Could you show me a first idea?

"Before I sign, could you put together a first idea, just so I can see?"

The usual reaction is to refuse, explaining that you do not work for free. That is the right position and the wrong answer, because it responds to a request the client did not think they were making.

What the client is actually asking for

In the vast majority of cases they are not trying to get free work. They are trying to reduce a risk, and they know only one way to do it: see something.

Their risk is real, too. They are about to hand money to somebody they barely know, for a result they cannot picture, over a timescale they do not control. "Show me an idea" is a clumsy attempt to make all of that concrete.

Hence how to answer: deal with the risk, not the request. A refusal on its own leaves the risk untouched, and the client will simply go and find somebody who says yes.

The distinction that decides everything

There are two very different things behind "show me something".

Showing your competence: the evidence that you can do this, and that you can do this specific thing. That is free, it is your sales work, and you should probably be doing it better than you are.

Doing the work: producing, for this client, on their subject, something they could use. That is paid for, always, even when it is short.

The line is not the number of hours. It is whether what you are showing is usable by them as it stands. A sketch of their logo is. Three logos you made for other people is not.

The four things that reassure for free

They work better than a mock-up, which is the counterintuitive part: a free mock-up reassures less than a clear process, because it says nothing about what will happen over six weeks.

Work you have already done, chosen for their case. Not your finest project: the closest to theirs. A restaurateur wants to see a restaurant, even a less accomplished one than your best identity. It is the only selection that matters and almost nobody makes it.

The process, written down. What happens, in what order, what they will see and when, what will be expected of them. Most of the perceived risk is uncertainty, and uncertainty dissolves in writing without you producing anything.

A small paid first step. See below, this is the real answer.

A name they can call. A past client willing to take a phone call is worth more than any mock-up, and costs you nothing.

The paid first step, which is the real answer

Rather than refusing, offer something small, priced, and delivered.

A paid scoping session, a ninety-minute workshop with written output, an audit of what exists, one page instead of eight. Three hundred instead of three thousand.

It does three things at once, and the third is the most useful:

• The client gets exactly what they wanted: something concrete before committing to the whole thing.
• You are paid for work, which was the principle.
• It is the best filter there is. Somebody who will not pay three hundred for scoping will not pay three thousand for the rest. You have just learned that for the price of an email, instead of learning it after two days of mock-ups.

It is also the natural continuation of five questions to ask before writing a quote: the questions qualify, the paid first step confirms.

The pitch case

Several suppliers, each producing a proposal, one of them paid. It needs naming for what it is: it is asking suppliers to fund a selection process.

Two tenable answers. Refuse, politely and without a lecture: "I don't take part in unpaid pitches, but I can show you three comparable projects and offer a paid scoping session if you want to test working together." Or accept and charge for it, which is what agencies do on large tenders, because at that level the selection has a budget.

And a useful indicator: a serious client pays for the shortlist stage. When they refuse, it is not usually a question of means, it is a question of what they think it is worth.

When working for free is genuinely right

It happens, and pretending otherwise is dishonest. Three cases:

• A gap in your portfolio you actually want to fill, on a subject you chose.
• A client whose name will open specific doors for you, and you know precisely which, not vaguely.
• The very beginning, when no evidence exists yet and you have to start somewhere.

If you do it, two rules: the scope and the time are written down, or a favour becomes an unpaid job; and it is never a commercial deliverable usable as it stands, or you did not do a favour, you worked for nothing.

The three sentences

I understand, you want something concrete before committing. Let me send you three projects close to yours and the full process for the job. And if you want to test working together, I can offer a paid scoping session which comes off the quote if we carry on.

The last part does all the work: deducting it turns an obstacle into an advance, and removes the client's sense of paying twice.

Frequently asked questions

Should you make a free mock-up to win a client?

No, and it convinces less than people think. What the client wants is to reduce a risk, and a mock-up says nothing about what will happen over six weeks. Three projects close to theirs plus a written process reassure more and cost nothing.

How do you refuse free work without losing the client?

By dealing with the risk rather than the request. A refusal on its own leaves the risk untouched and the client goes to find somebody who says yes. Offer a small paid first step instead, deductible from the quote if the job continues.

What is a paid first step?

Something small, priced and delivered: a scoping session, a workshop with written output, an audit, one page instead of eight. The client gets something concrete, you are paid, and you learn immediately whether they will pay for the rest.

Should you enter an unpaid pitch?

Two answers hold: refuse without lecturing, or accept and charge for it. An unpaid pitch asks suppliers to fund a selection process, and a serious client pays for the shortlist stage.

Are there cases where working for free is justified?

Three: a gap in your portfolio you chose to fill, a client whose name opens specific doors, and the very beginning when no evidence exists yet. In all three, write down the scope and the time.