JUMPSTART® — EXPAND THE BUDGET, ELEVATE THE WORK
LIVE PORTAL WORKSHEET REFERENCE

STATUS
CURRENT — canonical implementation reference for the live Expand the Budget, Elevate the Work worksheet in the Joel Pilger Portal.

MODULE
Jumpstart® Module 5 — Expand the Budget, Elevate the Work

SOURCE OF TRUTH
- Module PDF = canonical teaching/context for Expand the Budget.
- Live Portal worksheet = canonical implementation flow, prompts, tier logic, required fields, and completion behavior.
- User answers are persistent in the Joel Pilger Portal.
- Jumpstart® Copilot can coach the user through the exercise, but does not automatically have access to saved Portal answers unless those answers are provided in the conversation or exposed through a future Portal connection.

WORKSHEET TITLE
Expand the Budget, Elevate the Work

WORKSHEET DECK
“Stop guessing. Run the SALES conversation, anchor high, and win the project.”

PURPOSE
Help a founder stop guessing at budgets, lead the sales conversation like an expert, diagnose the deeper problem, develop multiple levels of investment, anchor high, and guide the client toward the right solution.

The live worksheet turns the SALES framework into:
- A reflection on the cost of guessing.
- An expert-vs-order-taker mindset check.
- A five-part sales conversation written in the founder’s own voice.
- A three-tier anchoring system.
- A live price ladder for a real opportunity.
- A final personal pricing rule.

LIVE WORKSHEET STRUCTURE
The worksheet contains six beats:
1. We Don’t Have a Budget
2. The SALES Conversation
3. Script the Conversation
4. Explore Options · Anchor High
5. Anchor & Present Options
6. Expand and Elevate

BEAT 1 — WE DON’T HAVE A BUDGET
Heading:
“A client calls. Then they say the magic words.”

Client prompt:
“We don’t have a budget. Can you just send us a proposal?”

Core teaching:
Guessing always leaves critical information unknown.
Whether you bid high, bid low, win, or lose, you may never learn what the client would actually have paid.

The worksheet illustrates three guessing outcomes:
- You bid high and lost.
- You bid low and won, leaving money on the table.
- You bid low and scared the client off.

Prompt:
“Name one proposal you guessed on that went nowhere.”

Then:
“Which of these have you lived?”

Selectable experiences:
- Bid high and lost the job
- Bid low, won, left money on the table
- Bid low and scared the client off
- Accepted a watered-down budget

Live continuation rule:
The member must:
- Enter a proposal/guessing story.
- Select at least one experience above.

Core framing:
“You are not stuck guessing. Clients always have a budget. There is a conversation that finds it, expands it, and elevates the work.”

BEAT 2 — THE SALES CONVERSATION
Heading:
“Stop reacting. Lead the conversation.”

Mindset contrast:

ORDER-TAKER
Relationship to the brief:
Reacts to the brief

Behavior:
- React
- Guess

EXPERT
Relationship to the brief:
Leads the process

Behavior:
- Diagnose
- Prescribe

Doctor analogy:
“You don’t hand a doctor a diagnosis. You follow their process. Same here.”

THE SALES FRAMEWORK

S — SLOW DOWN
Gloss:
“Don’t rush to a document: no proposal, bid, deck, or treatment yet.”

A — ASK WHY
Gloss:
“‘Why do you think you need a ___?’ Assume they’ve misdiagnosed.”

L — LISTEN
Gloss:
“Hear the current vs. desired state, external needs, internal wants. Mirror, summarize, go away.”

E — EXPLORE OPTIONS
Gloss:
“Develop several options, not one solution. This is where you anchor.”

S — STOP SELLING, START HELPING
Gloss:
“Present hypotheses, confirm alignment, then future-pace the work.”

GUT CHECK
Prompt:
“Be honest: when that first call starts, do you react, or lead?”

Response choices:
- I react and send a proposal
- Somewhere in between
- I lead the process like an expert

Live continuation rule:
The member must choose one response before continuing.

BEAT 3 — SCRIPT THE CONVERSATION
Heading:
“Put SALES in your own words.”

Instruction:
Write each step the way it would actually sound coming out of the founder’s mouth on a real call.

The completed entries become the member’s working sales-conversation script.

ALL FIVE FIELDS ARE REQUIRED.

S — SLOW DOWN
Prompt:
“How you’ll slow the client down before writing a thing.”

Example:
“Before I send anything, let me ask a few questions so we get this right.”

A — ASK WHY
Prompt:
“The ‘why’ question you’ll open with to find the deeper problem.”

Example:
“Why do you think you need a video here? What’s the real result you’re after?”

L — LISTEN
Prompt:
“What you’ll listen for beneath the brief.”

Example:
“Their desired future state, the business result, and what a win means for them personally.”

E — EXPLORE OPTIONS
Prompt:
“How you’ll frame three options instead of one price.”

Example:
“I’ll come back with three approaches at three investment levels, not a single bid.”

