Tell her your rates up front
From Create Your Own Story
"I think you should know that I'm not cheap," you warn her, and she adjusts herself nervously in the chair. "My rates are a reflection of the quality of my work."
"How much?" she asks. You write down a figure on a slip of paper and pass it across your desk in her direction. She unfolds it with her delicate fingers, examines the number, and sighs. "I think my husband would notice that sort of money missing from our accounts. I could only pay you half of that up front, the other half after the job is done." She put the paper back on the desk, eyeballing you from those heavy-lidded eyes and she drew on the cigarette.
