skibum - 7:14 pm on Jul 7, 2007 (gmt 0)

If she's willing to sell services to anyone who comes along, regardless of how it might affect existing clients

It depends on sooooooooo many things. We had one big homebuilder client who paid on time, was easy to work with and was a big chunk of agency revenue. When they wanted us to be loyal to them it wasn't an issue. If it had been a small regional builder who was saying we won't do business with you if you take on a big national builder that probably wouldn't have held any weight.

Online it seems like very few businesses compete directly with each other, yet almost everyone competes with everyone else if they are even in related industries so where can you draw the line?

When you take on multiple businesses in the same industry, they all tend to benefit collectively.

It also depends on the level of involvement. If you are running top to bottom marketing programs for competing businesses then their might be a conflict but again success and strategy is dictated by the marketplace and the actions of two related companies virtually always veer off in different directions. If it is working on small design projects, will that really affect how two companies compete?

Exclusivity is a good thing to discuss up front and get paid for if you think it will be an issue. Who has the stronger hand? Is your client a major chunk of your revenue, sending you incremental business, a growing part of your business? If it is, then its probably best to tow the line. If the grass is really greener on the other side, then its time to step over to the other side or work hard to explain why you think working for multiple companies in the same industry could actually benefit the client.