I go on fishing trips with my dad a couple times each year.
Each trip is different, and each one has its own purpose: some trips are focused on catching bass, others are focused on catching walleye, others on crappie…
And depending on what type of fish we’re trying to catch, we have to be intentional about the location, the time of year, the bait we use, and even the time of day.
In August we’re going on a walleye trip in New York state. We know that river we’re fishing in has walleye in it. We know what type of bait has worked in the past. We know that August is a good timeframe, and we know that we’ll probably have the best luck in the mornings and evenings.
With just a little bit of luck, we’re pretty certain we’ll catch a good number of walleye.
And we might even catch some sort of fish we aren’t focused on! If we do, that’s a bonus.
But if we went to that lake with the wrong bait, we probably wouldn’t catch many walleye.
And if I took the right bait to the pond in my dad’s backyard, I wouldn’t catch any walleye. There aren’t any walleye in that pond to begin with.
When you’re looking for new clients or new customers, some days you come up empty.
It might be bad timing. It might even be bad luck.
But most likely, you need to look at your bait.
Is this what these customers want? Should I be positioning it differently?
And you need to look at the pond too.
Is this where my customers are even spending their time? Am I likely to find them here?
There’s no point in using the right bait in the wrong pond.
And you’re making it a lot harder on yourself if you’re fishing in the right pond with the wrong bait.
A lot of freelancers make this mistake when they are just getting started.
If you need some help finding the right bait or the right pond, these courses can help.