Renata runs a small law firm specialising in conveyancing — two staff, steady work. A new referrer, an accountant she'd built a relationship with for months, sent through a straightforward conveyance for his niece's first apartment. Fixed fee, no complications, quick and easy job.
Eight months later, the same accountant had a client selling a commercial portfolio — four apartments in a block, staggered settlements, a structure that needed real thought. Exactly the kind of file Renata had spent years building the expertise to handle well.
He sent it to a firm two suburbs over.
When Renata asked why, over coffee, the answer wasn't complicated: “I didn't think of you for something this size. Last time I sent you anything, it was for my niece.”
The $250 fee for the niece's apartment hadn't cost Renata a client. It had quietly cornered her in terms of the clients she took — and it wasn't the one she actually was.
Nothing about her ability had changed. What mattered was what her referrer believed she did.