If conversations feel hard, sales take too much convincing, or prospects don’t see urgency, you may be targeting the wrong audience. The right audience recognizes the problem quickly and cares about solving it now.
Most founders don’t realize they’re targeting the wrong audience because they’re still getting some interest.
People reply.
Calls get booked.
Conversations happen.
But nothing converts cleanly.
Targeting the wrong audience rarely looks like zero traction. It looks like constant friction.
Here are some common signals:
These aren’t sales problems. They’re audience fit problems.
The wrong audience doesn’t mean bad people or unqualified leads. It means you’re talking to people who don’t feel the pain strongly enough—or don’t have the context to value the outcome.
Right audiences don’t need convincing.
They need clarity.
Another common mistake is defining your audience by surface traits instead of buying behavior.
“Founders.”
“Coaches.”
“Small businesses.”
Those labels are too broad to guide decisions.
What matters more is:
If your audience isn’t already feeling the cost of the problem, your offer will always feel optional.
Founders also drift into the wrong audience when they try to make an offer “more flexible.” They loosen the message to appeal to more people. But flexibility blurs relevance.
Relevance is what creates momentum.
The right audience:
And here’s the key reframe:
If selling feels heavy, it’s often because you’re carrying the urgency that the buyer doesn’t feel yet.
That’s not something you fix with better persuasion. You fix it by choosing a sharper audience—one that already wants the result you deliver.
Many founders sell services when they think they’re selling offers.
A service is open-ended.
An offer is intentional.
Services focus on inputs:
Offers focus on outcomes:
When you sell services, buyers struggle to understand value. Pricing feels arbitrary. Scope creeps. Confidence drops.
When you sell an offer, the buyer knows what success looks like.
Offers create leverage. They make sales repeatable and delivery cleaner.
This shift from service to offer is one of the most important transitions a founder makes.
It’s also where many businesses get stuck.
Clarity here changes everything:
Founders often resist simplicity because they equate it with losing credibility.
They worry:
But buyers don’t reward complexity. They reward clarity.
Sophisticated businesses communicate simply because they understand what matters most.
Simplicity is about sequence, not reduction.
You can explain complexity, but only after someone understands why they should care.
Lead with:
Then go deeper if needed.
Clear messages respect the buyer’s time and attention. They don’t force people to work to understand value.
If your message only makes sense after explanation, it’s not ready yet.
If your pitch changes depending on who you’re talking to, you’re not alone.
This happens when founders are still searching for resonance instead of leading with clarity.
Each conversation becomes a test:
The result? Inconsistency... and internal doubt.
Changing your pitch doesn’t mean you’re bad at messaging. It means the foundation underneath it isn’t stable yet.
When the core promise is clear, delivery becomes flexible, but the message stays the same.
Founders often confuse adaptability with clarity. But adaptability without a core creates drift.
A stable pitch gives you:
When your pitch is locked:
Clarity creates confidence because you know what you’re offering and who it’s for.
Offer clarity is one of those phrases founders hear all the time, but rarely get defined.
It’s not branding.
It’s not copy.
It’s not simplification for its own sake.
Offer clarity is decision clarity.
A clear offer removes mental effort for the buyer. It answers their internal questions before they have to ask them out loud.
When clarity is missing, buyers wonder:
If those questions linger, momentum dies.
Clarity lives at the intersection of three things:
Miss one, and the offer weakens.
Many founders confuse clarity with detail. They add more explanations, more features, more examples. But clarity usually comes from subtraction, not addition.
What can be removed?
What can be decided?
What can be named clearly instead of vaguely?
Clear offers don’t promise everything. They promise something real.
This is also why clarity feels uncomfortable. It forces you to choose.
And choosing means saying no to other interpretations.
But buyers trust commitment.
When your offer is clear:
Clarity isn’t about locking yourself in forever.
It’s about making it easy to move forward now.
Most founders don’t realize they’re targeting the wrong audience because they’re still getting some interest.
People reply.
Calls get booked.
Conversations happen.
But nothing converts cleanly.
Targeting the wrong audience rarely looks like zero traction. It looks like constant friction.
Here are some common signals:
These aren’t sales problems. They’re audience fit problems.
The wrong audience doesn’t mean bad people or unqualified leads. It means you’re talking to people who don’t feel the pain strongly enough—or don’t have the context to value the outcome.
Right audiences don’t need convincing.
They need clarity.
Another common mistake is defining your audience by surface traits instead of buying behavior.
“Founders.”
“Coaches.”
“Small businesses.”