S — STOP SELLING, START HELPING
Prompt:
“How you’ll confirm alignment and future-pace once they react.”

Example:
“Which approach feels right? Great. Here’s how we’d kick off next week.”

Live continuation rule:
All five SALES responses must be non-empty before continuing.

BEAT 4 — EXPLORE OPTIONS · ANCHOR HIGH
Heading:
“Never one price. Always three.”

Core instruction:
Instead of a single bid, present three options.
The high option anchors the conversation, reframes what is possible, and makes the middle level easier to compare.

ANCHORING
Live worksheet definition:
“The tendency to give the first number too much weight, then adjust too little from it. So put the big number first.”

THE THREE TIERS

HIGH
Role:
The Ultimate

Strategy:
Anchor

Goal:
“The very best. Your goal is for this price to seem HIGH.”

How to build it:
Imagine an ideal budget above what the client is currently considering that would unleash a brilliant solution and generate massive results.

Message:
“This is what the big dogs spend.”

MEDIUM
Role:
The Recommend

Strategy:
Goldilocks

Goal:
“The sweet spot. Ambitious yet appropriate.”

How to build it:
Guess the client’s budget and add 20%, then imagine the best solution you can produce for that price.

Message:
“Not too high, not too low. This feels just right.”

LOW
Role:
The Ask

Strategy:
Decoy

Goal:
“Iffy. This price should seem questionable.”

How to build it:
Imagine the lowest-cost solution that:
- Solves the problem.
- You would still be proud to execute.
- Meets the “we would have done it for that” standard.

Message:
“Any less than this, and they’d be wasting their money.”

TIER LABELS
The member chooses a label family for High → Medium → Low.

Built-in live options:
- Gold → Silver → Bronze
- Premium → Standard → Budget
- First → Business → Coach
- Front Row → Orchestra → Mezzanine
- Luxury → Standard → Economy

CUSTOM OPTION
The member may create their own three labels.

Prompt:
“Name your own — reinforce your positioning.”

Live continuation rule:
- A built-in label family must be selected; OR
- If Custom is selected, all three custom labels must be entered.

COACHING NOTE
The purpose of the labels is to make the three levels easier to understand and compare.
When custom labels are used, encourage language that fits the studio and the opportunity rather than generic “Option 1 / 2 / 3.”

BEAT 5 — ANCHOR & PRESENT OPTIONS
Heading:
“Build the ladder for a real opportunity.”

Instruction:
Take one live opportunity and dream up three options.
Lead with the high option.
Give each option a name that reinforces the approach rather than presenting only a number.

FIELD 1
“The opportunity you’re pricing”

Example placeholder:
“Acton — brand launch film”

For EACH of the three tiers, the worksheet captures:

1. TIER LABEL
Inherited from the family chosen in Beat 4.

2. ROLE + STRATEGY
High:
The Ultimate · Anchor

Medium:
The Recommend · Goldilocks

Low:
The Ask · Decoy

3. APPROACH NAME
Examples:
- High: “Sky Is the Limit”
- Medium: “The Innovators”
- Low: “Thought Into Action”

4. PRICE
The member enters a price for each level.

5. THE HYPOTHESIS
Prompt:
“What it solves, what it includes, why it fits their deeper need…”

IMPORTANT LIVE COMPLETION RULE
To continue from Beat 5, the Portal requires:
- Opportunity name
- High option name
- High price
- Medium option name
- Medium price
- Low option name
- Low price

The hypothesis fields are present and should be used for better thinking, but the live worksheet does NOT require them to be filled in before the member can continue.

PRESENTATION RULE
“Present these verbally, high price first.”

Core framing:
“You’re not selling a bid. You’re offering a choice.”

HOW JUMPSTART® COPILOT SHOULD COACH THE THREE OPTIONS
Help the founder make each level a genuinely different solution, not simply the same work with arbitrary price changes.

For each option, explore:
- The deeper problem it solves.
- External needs / tangible outcomes.
- Internal wants / intangible outcomes.
- Approach.
- Tradeoffs.
- Why the level of investment makes sense.

The objective is not to manipulate the client into spending more.
The objective is to surface what greater investment makes possible and help the client choose appropriately.

BEAT 6 — EXPAND AND ELEVATE
Heading:
“Take clients to places they didn’t know they could go.”

Teaching:
The anchor releases the client from their current limits and lets them imagine.
Some clients will find additional budget once they see what is possible and can compare meaningful options.

The worksheet recaps:
- The member’s option ladder.
- The member’s five-part SALES conversation.

FINAL COMMITMENT
Label:
“The rule you leave with”

Prompt:
Finish the sentence:

“I never lead with one price. I present ________.”

Example placeholder:
“three options, anchored high, and let the client choose.”

Live completion rule:
The final rule must be non-empty before the worksheet can be sealed.

CLIENT RESPONSE FRAME
“When the client says ‘we love the Gold direction, but the Silver price,’ celebrate: now they have a budget. Expand it, elevate the work, and the project is yours.”

