“More stakeholder feedback”
Meeting time, consolidation and revision rounds
Name one client approverCap roundsPrice extra rounds
MARKETING AND DIGITAL AGENCIES
Win the work without giving away the margin.
Delivery hours are only part of the job. Client meetings, reporting, revisions, media setup and specialist tools all eat into the same fee. MarginNudge brings that work into the quote before your team has to absorb it.
14 days. Payment details required. No charge before your trial ends.
Pre-proposalReview
Agency quote check
Product launch campaign
PRICE
£28,000
MARGIN
22.3%
Target margin25%
Hidden work added+£2,156 cost
Decision
Review before the proposal.
Built to scale
Same margin discipline, different approval paths.
Growing agencies (5–100 people)
Give commercial leads a fast pre-send check when pricing still depends on senior judgement and delivery memory.
Agency groups and enterprise teams
Give sales, delivery and finance the same view of effort, cost, scope pressure and approval decisions.
THE BRIEF IS ONLY PART OF THE JOB
The client sees the campaign, website or monthly output.
Your team also sees status calls, briefing time, internal reviews, last-minute changes and the senior input needed when the work becomes more complicated. If those hours stay outside the quote, a strong-looking fee can carry a weak expected margin.
Visible in the proposal
Campaign strategy, creative, activation
Client service
Status calls, stakeholder follow-up and feedback consolidation
Delivery control
Internal reviews, senior input, quality checks and handover
Commercial extras
Reporting, media setup, production, freelance and tool costs
WHERE AGENCY MARGIN GETS TRADED AWAY
The risk usually appears before anyone calls it scope creep.
Margin leak
The retainer becomes a container for everything
A monthly fee is agreed around a set of deliverables, then extra calls, faster reporting, new channels and one-off requests are absorbed as part of the relationship.
Protective rule
Define what the month actually includes before the fee becomes a promise.
USE MARGINNUDGE AT THE POINT THE DEAL BECOMES REAL
Bring the work around the deliverables into the quote.
The goal is not a longer estimate. It is a clearer decision before the proposal reaches the client.
- 01
Model the real delivery plan
Build the campaign or one month of retainer delivery around the roles and hours it will actually need.
- 02
Add the work around the deliverables
Include account management, meetings, reporting, revisions, quality checks and handover.
- 03
Decide what is absorbed or recharged
Include media, research, freelance, production and tool costs with a clear commercial decision attached.
- 04
Check the margin before the proposal
See modelled delivery cost, expected margin and minimum price before the proposal reaches the client.
- 05
Respond to pressure with options
Compare holding price with reducing scope, changing the team or offering a smaller discount.
ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTE
A three-month product launch campaign is quoted at £28,000.
The first estimate covers strategy, creative and activation but understates client service and revision time.
Commercial insight
At £28,000 with the fuller delivery plan, the expected margin would fall to 22.3%. The team can now raise the price, reduce the work or approve a deliberate exception instead of discovering the gap later.
Review
Quote check
Product launch campaign
Initial version
£28,000
Looks healthy, but work is missing
Reworked version
£29,000
Approve at the 25% minimum
CLIENT PRICE
£28,000
£29,000
WORK ACCOUNTED FOR
Core campaign
Campaign + service layer
MODELLED COST
£19,600
£21,750
EXPECTED MARGIN
Looks like 30.0%
25.0% approved
Decision options
Raise priceReduce workApprove exception
Pre-proposal check
Have an active proposal or retainer under review?
Run the numbers through MarginNudge before you send the fee to catch hidden service hours and protect your margin.
14-day free trial · No charge before trial ends · Cancel anytime
WHEN THE CLIENT ASKS FOR 10% OFF
Ask what would need to change with the price.
MarginNudge helps the commercial lead compare a smaller channel mix, fewer reporting cycles, a different revision allowance or a revised staffing plan without overwriting the assessed quote.
“New channel added late”
Setup, production, reporting and tools
Add a scoped workstreamMove it to phase 2Reprice
“Lower fee requested”
Expected margin and minimum price
Hold priceNarrow scopeChange delivery mix
“Retainer drift”
One named month of recurring effort
Define included workPrice setup separately
MAKE THE BOUNDARY AS CLEAR AS THE DELIVERABLE
Keep the client version clear without exposing internal economics.
The client-ready quote should make it easy for the client to understand what the fee covers without exposing internal costs or margin.
Approved
Client-ready quote
Product launch campaign
The client sees the work, boundaries and change process. Internal cost, margin and approval notes stay inside MarginNudge.
Internal economics hidden- the channels, deliverables and campaign period included;
- the number and purpose of client meetings;
- the review process and included revision rounds;
- which media, production, freelance or tool costs are included or recharged;
- the client inputs, access and approval dates the delivery plan depends on; and
- how additional work or late changes will be agreed and priced.
WANT THE COMPLETE WORKFLOW?
See how MarginNudge turns business rules, quote inputs and commercial risks into a clear decision.
Explore the shared workflow for setting commercial rules, checking expected margin, comparing options, securing approval and producing the exact cleared client version.
Price the work around the brief, not just the brief.
Bring the hidden agency work into view before the fee, scope and delivery plan become a promise.