Selling the studio without committing on its behalf
Your job is to make the business want to buy — right up to the moment it contacts the studio. Here is where the line runs, and what to say so you never cross it.
Your job is to sell: spot the business, make it want to buy, and stop the moment it contacts the studio to buy. From that point on, the studio takes over. Knowing exactly where that moment falls is what separates a partner who earns from one who gets into trouble.
How far your part goes
You can present the studio’s services. Show its work. Quote the rates published on the website — they are public. Explain what a website, a visual identity or a social media subscription would change for that business. Follow up if they hesitate.
All of that is selling, and it is exactly what is expected of you.
You stop when the client writes to or calls the studio to buy. That is the handover.
What stays with the studio
A quote for a specific project. Any discount or negotiation. Deadlines. Signing. Payment.
These are not politeness rules, they are in the terms of the programme. And they protect you first: the moment you promise a price or a deadline, you commit someone else to something you cannot hold. If reality turns out different, the person who looks unreliable is you.
What to say at the edge of the line
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| "I'll get it done for you for 2,000." | "Their rates are on their website. For your exact project, they'll give you a quote." |
| "I can get you a discount." | "Prices are theirs to set. Write to them directly." |
| "They can do it in two weeks." | "For the timing, ask them — they know their schedule." |
| "They're the best in the region." | "Look at what they did for X." |
The pattern is simple: sell with what can be checked — the published rates, the finished work, what you have seen with your own eyes. Never with a promise you invented.
The right moment to hand over
When the business says “fine, how do we go ahead?”, you have done your job. Give it the studio’s contact details and step back.
One condition: the business must have been reported before it contacts the studio. The report is what timestamps your work. Reported after the first contact, it earns you nothing.
Two rules of the game worth knowing
A report only counts if the business is not already talking to the studio. As soon as you report it, the studio tells you within 48 hours (weekends excluded) whether it counts for you or not. Wait for that yes before investing time in it.
A report stays valid for twelve months. If the business signs nothing in that time, you simply report it again. So a “not right now” is not a loss. It is a date in your calendar.
Convincing is not pushing
People who push close once. People who convince with facts close for years — and get recommended in turn.
The best argument is rarely the loudest one. It is the business next door, whose website brings in calls, or the before-and-after of a brand that has been redone. Show, then hand over.