Just listen and help people with your expertise. Be a good advisor. Focus your efforts on finding a good fit for their needs, not selling them something. Talk p

Just listen and help people with your expertise. Be a good advisor. Focus your efforts on finding a good fit for their needs, not selling them something. Talk positively about all the options on the market and the pros / cons. Why you’re a good fit or not for them. Make referrals to the “competition”. It’s not a zero sum game. The trust you earn by trying to genuinely be of service to the market pays back dividends. Not in an easily quantifiable RoI. But eventually it will. The other bit of advice is you need to set some boundaries and expectations for working together. This includes closing the sale (we need contract back by X date or we can’t work together) and when executing / serving them (we can’t exceed this limit, we need payment by Y or service will be paused). Hold yourself to being disciplined and not people pleasing. You’ll regret the latter usually. Sometimes the best thing you can do is NOT close the deal. Don’t undersell yourself. Set a price point where half of your inbound is unable to work with you. Eliminate bad fits early. As a solo entrepreneur your time is extremely limited. So boundaries and setting a good price point are very important so people don’t waste your time. And because you’re probably still looking for PmF these trusting relationships turn your potential customers into advisors. Treat your best customers advice as sacrosanct. You’ll find a niche in partnership with them.