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September 13, 2026 Commercial Plans ladder Discovery · Starter · Growth

Zion Plans Ladder: Discovery $99, Starter $2,500, and Growth Without the Fog

Buyers comparing Zion Tech Group plans after the catalog restore usually do not need another pricing slide. They need the engagement ladder without the fog: Discovery $99 when the first process is still unnamed, Starter ZG06 at $2,500 when one owner and one automation are already written, and Growth only when the work is ongoing operations — or Consulte when self-serve is the wrong unit.

This article is the commercial write-up for buyers comparing Discovery vs Starter vs Growth on the published AI / IT pricing path. The official menu lives on plans. The two-SKU cousin is Discovery vs Starter. The buy-path pattern is Pay vs Consulte for AI automation. Service framing: AI consulting services and the commercial grid on solutions. High-end recortes sit on enterprise, not as a second mystery menu.

We will not invent discounts, SLA percentages, seat averages, or new Stripe IDs. Pay CTAs go to /plans/ with the label Pay Starter ZG06 — never a raw Stripe URL. The test is fit: which published SKU unlocks the next honest step?

What each SKU is for (diagnostic · scoped pilot · ongoing ops)

The fog starts when four published prices get treated as one product with four stickers. They are not. On plans the ladder has a job per rung:

• Discovery — $99 — diagnostic. One process, a written executive map, a 30-minute session. It does not implement. Book on Discovery.
• Consulting — $499 — strategy and roadmap across three sessions when the blocker is a decision, not a missing script. Still not implementation.
• Starter — $2,500 (ZG06) — scoped pilot. One agreed automation (or one agreed ops improvement) with a definition of done and 30 days of support. This is the Pay path.
• Growth — $8,000/mo — ongoing operations. Continuous coverage whose operating cut closes with the team — often after Discovery or a Consulte conversation. The Payment Link starts the listed retainer; it does not invent a generic “SLA %” you can paste on a slide.

Read those jobs as a sequence, not a buffet. Skip the job and you fund a $2,500 project with no acceptance owner — or a monthly retainer that still debates the cut every Monday.

Adjacent framing — not extra SKUs — lives on AI consulting services and solutions. Those hubs explain the work surfaces. They do not replace the commercial ladder.

Proof chips only, as published: Discovery $99 · Consulting $499 · Starter $2,500 (ZG06) · Growth $8,000/mo · response within 24h. No catalog discounts. No invented availability for a Growth cut that has not been scoped. Same honesty rule as Pay vs Consulte.

Signals you still need Discovery

Discovery is the default entry when the first process is still a meeting topic. It is a paid map, not a free lead magnet and not a tiny Starter. Detail and booking: Discovery $99. The two-SKU decision write-up is Discovery vs Starter.

You still need Discovery when most of these are true:

• Leadership wants “AI” or “automation” and three teams name three different pains. That is a map problem, not a Starter line item.
• No single process is written — no system of record, no exception queue, no owner who can accept a definition of done.
• Success is still “see what’s possible.” That sentence is diagnostic language. Price it as Discovery.
• You can fund a pilot but cannot yet defend which process in an ops or finance review.
• Growth is being discussed as a vibe — “we will probably need a retainer” — while nobody can name the operating cut. Growth after a map is honest. Growth instead of a map is fog.
• Enterprise packs look tempting on enterprise while the process those packs assume has not been chosen.

For $99 you get a written map: the process in play, owners, gaps, risks, quick wins, and a recommended next track — Consulte, Consulting, Starter, Growth, an enterprise recorte, or “fix ownership before any automation spend.” Discovery will not invent ROI percentages and will not rank tools by logo. Paying $99 to avoid an under-scoped $2,500 pilot — or an $8,000/mo retainer with no cut — is the point of the offer.

Rule of thumb: if a one-page SOW would still need three workshops inside it, buy Discovery separately. Do not hide scoping inside Starter and call it implementation. If procurement blocks a card until a human conversation happens, start at Consulte and use Discovery as the paid pre-read once the path is allowed.

Signals Starter ZG06 fits

The Pay path is Starter — $2,500 (ZG06): implement one agreed automation with clear inputs, owners, and a definition of done. Checkout and package copy live on plans. Label in every Pay CTA: Pay Starter ZG06. No raw Stripe URL.

