Remember that the WHO is more important than the WHAT - Principles by Ray Dalio

I learned many things on the way to the $300k/y range, things that every developer turned agency founder should know and have in the their tool belt.

Let’s start with the premise that most organizations are bad at hiring, interviewers pick people they like or are like them over people who are capable. This means selling services as an agency founder is more about being likeable than actually being good at what you do.

No one likes to be told they're not likeable, so no one does it. Instead, they'll give that person all kinds of reasons, which I've heard many times, such as:

• “We only hire full-time employees”
• “Not at this time”
• “We don’t have the budget”
• “We’ve decided to not move forward”

It took me a long time to realize that being good at selling is really just having the thick skin to repeatedly try new ways to become a more likeable person, while being repeatedly told no.

Remember this:

<aside> 1️⃣ People buy from people they like.

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<aside> 2️⃣ Purchase decisions are largely arbitrary, the tie breaker is usually “gut feeling” about the seller.

Investors largely invest in founders they like, clients largely make deals with agency owners they like.. and so on.

So, being likeable is an unfair advantage when you’re competing in a market full of similar offers.

</aside>

When a client seems on edge and you don't know why, let me show you how I handle some common scenarios

Rejection reason #1: “We only hire full-time employees”

I got really good at explaining to my clients why they should hire me as a contractor over a full-time employee. But sometimes, it just seems like it’s impossible to get through and change their minds.

Let’s take a page out of How to win friends and influence people. [1]