The cost of my time selling to new clients is built into my day rate. It's a surprisingly simple concept to explain to clients who demand a discount: they need to buy more of my time to get a lower day rate because I won't have to work as hard to sell my time. They invariably get it and stop asking for a lower rate.<p>An odd corollary to this kind of thinking: doing client work is a cost on the business because it's costing you the opportunity to go out and get more clients.