How to Attract the Right Audience

How do you know when you're barking up the wrong tree as a small business owner?

I discovered this the hard way when I started by marketing coaching and consulting business 3 1/2 years ago after many years of running a B2B PR and marketing agency.

I kept tweaking what I was doing, thinking if I only did this...or that...or that.

Fresh off the launch of my book, Thriving at 50+, I naively thought people would flock to me as a career reinvention coach.

After all, I was an expert, having spent a year researching career reinvention.

My book research and writing blinded me to the two strikes I had against me.

I had no experience as a career reinvention coach.

And to be honest, didn't want to be one.

My marketing mainly attracted unemployed 50+ people who couldn't afford even my modest fee.

In launching my business, I forgot the most basic of marketing principles. I had no strategy. Instead, like a tennis ball player simply whacking a ball hoping it goes over the net at the right angle, I batted things around hoping they would stick.

After 8 months with little to show for it, I hired a coach and quickly realized I was barking up the wrong tree.

My problem: The service I was offering didn't match my expertise. Nor did it solve prospects' pain points. The people I was attracting needed a new job or career. I lacked the tools to help.

Looking back I made 3 key mistakes. I share them with you so you don't repeat my mistakes.

Mistake #1. My positioning and focus were off kilter, not playing to my strengths.

My expertise is in branding and marketing, not career counseling.

Mistake #2. Having the wrong focus.

People 50+ needing to reinvent themselves weren't crying out for branding and positioning but for a job or new career.

Mistake #3. Having the wrong explicit target audience.

People 50+ weren't my outright target audience.

Those needing my help were typically older, but didn't need me because of age-related issues. Many had hung out their shingle for the first time and were challenged by branding and marketing. They didn't know how to nail either to grow their business.

Here was an audience that needed my branding and marketing expertise.

Today, I focus on helping small business owners, especially coaches and consultants, nail their messaging, branding and marketing to grow their business. Get tips you can use now. Schedule a free Power Positioning call with me.

#marketing #smallbusiness #coaches #consultants

I help small business owners, including coaches and consultants, nail their messaging, branding and marketing to grow their business. However, people 50+ or 40+ handing out their shingle for the first time are challenged by branding and marketing. They didn't know how to nail either to grow their business.

Here was an audience that needed my branding and marketing expertise.