The invisible request that stalls your pipeline

Nathan runs a law firm-focused agency.
After landing a strong criminal defense client in San Diego, he paused outreach to similar firms.
The client didn’t ask for exclusivity.
Nathan just assumed they expected it.

That one assumption cost him six figures of revenue.
All because of a story he never said out loud.

Here's what the top 1% of agencies do differently:

1. They never fight invisible forces.
   Exclusivity isn’t a vibe. It’s a clause.
   If a client wants it, it goes in writing: defined, priced, time-boxed.
   City, practice area, duration, fee.
   Everything else is just a handshake with a bottleneck.
2. They don’t turn one fear into a business rule.
   One client doesn’t want you working with competitors.
   Fine.
   That doesn’t mean every client will feel that way.
   Letting one insecure voice shape your strategy is how you lose opportunity.
3. They package exclusivity as a premium, not a pause.
   Platinum: full region lockout
   Gold: zip-code ownership
   Standard: no exclusivity, full strategic separation
   Now you're negotiating from the front foot.
   You're selling confidence.

For example:

At Scorpion, we saw this constantly.
Exclusivity requests were common.
We stopped tiptoeing and started tiering.
Everything changed.

What’s it costing you?

Now zoom out.
Imagine five clients like Nathan’s.
Each one “expects” exclusivity.
That’s five cities. Maybe five practice areas.
And just like that, the vertical you should own is now fenced off by assumptions.

Make this yours:

If your next prospect asked for exclusivity, how would you respond?
Could you define it? Price it? Limit it?
Or would you freeze like Nathan?

Here’s the thing…

You don’t need permission to scale.
You need better boundaries.

The smartest agencies don’t avoid competition.
They design around it.