Got pitched $15k upfront for a personal marketing service yesterday by a broccoli hair. One lump sum. No milestones. No recourse. I said: "Split it across 3 months. If you do good work, you get paid in full. If you're useless, I cut my losses at $5k." His response: "You've got the wrong mindset. You're thinking about it in terms of money." I'm thinking about it in terms of risk. That's literally what capital allocation is. If you genuinely believe your service is worth $15k, you should have zero problem earning it over 3 months. The only reason to demand it all upfront is because you know retention is a problem. He told me we weren't a good fit. I agree. I'm not a good fit for people who can't answer the question "what happens if you're not good at your job?"