A booking isn't real until there's a deposit in your account — learned that the hard way

freelance mua here and the most important lesson i've learned is that a booking doesn't exist until there's a deposit in my account. had way too many "yes definitely happening" conversations that turned into absolute nothing. won't make that mistake again. how do you handle the initial conversation with someone who seems reluctant to pay a deposit — do you push back or just accept it won't convert?