I spoke with a studio last week.
Portfolio stacked with global brands.
Projects worth six figures on paper.

And yet, most of their leads were still $20k scraps.

And they were confused.
They had invested heavily into marketing and being seen over the past 12 months.
Awards. Features. Events. Publications. (Think, It’s Nice That, Stash, Creative Boom, etc.)

They thought exposure would unlock the next level.
That someone would finally “get it” and trust them with strategy and creative direction.

But it didn’t.
It only got them more of what they were already trying to avoid.

Why?

Because when clients landed on their site, the brain made a split-second call:
“Execution partner.”
Not “Thinking partner.”

That’s neuroscience.

The brain runs on three systems:
– System 1: Lizard Brain (survival, fight-or-flight)
– System 2: Limbic System (fast, emotional, instinctive)
– System 3: Neocortex (slow, logical, analytical)

What’s behind this? 

Your portfolio hits System 2.
“Looks great. Feels safe. They can execute.”

That’s why you get called late.
When the decisions are already made.
When the budget’s gone.

But if you want bigger budgets, you need to activate System 3.
The part of the brain that makes strategic, high-stakes decisions.

And you don’t activate that by polishing case studies.
You activate it by showing how you think.
How you innovate in your creative space.
How you write with clarity.

Because finished work proves you can deliver.
But unfinished work proves you can lead.
And leadership is what gets you the bigger budgets.

How:

1. Show Your Thinking
   Signals authority.
   Clients trust you to guide, not follow.
   
   → Build a thinking model your clients can instantly grasp. A simple way of framing problems and solutions that makes you the obvious guide. (Check the picture above).
   
   
2. Show Your Experiments
   Triggers novelty.
   You become the pattern-breaker.
   
   → Invest in personal projects. Share them raw, unfiltered, in-progress. That’s what signals innovation, not polished decks.
   
   
3. Show Your Writing
   Demonstrates clear thinking.
   Big money follows people who can explain.
   
   → Answer the 5 key questions your clients have when they land on your site. Clarity builds unshakable trust.

Now:

Do that, and you’ll get called in earlier.
Where ideas are born.
Where budgets are set.
Where creative freedom lives.

Everything else?
Just content that leads nowhere.
Dopamine hits for the limbic system.

And dopamine hits don’t buy big budgets.
They just keep you stuck with the projects you already have.


If you want to appear clear, decisive, and ready for bigger clients, reach out.

We’re opening 2 more spots in September.
Small studio or big enterprise, it doesn’t matter.
We’ll meet you where you are, and help you move fast to your next level.