Those labels are too broad to guide decisions.
What matters more is:
If your audience isn’t already feeling the cost of the problem, your offer will always feel optional.
Founders also drift into the wrong audience when they try to make an offer “more flexible.” They loosen the message to appeal to more people. But flexibility blurs relevance.
Relevance is what creates momentum.
The right audience:
And here’s the key reframe:
If selling feels heavy, it’s often because you’re carrying the urgency that the buyer doesn’t feel yet.
That’s not something you fix with better persuasion. You fix it by choosing a sharper audience—one that already wants the result you deliver.
The difference between a clear offer and a vague one has nothing to do with intelligence, experience, or effort.
It comes down to commitment.
Clear offers commit.
Vague offers hedge.
Most vague offers sound impressive at first glance. They use broad language, flexible promises, and lots of capability-based statements. They’re designed to keep options open.
And that’s exactly why they struggle to sell.
A clear offer answers three questions immediately:
A vague offer avoids answering those directly.
Instead, vague offers focus on:
For example, compare these two:
One sounds safe.
The other sounds decisive.
Buyers don’t buy effort. They buy progress.
Clear offers are clear because they:
This specificity doesn’t scare off good buyers—it attracts them. It reduces uncertainty and makes the decision feel grounded instead of risky.
Vague offers, on the other hand, create work for the buyer. They force prospects to interpret value, imagine outcomes, and connect dots. Most won’t bother.
Founders often resist clarity because it feels like narrowing. They worry:
But clarity isn’t a cage. It’s a starting point.
You’re not choosing what you’ll do forever.
You’re choosing what you’re known for now.
Clear offers also protect founders. They:
And here’s an important truth many founders miss:
Vague offers don’t feel safer to buyers.
They feel riskier.
When buyers can’t see the finish line, they hesitate. When success is undefined, trust erodes—even if they like you.
Clear offers don’t need hype. They don’t rely on pressure. They don’t need over-explaining.
They simply say, “This is who this is for. This is what it fixes. This is what life looks like after.”
And when that’s clear, selling becomes a lot lighter.
If your offer sounds impressive but still doesn’t convert, it’s usually not a demand problem or a traffic problem.
It’s a clarity problem.
Most customers will never tell you your offer is confusing.
They won’t say, “I don’t understand what you do.”
They won’t argue with you.
They won’t push back.
They’ll just pause.
They’ll say they need to think about it.
And then they’ll disappear.
This is what makes offer confusion so dangerous. It doesn’t show up as rejection. It shows up as inertia.
Founders often misdiagnose this problem. They assume:
Sometimes those things are true. But far more often, the real issue is that the buyer couldn’t clearly answer one simple question in their own head:
“What exactly am I getting—and why does it matter?”
Here are a few clear signals your offer is confusing customers:
1. Prospects ask you to explain it multiple times
If every sales call starts with clarification, your offer is doing too much work in conversation. A clear offer should do most of the heavy lifting before you speak.
2. People respond with interest, but not action
Comments like “That sounds interesting” or “That makes sense” feel positive—but they’re neutral. Interest without movement is often confusion dressed up as politeness.
3. Sales cycles drag without a clear reason
When buyers understand value, decisions speed up. When they don’t, everything slows down.
4. Your offer changes depending on who you’re talking to
If you find yourself reshaping the offer for every conversation, it’s a sign the core promise isn’t anchored yet.
Confusing offers usually suffer from one of three problems:
Founders often avoid tightening their offer because clarity feels restrictive. It can feel like you’re closing doors or limiting future options.
But the opposite is true.
Clarity doesn’t reduce opportunity.
It creates momentum.
A clear offer makes decisions easier. It lowers mental effort for the buyer. It allows the right people to self-select and move forward with confidence.
And here’s the most important reframe:
Confusion doesn’t create objections.
It prevents decisions altogether.
When you fix clarity, you’ll notice:
If your offer requires explanation to feel valuable, it’s not finished yet. And that’s not a failure—it’s simply the next layer of work.
This question shows up everywhere. Networking events. Sales calls. Family dinners. And it catches founders off guard because it feels casual—but it’s not.
“So what do you do?” is a positioning moment.
Most founders answer by listing roles, tools, or activities. That forces the listener to do the work of connecting the dots. And most people won’t.
A better approach is to answer with impact.
Instead of saying what you are, say what changes because you exist.
This does two things:
Good answers invite curiosity.
Bad answers invite silence.
You don’t need the perfect script. You need a default answer you can trust—one that works in most rooms, with most people.
