The call comes on a Thursday afternoon. It’s the AE you like the most, the one who’s been good to work with, brings you quality clients, understands how endorsements work, and respects the process. She has a situation and is begging you to compromise your pricing structure. Should you make an exception or protect your rate integrity?
A client is excited about working with you. It’s a great fit for your brand, and the relationship could be terrific, but the client is a small, early-stage business with a limited budget. Paying your talent rate is a sticking point, at least in the beginning. The AE makes the point that if you can come in a little lower this one time, get them in the door, and prove the concept, the relationship could develop into something significant.
Just this once because the fit is so good and the potential is real.
It’s the most expensive call you’ll receive all year.
Special Deals Aren’t Special If You Can’t Protect Your Rate Integrity
A special deal is a deviation from established rate terms. Each exception outside the formal contract structure is a potential problem. It may be a lower fee for a specific client, an informal accommodation, or a one-time exception that everyone involved understands won’t become the standard.
That last part (“everyone understands won’t become the standard”) is the problem.
Special deals become standards with a reliability that would be remarkable if it weren’t so consistent. It’s almost impossible to interrupt once it’s in motion. The special deal creates a data point that exists in the record of what the personality has accepted. Every future conversation about the rate with that client, AE, sales manager, and new management that reviews the file references the data point.
“But you did it for [client]” is one of the most common rate suppression tools in management’s arsenal. It’s a strong argument because it’s factual. The special deal happened. It’s documented. It’s the new reference point, regardless of what was said about it being an exception.
The exception becomes evidence, and the evidence becomes the baseline.
The Anatomy of The Special Deal
Understanding why special deal requests are hard to refuse in the moment is what makes AEs proficient at using this tactic. There are three components, delivered in sequence.
