Oh, that pain. It is familiar to every freelancer, consultant, mentor, and anyone who works with people remotely. You conduct an audit, prepare a cool commercial proposal, the person is delighted, says: “This is exactly what I was looking for! Send me your details, I’ll pay everything tomorrow.” You breathe a sigh of relief, open champagne (mentally), prepare the contract — and… silence. The next day comes: “Oh, let’s postpone it to next week, I’m not ready somehow.” And then again. And again. And then the person simply disappears, as if they never existed.

And the most offensive part: these are not acquaintances, not friends, not “maybe, someday.” These are people who came to you themselves, set a date themselves, asked for your details themselves, said “yes” themselves. And then — bam — it’s all over. You are left with a feeling that you were used. And self-flagellation begins: “Maybe I’m not good enough? Maybe I said something wrong? Maybe I overestimated my abilities?” Stop. Stop it. This is not about you.

Why does this happen? Actually, there are several reasons.

First, many people live in an illusion. They think they are ready for change. They watch your audit, admire your work, and at that moment feel like “cool entrepreneurs” who are about to make a breakthrough. This state of euphoria pushes them to say “yes.” But the next day the euphoria passes, and fear takes its place. Fear of money, fear of time, fear that it won’t work out. And they choose to run away instead of honestly saying: “I’m afraid.” Fear of money, by the way, is the strongest. People are afraid to spend extra on their own promotion because they don’t understand what they will actually get.

Second, there is a category of “proposal collectors.” They love to collect different proposals, analyze competitors, get cool ideas, but are never ready to pay. They enjoy the process, enjoy feeling like important clients. But as soon as it comes to money — they “think about it.” And so on, in circles. Lately, I’ve had about 7 such people. Third, people simply don’t know how to say “no.” It’s easier for them to say “yes, yes, yes” and then disappear than to admit: “I’m not ready,” “I can’t afford it,” or “I changed my mind.” It’s not nice, but it’s reality.

How to recognize such people before you’ve spent time on them? There are several markers.

✔️First — an overly emotional and quick response. If a person immediately shouts “WOW, THIS IS AMAZING!” — that’s a red flag. A real serious client never says “yes” instantly. They ask questions, clarify, ask for examples, think.

✔️Second — lack of questions. A person who is going to pay money always wants to know the details. And if they are silent or repeat “everything is great, I’ll write later” — they are not going to pay, they are just politely leaving.

✔️Third — repeated postponements. Postponed once — okay, force majeure. Second time — already a warning sign. Third — it’s a system.

✔️Fourth — the person does not ask questions about the contract and guarantees. They are not interested in the details. They are interested in the process of getting a free consultation.How to protect yourself? There are several working tactics. First, never do anything for free in hopes of future payment. If you do work for free, you give the person a reason not to pay. Second, immediately state the terms: “I am ready to start work after prepayment.” Third, create a client scoring system. If a client postpones a meeting for the third time, cross them off without regret.❤️

And most importantly: learn to say “no” to people who do not respect your time. No one forces you to wait until the person makes up their mind. You are a professional, and your time is worth money. Don’t let yourself be drained. And if you have been drained, don’t worry. That means it wasn’t your client.

And you saved yourself a ton of nerves and time.

Over the past six months, I’ve been burned quite a bit. I tried to write, clarified deadlines. But at some point, I lost interest. And next time, I won’t fall for the bait of those who feed you endless promises; it won’t work with me anymore. And how about you, how do you handle this?⤵️