WhatsApp ad in two minutes without graphic-design help.
What gets built
- New website — modern, mobile-first, in MT&T's brand · product pages · review wall · WhatsApp click-to-chat · quote-request form · all loading under 1.5s
- Specials template builder (in the portal) — 5 ad templates · enter product + price + photo · outputs FB square + IG square + Story 9:16 + WhatsApp share in one click
- Social integration layer — every new install photo, Google review and special auto-published to the connected platforms · one workflow, four destinations
- Google Business Profile set up + auto-fed (posts, photos, Q&A, hours) — the single biggest lead source for trades nobody runs properly
- WhatsApp Business catalog linked to the website product list — clients browse covers and tap "ask about this" without leaving WhatsApp
Platforms we integrate · and which ones MT&T should actually use
Platform
Why for MT&T
Priority
Google Business
Where every "tent repair Midrand" search ends. 4.4★ ratchet shows here. Biggest lead source for trades by far.
CRITICAL
WhatsApp Business
Where SA churches and transport actually message. Catalog + status broadcasts already pull 8 leads/mo in the demo. Cheapest channel by far.
CRITICAL
Facebook
Where Noelene's existing audience lives. Specials, install photos, behind-the-scenes. The specials template builder feeds this.
USE
Instagram
Weddings, events, lodges. Visual-led — the photo lab + specials builder do the heavy lifting here.
USE
LinkedIn
Transport B2B (BB, Imperial, Anglo). One post a week, B2B angle. Currently 2 leads/mo at R 38k value.
USE
YouTube Shorts
Install time-lapses. Cheap SEO juice — Google ranks them. Recommend Phase 2, not now.
LATER
TikTok
Not where your buyers live. Skip — would dilute Peter's time.
SKIP
The honest take: the specials template builder + Google Business + WhatsApp Business pay for this bolt-on inside 90 days at MT&T's job sizes. The website refresh is the foundation that makes the rest credible — without it, the specials lead somewhere that looks like 2014.
04The sliding scale
Three combinations to walk in with. Open with the recommended. Let her pull back to lean if budget signals say so. Mention the full only if she's enthusiastic and you want the 18-month ceiling in her head.
Combination
Once-off (with referral)
Monthly
LeanCore only · same as Tanya · 8-10 weeks
R 81,000list R 90k
R 4,500/molist R 5k
RecommendedCore + Crew mobile app · 11-14 weeks
R 121,500list R 135k
R 4,500/molist R 5k
Recommended + MarketingCore + Crew + Website & Social engine · 14-17 weeks
R 153,000list R 170k
R 4,500/molist R 5k
FullCore + Crew + B2B portal + Marketing · 18-22 weeks
R 216,000list R 240k
R 5,400/molist R 6k
Every figure includes the 10% referral discount. None of it is "discounted from market" — these are policy prices for the family network. The work itself, if bought from any SA agency, lists at R 280-475k for the recommended scope (Specno's MVP floor alone is R 649k). Lead with this fact only if she pushes back hard on the recommended tier.
05The opening script · read this twice
When she asks about price · or when you sense she's about to
"Noelene — before we go to numbers, the way our pricing works: list price applies to every new client, and clients referred by an existing client get 10% off. That's the rule that gave Tanya her R 81,000."
"So because Tanya referred you, the same rule applies. The core build — the same scope she bought — is R 81,000 for you too. Exactly what she paid."
"Anything she didn't get — the crew mobile app for Sipho, the client portal for BB Transport and your fleet customers — those are bolt-ons. Same 10% referral applies. You pick what you want."
What this does, three layers deep:
- Defuses the "I'll get less than Tanya" assumption before Noelene can voice it. The answer is no — but for a reason that's about fairness to Tanya, not pricing rigidity.
- Frames Tanya's price as the floor, by policy. Noelene now knows she's not getting below R 81k for the core, but she also feels fairly treated because she's getting the family rate by rule.
- Gives her agency on the extras. She isn't being upsold — she's being offered scope she can opt into. The crew app and the B2B portal sell themselves once she sees the demo.
06The killer counter-anchor · only if needed
If she still pushes back on R 121,500 (recommended tier)
Rentman + Sage seats + a job-card SaaS for 8 of your people = R 130-170k every year, forever. With no IP.
A custom build pays for itself in 12-14 months and compounds from there. Year 5, you've paid R 120k once instead of R 750k in SaaS rent. And you own it.
- Rentman (event-rental SaaS) · R 890-1,390/user/mo. 8 users = R 7-11k/mo.
- Sage Business Cloud Advanced · R 800-1,500/user/mo for the tier with proper integrations.
- ServCraft / Eworks / PlanMyCrew (SA-native crew app) · R 300-800/user/mo.
- Realistic stack for 8-person manufacturer · R 130-170k/year — every year, forever.
The recommended tier (R 121,500) is less than one year of SaaS rent. After that, year 2 onward, the only ongoing cost is R 4,500/mo for hosting and support — about R 54k/year. Saves her R 75-115k every year compared to the SaaS path. And she owns the software.
07How the payment is structured
Phased payments tied to deliverables. The same model you used for Tanya. Whichever tier she signs:
30% on signature · kick-off + discovery
Triggers the Monday-mapping working session at the workshop, Airtable base build, n8n workspace setup, brand asset inventory, photography brief.
40% on core sign-off · website + quote builder + jobs pipeline + Sage live
Public site live · quote builder operational · jobs pipeline running · Sage two-way sync confirmed · Noelene and Peter logged in and using it.
20% on bolt-on sign-off · crew app or B2B portal live
Whichever bolt-on she's bought · live in the workshop or live for one fleet client (BB Transport pilot).
10% on final handover · training + documentation
1-hour training session for Noelene + Peter + Sipho · documentation pack · 30-day warranty kicks in.
Monthly starts the month after core sign-off. Covers hosting, Cloudflare, n8n VPS, Airtable workspace, WhatsApp BSP fees, support hours, minor iteration.
08The one thing not to do
Don't price below R 81k for the core. Don't accept "but you can do less for less."
If Noelene says "actually, we don't need all that — can you do something smaller for R 50k?" — the right answer is no, but warmly:
If she pushes for a "smaller" build below Tanya's price
"I hear you. Honestly, R 81k is the minimum viable build — anything smaller wouldn't be a proper portal, just a website. And I can't go below what Tanya paid for the same scope, because she'd have my head, and rightly so."
"What I can do is phase it. The website refresh on its own, with the quote form feeding into a basic CRM, is something I could do in 3-4 weeks for R 35-40k. Then if you want to go further, the full core comes in at R 81k as a Phase 2 — same policy, same referral discount. That way nobody's writing a big cheque on faith."
This gives her a yes without breaking the policy. Phase 1 light (R 35-40k for website + form) → prove the value → Phase 2 the rest at the R 81k anchor.