When founders don’t have this, they ramble. They over-explain. They apologize for their answer. And that uncertainty is felt, even if the listener can’t name it.
Confidence doesn’t come from delivery.
It comes from clarity.
When you know exactly what problem you solve and for whom, this answer becomes simple—and repeatable.
Founders often think a one-liner is a branding exercise. It’s not. It’s a decision-making tool.
A strong one-liner forces clarity. It makes you choose:
Most one-liners fail because they try to include everything. They turn into mini paragraphs packed with features, buzzwords, or edge cases. That doesn’t create clarity—it creates friction.
Here’s the truth:
If you can’t explain your offer in one clear sentence, your buyer won’t be able to explain it to anyone else either.
A good one-liner does three jobs:
It does not:
It orients.
This is why one-liners matter so much. They sit at the top of everything:
When this sentence is fuzzy, everything downstream suffers.
The goal isn’t clever. The goal is clear.
When someone hears it, they should either say:
“That’s me.”
Or
“I know someone who needs that.”
Anything else is noise.
Most founders don’t struggle because they lack skill or experience. They struggle because they’re carrying too much context in their head.
You know the problem.
You know the nuance.
You know the edge cases.
You know how it actually works.
But your buyer doesn’t.
When someone asks, “So what do you do?” they’re not asking for a full explanation. They’re asking for orientation. They want to quickly understand:
Founders usually answer from the inside out. They start with process, features, or credentials. That’s natural—but it’s also the problem.
Clarity doesn’t come from saying more.
It comes from saying the right thing first.
Another reason this feels so hard is emotional. Your business is personal. You’ve poured time, money, and identity into it. Simplifying your message can feel risky, like you’re leaving something important out. But clarity isn’t about shrinking your value. It’s about making your value visible.
Here’s the shift that helps:
Your job is not to explain everything.
Your job is to make it easy for the right person to lean in.
Clear businesses don’t win because they’re smarter.
They win because people “get it” fast.
When your message is unclear:
And founders blame tactics. They try new funnels, better ads, more content. But the real issue sits upstream.
If you can’t explain what you do in a way that lands, everything downstream struggles.
The good news? This isn’t a talent problem. It’s a translation problem. And once you fix it, momentum gets easier across the board—sales, marketing, confidence, and growth.
As your business scales, maintaining strong partnerships requires a lot of focus. Carter recommends systematizing partnership processes and ensuring both parties are aligned on expectations and goals. Regular communication and open dialogue about progress are key to staying on track. As your business grows, revisit partnerships periodically to ensure they still serve both parties' evolving needs.
For more tips on maintaining strong partnerships, check out this article on how to maintain strong business partnerships.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to learn how to scale and sustain powerful partnerships for the long term.
In the Saturation Stage, innovation is essential. Carter Geisebush suggests using partnerships as a way to access new ideas, technologies, or market insights. Whether it’s co-branded initiatives or creating complementary products, strategic partnerships can open doors to new opportunities that you wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Look for partners who are also focused on innovation and who can bring fresh perspectives that help you stay ahead of the competition.
For more on using partnerships to innovate, read this article on how to foster innovation through partnerships.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect for support in finding partners who can help innovate your business.
Disagreements are bound to arise, but it’s how you handle them that counts. Carter stresses that early communication is key—if something’s not working, address it before it grows into a bigger problem. Be transparent, stay focused on the shared goal, and work together to find a solution that benefits both parties. Regular check-ins and setting clear expectations up front can minimize potential conflicts.
For advice on conflict resolution in partnerships, check out this article on how to manage conflict in partnerships.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect for strategies on handling conflicts and ensuring smooth partnerships.
Measuring the success of a partnership is about more than just revenue—it’s about ensuring that both parties are achieving their goals. Carter recommends defining success metrics at the outset and regularly reviewing whether those metrics are being met. Feedback loops and open communication are essential to ensure the partnership continues to benefit both sides. If the partnership isn’t yielding results, it may be time to reevaluate or pivot to something new.
For more on measuring success in partnerships, check out this article on how to measure the success of your business partnerships.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to optimize your partnership strategy and track performance effectively.
Once your partnership is proven, it’s time to scale. Carter Geisebush suggests systematizing your successful partnerships into a repeatable process. Set clear guidelines for onboarding new partners, sales enablement, and performance metrics to ensure scalability. Expanding strategically is key—don’t jump into too many partnerships at once. Instead, focus on deepening existing relationships and gradually adding new, complementary partners.
