Correct. And charging a "small" amount to gather requirements is a quick and easy way for the consultant to determine if the potential customer is a good fit. A

Correct. And charging a "small" amount to gather requirements is a quick and easy way for the consultant to determine if the potential customer is a good fit. A customer that understand that spec work takes time and resources and is willing to pay for the work is also a potential client that will, when they make change requests or feature/scope creep, understand that they should/will be paying for those on top of what the spec says. Everyone is correct that the author is losing business by working the way he does... but he's okay with that because he's cares more about client/customer fit (and quality) than work volume.