For four long, frustrating years, my business felt like a hobby with a mission. I didn’t make any sales or get no more than five people interested in my offer. It felt like I was working so hard, pouring my heart out, but getting nowhere.

I remember thinking, “Is this it? Am I just not cut out for this?” I saw other people getting booked out, and I just couldn’t figure out what they were doing differently. My effort didn’t match my results, and I knew deep down that something had to change.

I finally did what felt like a scary thing in my online business, and it led to an incredible transformation. I went from five clients in four years to landing 12 clients in just one year. The secret? It all came down to a simple, fundamental shift in my approach.

My Sabbatical “Aha!” Moment: It’s Not a Numbers Game

When I scroll through social media, especially on Threads, I have a way of knowing when people are struggling. You can feel it in their posts. But I’ve trained myself not to message them to work with me. This was the single most important lesson I learned during my three-month sabbatical in January 2024. I was so used to chasing every lead, but I finally realized something: not everyone is meant to work with you, and you are not meant to land every client out there.

This became the cornerstone of my entire business growth strategy: you have to know your target audience.

Deeply Understanding Your Ideal Client

I don’t mean knowing their age, sex, or demographics. That’s surface-level and, to be honest, it won’t help you get consistent leads and sales. So when I say, “know your target audience,” I’m challenging you to go deeper. Tell me, what keeps them up at night? What are their biggest fears and frustrations? What do they dream about? What emotions do they feel when they talk about their pain points or their greatest joys?

This is exactly what I mean. You should know them so well that if I asked you about them, you’d describe their internal feelings and struggles rather than their external outcomes. Think about it: a client struggling to lose belly fat doesn’t just want to lose weight. They want to be able to play with their kids without feeling out of breath. They want to feel confident in a bathing suit. They want to feel good when they get dressed in the morning. It doesn’t matter if she’s a social media manager or a work-at-home mom. What matters is how she feels.

Once I got to know my audience on this deep, emotional level, I knew I could help a person, regardless of their title. It was their feelings that mattered, not their job. This is the key to creating an offer that truly serves them.

The Unsexy Secret: Market Research

You might be thinking, “That sounds great, but how do I get to know them that well?” That’s where market research comes in. And while it doesn’t sound sexy at all, it is seriously so important. I had to learn this part the very hard way. I wasted so much time trying to be a mind reader.

I finally realized that every conversation you have is an opportunity for market research. Whether it’s in a DM, on a discovery call, or with an old client, you’re getting valuable insight. It doesn’t even have to be complicated. You can ask questions all nonchalantly in a conversation. Simply ask them about their day, their struggles, their passions, and you’ll get the insight you need to know exactly how to serve them.

Market research is a way for you to validate your offer and ensure that you’re speaking directly to your ideal client’s pain points. It needs to be a core part of your business foundation, not just a one-time task. This is the key to my client attraction success and how my clients are now getting booked out and doubling their income.

Ready to Stop Guessing?

This is why my free online challenge group is PERFECT for you. For five days, I hold you accountable to do the foundational work that changed my business. Whether you’ve been in online business for five days or five years, this is the missing piece you’ve been looking for.

If you’re out there posting every day but still not getting the leads and sales you want, it’s not because you’re not doing enough. It’s because you haven’t gone back to the basics and truly defined your target audience and their pain points.

Let’s fix that.

Join my free 5-Day Implementation Challenge inside my Facebook group, and we’ll help you stop guessing and start building a business that can’t be taken away from you.

lisbethgraham.co/freechallenge

P.S. Ready to join a program that gets you results by helping you land clients and make sales without guessing what you need to do to make this happen? Join The Phoenix Arising that focuses on building a simple business strategy to work 2-3 hours a day. 

lisbethgraham.co/alignment