For more on scaling partnerships, check out this article on how to scale partnerships effectively.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to learn how to scale partnerships and optimize your growth strategy.
Managing multiple partnerships can get overwhelming, especially as you scale. Carter advises creating a systematic approach to ensure each partnership is delivering the expected results. Keep track of your partnerships with a CRM or project management tool that allows you to monitor progress, set reminders for follow-ups, and measure success. Clear communication and regular check-ins are essential to ensure that all parties are aligned and working towards the same goals.
For tips on how to stay organized and avoid partnership overload, check out this guide on managing partnerships.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect for support and tools to scale your partnerships without stretching yourself too thin.
In the Adoption Stage, partnerships should be designed to support your growth without overwhelming your resources. Carter suggests creating simple, flexible agreements to start—clear goals, shared responsibilities, and measurable outcomes are key. This ensures both parties are on the same page and are working toward the same objectives. As your business scales, you can formalize and deepen the partnership based on the initial success. This is about setting the stage for long-term collaboration while keeping things manageable.
Check out this article on how to structure your first partnership.
👉 Join the Founder's Best Friend Market Adoption Accelerator for strategies on how to create scalable and sustainable partnerships.
Carter Geisebush recommends starting with your Ideal Partner Profile (IPP), which defines the type of partner who will help you scale. At this stage, your goal is not just to find any partner—it’s about finding the right fit. Look for companies or individuals who share your values, understand your mission, and can add unique value to your offering. Complementary strengths are key. A good partner should fill gaps in your business, not just add resources you already have.
For more on identifying the right partners, read this guide on how to find ideal partners.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to connect with industry experts and find strategic partnerships that align with your business.
In the Discovery Stage, you’re still validating your business model, and partnerships should be part of that testing phase. Carter Geisebush stresses the importance of small-scale collaborations to ensure that both parties are aligned. Test the relationship by sharing resources, co-marketing, or collaborating on a low-risk project. If it works, then build it out further. If the partnership doesn’t feel right, that’s okay—use it as a learning opportunity to refine your approach. The key is to keep the bar low initially and ensure mutual benefits.
For more on testing partnerships effectively, read this article on validating partnerships.
👉 Join the Founder's Best Friend Ready to Sell Accelerator to learn how to validate your business and partnerships effectively.
At the Existential Stage, partnerships should be about discovery and clarity, not immediate deals. Carter Geisebush advises that before seeking formal partnerships, you must first define your unique value proposition. Know who you’re serving and what problem you’re solving. Identify potential allies who can help you test your ideas and refine your offering. Partnerships at this stage are exploratory—focus on building relationships that will help you grow and validate your offer. Once you’ve honed your value, you’ll know who to approach for more strategic alliances.
For more on when to approach potential partners, check out this guide on how to identify the right partnerships.
👉 Join the FIESTA Connect Community for guidance on forming early-stage partnerships that align with your vision.
As your business grows, you’ll need to network smarter, not harder. Michael Whitehouse advises focusing on referral networks and key connectors who can send multiple clients your way. Build a system where your best clients or partners introduce you to new opportunities, creating a snowball effect of business. To scale your efforts, this article on how to build a scalable networking strategy offers practical tips to help you grow your network without burning out.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to learn how to scale your networking strategy and grow your business.
Even if you feel like you have little to offer, Michael Whitehouse stresses that you can always add value in every conversation. Whether it’s by offering an introduction, sharing advice, or being a good listener, your generosity in networking will set you apart. As long as you’re focused on building relationships, the right opportunities will present themselves. This article on networking when you don’t have anything to offer can help you understand how to approach networking from a place of generosity and curiosity.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect for support and resources to help you navigate the early stages of networking.
In the Adoption Stage, your networking needs to be more targeted and strategic. Michael Whitehouse advises focusing on decision-makers and connectors—individuals who can help you sell your solution to the right people. Rather than just attending every event, build relationships with people who can introduce you to potential clients or partners. For more tips on strategic networking, check out this article on how to close more deals with networking.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to refine your sales strategy and attract ideal clients.
In the Discovery Stage, networking can serve as a powerful tool for refining your offer. Michael Whitehouse suggests you use your conversations to ask potential clients for feedback. Questions like, “What’s the biggest challenge you face in this area?” can help you identify whether your solution meets their needs. Networking is a chance to gather feedback that will help you adjust and improve your offer. Need more strategies on how to network for feedback? This article on how to ask for feedback effectively provides tips for getting the insights you need.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect for access to expert advice on refining your business offer.
