Invoking the substitution clause

[SeanT]

Imagine signing Lionel Messi and getting Phil Neville.

Or buying a POWER8 frame and finding Linux on it....

The latter really doesn't sound too bad at all...

[fidot]

Imagine signing Lionel Messi and getting Phil Neville.

You may be good, but you probably ain't the best in the world. In all likelihood, you are the best the client could find who was available at the time at the rate the client wanted to pay and who happened to register with the right agency.

I realise that people like to think of themselves as special. My skillset and experience is unique to me, but I'm realistic enough to know that I'm not the only person in the world who can fulfil a role. If you had turned the role down at interview, do you really think the project would have ground to a halt? No, the client would have found the next best who was available at the time at the rate the client wanted to pay and who happened to register with the right agency.

In other words, the client isn't so tied to the incumbent that nobody else will do. Understand that, have a good network, explain to the client professionally and cover off their concerns and you may well find that some will be prepared to accept substitution.