That's one of the things that state you care about your customer, because price is all about them (and their certainty). The difference between a rate and a price. Rate: a variable that needs to be calculated with other(s) to have a final figure. Price: a variable that is final. Dissecting yesterday's reply. "We don't work with predefined rate cards, as all you could get is an estimate based on assumed calculations of the rate, times X, Y, or Z. And you know estimates are just that, they...

When you're asked about rates and that with that (and your rates "being competitive") you'll move to the top of the line when procuring your expertise, you can reply something like this: "Thanks for asking about rates. We don't work with predefined rate cards, as all you could get is an estimate based on assumed calculations of the rate, times X, Y, or Z. And you know estimates are just that, they could go up or down (they almost always go up). We do work, however, with fixed prices, as our...

Those are actually the little things that go unnoticed —until they don't. Not taking responsibility for what's going on. Misleading with promises that will not happen. Over promising. Under promising and over delivering. Ghosting your clients. Ignoring them when they know you're there. Working (constantly) for free. Focusing on revenue and sales. Inaction. The list can go on and on and on. You get the gist of it. The fix? Caring for your customers.