ShadowMarketer - While in retrospect of your side of the coin I tend to agree with you whole heartedly, Let's not forget about all the the clients we BOTH get (I'm sure you do too) that demand 3-5 Mock-ups of there website prior to purchase or contracting.
Granted, it's a $3,000.00 Project (Once its contracted & started). However the time spent on those 3-5 mock-ups just knocked it down to a $1,000.00 - $2,000.00 project (If you value your time).
Not to mention that once you embark on Mock-ups, you might as well expect the relentless Tweaking & Modifying requests (Before they decide to go with you).
Myself, I turn down more projects like that than I can count. I too have a client base as do you.
Positive sides? sure there are allot
Negative sides? Yes, theres allot of those too.
The point of the matter is that, the more Mock-up based designers that sprout up out there, the more we are confronted with the demanding potential client that was trained by a mock-up designer to be that way.
Sure, we can retrain them.... Are you going to invest the extra time arguing & retraining the mislead Potentials that have reached a point of stubbornness due to past experiences?
In my personal experiences with this type of client it only leads to bad Public Relations & headaches down the road. All thanks to the Original designer that taught them it was ok to be that way.
Am I stuck on negatives that are hurting my business? No, because as I said, I turn all those potential clients away (Once they show to be unreasonable) & it doesn't effect me one bit.
Am i positively Influenced? Yes, I have a high repeat / referral rate with satisfied clients. I think thats enough to keep anyone motivated.
Again, you make good points, However you should never totally disguard the flip side of the coin in any equation, just like you should Never underestimate an opponent.
I did like your advise though.
