Xtrata's broker asked me to bid the shell for a 6-plex project for one of their clients, and the scope shifted twice before I could finalize a number.
After I sent her the finished shell bid, I asked her to hold off passing it to the client for a few days so I could speak with the client directly first.
Once a number reaches a client filtered through someone else's framing, you lose control over how it's read. Getting to the client myself first meant the number would land the way I actually intended it, not the way it got relayed.
That shell bid became the structural reference for the townhome project's build.
Control how your number reaches the client, not just what the number says.
Protecting the broker relationship, still saying yes to her request, while protecting my own read of the end client, that's a small daily balancing act. It doesn't resolve itself into a rule.