Starter ZG06 fits when you already know:

• One process — named in a paragraph, not “all of ops.” Invoice intake, one support queue, one CRM follow-up loop, one cost envelope. One.
• One owner — someone who can grant access for the pilot window and sign that the deliverable matches the SOW.
• Access identified — which system, which environment, whether production change is allowed this quarter.
• A success signal exists — one observable operating signal you already care about (time-to-first-response on a named queue, handoff completion on a named loop, hours returned on a named task). We will not invent that metric as a certified savings percentage.
• The work is a project, not a retainer. If you need continuous coverage next month, you are looking at Growth or Consulte — not a second silent Starter.

Starter is not a blank check to “explore AI options.” If kickoff still debates which process, which owner, or which tool the board wants on a slide, you are not on Pay yet. You are on Discovery or Consulte. Same gate as Discovery vs Starter and Pay vs Consulte.

What good looks like: one live slice, a named owner, and a definition of done. What bad looks like: a SOW that still says “evaluate platforms” inside the implementation fee. Price evaluation as Discovery or Consulting; price build as Starter.

Ready path: review plans for Starter ZG06. Prefer a cheap map first? Discovery $99. Need a human because procurement, multi-team RACI, or a custom SOW is the real product? Consulte.

When Growth / Consulte beats self-serve

Self-serve is honest when the unit of work matches a published card. It is the wrong door when the unit is political, continuous, or larger than one automation.

Growth — $8,000/mo beats another Starter when the work is ongoing operations: the first slice is already real (or clearly scoped), someone will own the exception queue every week, and you want continuous coverage rather than a one-off build. Growth is listed on plans. The Payment Link starts the published retainer. The operating cut still closes with the team. We do not invent an SLA percentage or a seat average to sell that retainer.

Growth is a poor first buy when nobody can name the process. That is Discovery or Consulte wearing a monthly sticker.

Consulte via /contact/ beats self-serve when:

• Politics — two or more teams must agree a RACI before anyone should touch production.
• Multi-vendor control — identity, cloud, and the system of record sit with different vendors; a Starter SKU cannot invent that board.
• Regulated or evidence-heavy work — you need language, a custom SOW, or invoice / wire before a card is allowed.
• The honest shape is larger than Starter and is not yet a named enterprise pack.
• Growth looks right but the cut is political — finance wants a retainer, security wants retained control, ops wants tickets. That conversation is Consulte, optionally with Discovery as a paid pre-read.

Consulte is not “the expensive version of Discovery.” Discovery is a cheap written map. Consulte is the human-scoped path when stakeholder design and commercial language are the product. Prefer email first? kleber@ziontechgroup.com.

Do not force Growth or an enterprise pack into ZG06 just because $2,500 is published. Do not force Consulte into a card checkout when the meeting topic is still the product. Fit first. Pattern: Pay vs Consulte for AI automation.

How /plans/ and /enterprise/ fit together

Two live commercial doors, different jobs. Mixing them recreates the fog:

• /plans/ is the published entry ladder: Discovery $99, Consulting $499, Starter $2,500 (ZG06), Growth $8,000/mo. Start here when you are choosing a degree of commitment — map, decide, build one slice, or run.
• /enterprise/ is the high-end recorte menu: named implementation packs and retainers for buyers who already know the surface. Start here when the process is already chosen, and the question is which published high-end cut fits — not “what even is the process?”
• /contact/ (Consulte) is the door when neither menu is the right unit: a custom SOW, invoice-before-card, multi-vendor politics, or regulated evidence.

Enterprise packs assume a process already chosen. If that sentence is not true for you, do not “upgrade” your confusion by picking a larger sticker. Book Discovery $99 or Consulte. After the map, you may land on Starter ZG06, Growth, a named enterprise recorte, or “do not buy automation yet.” All of those are successful outcomes. Buying the wrong door is not.

Hubs that explain the work sit on solutions and AI consulting services. We do not regenerate hubs from this blog and do not invent catalog leaves. The payable menu is /plans/.

Commercial ladder reminder:

1. Process, owner, or risk still unnamed → Discovery $99 or Consulte
2. Decision / roadmap is the blocker, not a missing script → Consulting $499 on plans, or Consulte if political
3. One process + one owner + one signal already → Pay Starter ZG06
4. Ongoing ops after the cut is real → Growth on plans
5. Named high-end recorte already chosen → enterprise
6. Custom / regulated / invoice first → Consulte

Enterprise companion (same wave): Enterprise AI & IT engagement path. That piece is Consulte-leaning. This piece is a balanced SKU ladder.

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See also: Discovery $99 · Plans · Enterprise · Consulte / contact · Solutions · AI consulting services · Discovery vs Starter · Pay vs Consulte · Enterprise engagement path