FINAL BRIDGE
“Don’t guess. Run the SALES conversation. Diagnose the deeper problem, then present three options anchored high. That is how you expand the budget and elevate the work.”

COMPLETION
The worksheet is completed when the member chooses:
“Seal my pricing playbook”

Completion requires:
- A non-empty personal pricing rule.

When sealed:
- A completion timestamp is stored.
- The worksheet remains persistent in the Portal.
- The member can reset/start over if needed.

PERSISTENCE
In the Portal, state is persisted through the Portal bridge.

Persistent worksheet data includes:
- Guessing/proposal story
- Guessing experiences selected
- React-vs-lead self-assessment
- Five member-written SALES responses
- Chosen label family
- Custom High / Medium / Low labels, when used
- Live opportunity name
- High option name, hypothesis, and price
- Medium option name, hypothesis, and price
- Low option name, hypothesis, and price
- Personal pricing rule
- Current worksheet phase
- Completion timestamp

HOW JUMPSTART® COPILOT SHOULD USE THIS WORKSHEET

1. SLOW THE USER DOWN BEFORE PRICING
If the founder is jumping straight to a number, return to diagnosis.
Ask what is actually known and what is still being guessed.

2. USE SALES IN ORDER
S — Slow Down
A — Ask Why
L — Listen
E — Explore Options
S — Stop Selling, Start Helping

3. ASSUME THE BRIEF MAY NOT BE THE REAL PROBLEM
Help the founder investigate:
- Why this?
- Why now?
- Why us?
- What outcome matters?
- What happens if they fail?
- What happens if they wildly succeed?

4. LISTEN FOR EXTERNAL NEEDS AND INTERNAL WANTS
External needs are tangible business/project requirements.
Internal wants are emotional, political, personal, or status-driven desires.

5. HELP THE FOUNDER FORM HYPOTHESES, NOT JUST CONCEPTS
An option should connect the proposed approach to the deeper problem and desired outcome.

6. NEVER DEFAULT TO ONE PRICE
When appropriate, help the founder construct three meaningful levels:
- High / The Ultimate / Anchor
- Medium / The Recommend / Goldilocks
- Low / The Ask / Decoy

7. ANCHOR HIGH
Present the highest level first so the client sees the fullest possibility before evaluating tradeoffs.

8. MAKE THE OPTIONS GENUINELY DIFFERENT
Do not create fake tiers.
Change the approach, ambition, experience, scope, talent, production choices, risk reduction, or outcome potential in a way that makes each option coherent.

9. KEEP THE LOW OPTION RESPECTABLE
The low option must still solve the problem and be work the studio would be proud to execute.

10. DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE THE PROJECT CHEAPER
If the client prefers the high-level outcome but has a lower budget, diagnose what matters most and redesign the solution appropriately.

11. PRESENT VERBALLY
The founder should lead the comparison and hear the client’s reaction live rather than relying on a document to sell the options.

12. CONFIRM ALIGNMENT AND FUTURE-PACE
Once the client responds, clarify tradeoffs, identify the right level, and describe what moving forward looks like.

13. USE THE MEMBER’S OWN SALES LANGUAGE
If they have written their SALES script in the Portal or shared it in chat, coach from their wording rather than replacing it with canned scripts.

14. SEND THE USER BACK TO THE PORTAL
Do not recreate a replacement worksheet in chat when the live Portal worksheet is available.
Use chat for diagnosis, option design, challenge, rehearsal, and application.
Encourage the member to save/refine final answers in the Portal.

15. IF THE USER SHARES SAVED ANSWERS
Work directly from the answers they provide.
Do not assume access to saved Portal data that has not been surfaced in the conversation.

USEFUL COACHING QUESTIONS
- What are you guessing right now?
- What do you still need to learn before you price this?
- Why do they think they need this?
- Why now?
- Why us?
- What is their desired future state?
- What external needs are non-negotiable?
- What internal wants are hiding underneath the brief?
- What would the ultimate version look like if you stopped designing around the assumed budget?
- What would you confidently recommend?
- What is the lowest level that still solves the problem and leaves you proud of the work?
- Are these truly three different solutions, or one solution with three prices?
- What does the high option make possible that the middle does not?
- What tradeoff does the low option make explicit?
- How will you present these verbally?
- Finish the sentence: “I never lead with one price. I present…”

KEY DISTINCTIONS
Guessing = choosing a number before diagnosis.
Diagnosing = understanding the deeper problem, desired outcome, needs, and wants before prescribing.

Order-taker:
React · Guess

Expert:
Diagnose · Prescribe

SALES:
Slow Down · Ask Why · Listen · Explore Options · Stop Selling, Start Helping

High:
The Ultimate · Anchor

Medium:
The Recommend · Goldilocks

Low:
The Ask · Decoy

The objective is the appropriate investment for the desired outcome — not automatically the cheapest version of the requested deliverable.

END OF REFERENCE
