Two different problems share one sentence — “it's too expensive” — and they have different cures. Price means the total feels too big for what they're getting. Affordability means the total is fine but the monthly picture doesn't fit their life. The documented discipline: diagnose which one you're hearing before you touch either.
The short answer
The diagnostic questions separate them: is the concern the overall investment itself, or how it would sit month to month? A homeowner can believe the project is worth every dollar and still not be able to carry it the standard way — that's affordability, and it is solved in the structure, with the monthly investment plan presented as part of the solution, not as a rescue. A homeowner who thinks the number is simply too high for the job has a value equation problem, and no payment structure fixes a value problem — it just puts a monthly plan under it.
How it runs
The reflex rep hears “expensive” and reaches for a discount — treating every case as price. On an affordability case, the discount burns margin to solve a problem that didn't exist while leaving the real one untouched. On a value case, a payment plan papers over doubt that returns as a cancellation. Diagnose first — the switch-to-the-investment material is the deep treatment of the money moment itself — then solve the problem that's actually in the room. And keep the doctrine intact while you do: no discount, rebate, or incentive is ever offered before a commitment exists.
The moments these guides cover are the ones reps lose in real kitchens. Run them in a round first — Round 1 is free, the full camp $29/month. Spar before you knock.