In the Discovery Stage, networking isn’t about quick sales—it’s about building relationships and showing you can help. Michael Whitehouse emphasizes that you should always add value first. Whether it’s through introductions, advice, or simply offering insights, show that you care about others’ success. Trust is the foundation of strong business relationships. When you invest in others first, they’ll be more likely to bring opportunities your way when the time is right. To learn more about how to turn networking into business opportunities, check out this article on how to turn networking into business success.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to learn how to turn your networking efforts into real business opportunities.
Rejection is inevitable, but as Michael Whitehouse teaches, don’t take it personally. Every "no" is a learning opportunity. Instead of getting discouraged, ask for feedback on why things didn’t work out. This will help you adjust your approach, improve your pitch, and get closer to a “yes.” Rejection isn’t a reflection of your worth—it’s just part of the journey. To help you reframe rejection as an opportunity, check out this article on how to embrace rejection in business for more tips on how to stay resilient and bounce back.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to get support and advice on bouncing back from rejection.
In the Adoption Stage, it’s crucial to network with decision-makers who can help grow your business. Michael Whitehouse suggests that building relationships with these individuals isn’t about cold pitching; it’s about trust and reciprocity. Look for ways to offer value to decision-makers, whether it’s by connecting them with others, sharing resources, or offering insights. By showing you’re genuinely interested in their success, you’ll build strong, long-term relationships that open the door to new opportunities. For more tips on how to engage decision-makers effectively, check out this article on building connections with influential people.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to learn how to connect with the right people and scale your business.
Michael Whitehouse advises that a great elevator pitch isn’t about selling your product; it’s about solving a problem. When crafting your pitch, focus on how you help people and the impact of your solution. For example, instead of saying "I offer a project management tool," try "I help businesses save 20% on their operational costs with an easy-to-use project management system." This shifts the focus from the product to the value it provides. For more on how to perfect your pitch, check out this article on how to create an elevator pitch that works which can guide you through the process of making a concise, powerful pitch that connects with people instantly.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to refine your pitch and learn how to attract ideal clients.
Even if you don’t have a product to sell yet, networking can help you refine your business vision and get valuable feedback. Michael Whitehouse encourages entrepreneurs to use networking as an opportunity to talk about your mission and why you’re starting your business. Instead of focusing on selling, ask for feedback from the people you meet. Their insights will help you understand whether there’s a real market for your idea, and will also help you build a network of people who support your vision. If you’re unsure where to start, check out this guide on how to network without a product to learn how to connect and grow your network even when you’re still figuring things out.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect to refine your ideas and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs.
When you’re just starting out, networking isn’t about pushing your product—it’s about building real relationships. Michael Whitehouse emphasizes that to network effectively, focus on adding value before asking for anything in return. This means showing up with curiosity, asking questions, and looking for ways to help others. By doing so, you position yourself as someone who is trustworthy and worth connecting with. It’s also about being generous—and the best part is that your generosity will come back around when the time is right.
Need more tips on networking effectively? Check out this guide on how to network when you're new to entrepreneurship. It breaks down actionable strategies to build relationships that will help you get started.
👉 Join FIESTA Connect for expert feedback and support as you navigate networking in your early entrepreneurial stages.
Here's the deal. You can have the world’s best product, but if your customers struggle to use it or don’t feel connected to it, they’ll move on to someone who "gets them." That’s where UX saves the day.
User Experience (UX) design is about creating a customer’s path to your product or service that’s so smooth, they barely notice the path exists at all. Andy Switzky, a UX pro with 25 years under his belt, breaks it down simply. UX isn’t just about the pretty stuff on screen; it’s about solving real problems for real people. Whether you're eliminating friction points, crafting intuitive navigation, or making communications clearer, UX helps your potential customers say, "This is what I’ve been looking for!"
And the benefits don’t stop there. A great UX doesn’t just get people through the door; it keeps them engaged, happy, and loyal. Imagine reducing drop-offs during sign-ups, smoothing out the bumps in the buying process, and making customer support intuitive and efficient. That’s the recipe for winning new business and building relationships that last.
Want a deeper breakdown? The Nielsen Norman Group's guide on user experience explains why UX is about meeting customer needs without compromise.
Why This Matters for YOUR Business:
Focus on UX, and you’re not just building a product or service—you’re building a business people want to stick with.
Ready to Take Action?
Join the FIESTA Connect community and unlock practical tools, expert support, and peer collaboration to supercharge your UX and business growth. Don’t just hope for loyal customers. Build them. 🌟
