The Two Conversations

Two columns compare the same team selling the same work. On the left, the buyer arrived shopping: they're weighing three or four agencies at once, price comes up early, and everyone competes on rate - so you win only by giving something up and the profit you keep shrinks. On the right, the buyer arrived for you: they were sent to you by name, price comes up late, and you get to decide if they're a fit - so your price holds. What you can charge is mostly set by how the buyer showed up, not by the work itself, so change the arrival and you change the ceiling.