What to do when you aren't making enough sales in your business
Oct 22, 2026
If you're doing all the marketing things but still not making the money you want in your business, this conversation is for you.
You're posting on Instagram, creating Reels, sending emails, attending networking events and showing up consistently. You're doing everything you're supposed to be doing to grow your business, but the sales aren't necessarily following.
Sound familiar?
Here's something I've learned after 11 years of entrepreneurship and coaching hundreds of women: a lot of business owners who think they have a sales problem actually have a selling problem.
There's a difference, and it's an important one.
In a recent session at The Boardroom, I talked about two things I believe every small business owner needs to get better at if they want to make more money: becoming easier to buy from and understanding what selling actually looks like.
Because being busy marketing your business isn't the same thing as actively selling your services.
1. Make Yourself Easier to Buy From
I want you to ask yourself a question: How easy are you to choose?
Not how talented you are, how qualified you are or how much you care about your clients. Those things matter, of course, but they don't automatically make someone want to work with you.
You can be incredibly good at what you do and still have someone visit your website, scroll through your Instagram or meet you at an event without understanding why they should choose you over someone else.
That's where positioning comes in.
Most of us have been taught to define our ideal customer by identifying who we help, what problem we solve and what outcome we create. That's a good starting point, but I believe it's the bare minimum.
If you want people to recognize that your business is the right fit for them, you need to understand who they are on a deeper level.
There are four things I want you to consider.
Values: What Actually Matters to Your Customer?
Two people can want the exact same outcome and choose completely different businesses to help them achieve it.
One person might value speed, while another values craftsmanship. One wants prestige, while another wants simplicity. One entrepreneur wants to grow at all costs, while another wants to build a successful business without sacrificing her entire life.
Same general goal, completely different priorities.
Your job is to understand what your customer values and communicate that your approach aligns with those values.
Because people aren't just asking whether you can do the job. They're also wondering whether the way you do it feels right for them.
Identity: Who Does Your Customer Believe She Is?
This is one I think gets overlooked all the time.
How does your ideal customer describe herself? Who does she believe she is, and who does she want to become?
I'll use my own business as an example.
I work with women who are mothers and run businesses. Technically, I could call them "mompreneurs," but I would rather launch myself directly into the sun than use that word.
It's not how I see myself, and it's not how the women I want to work with typically see themselves either.
They're ambitious women building serious businesses. They care about growth, making money and achieving big things. They also happen to be raising children.
That distinction matters.
When someone sees herself reflected in your messaging, your offers and your brand, she starts to recognize that what you're offering is meant for someone like her.
And that makes choosing you a whole lot easier.
Season: Why Does Your Customer Need You Right Now?
The same person can have completely different priorities depending on what's happening in her life.
Maybe her kids have just started school and she finally has more capacity to grow her business. Maybe she's just had a baby and has significantly less time. Maybe she's navigating a divorce, becoming an empty nester or entering a new stage of life.
These circumstances influence what someone needs and, more importantly, when they're ready to do something about it.
Problems tell you what someone needs. Their season tells you why they need it now.
Someone might struggle with the same problem for years without taking action. Then something changes, the problem becomes more frustrating or the opportunity becomes more important, and suddenly finding a solution moves to the top of the priority list.
Understanding that timing can make your marketing significantly more relevant.
Pain Points: What Is Your Customer Actually Experiencing?
Here's where I want you to get really specific.
Saying your ideal customer "needs more clients" isn't particularly useful. What does needing more clients actually look like in her everyday life?
Is she checking her inbox every morning hoping an inquiry has come in? Is she posting constantly and hearing crickets? Does she have no idea where next month's revenue is coming from?
Maybe she's taking every client she can get because she's afraid to turn anyone away. Or maybe she's fully booked but somehow still isn't making enough money.
Those are the experiences you need to understand.
Generic problems create generic marketing. When you can speak directly to what someone is going through, your message becomes much more powerful.
You want someone reading your content and thinking, How does she know that's exactly what I'm dealing with?
And here's the important part: you don't necessarily need to have all four of these areas perfectly figured out. Start by getting really clear on at least two.
Think about one specific person you'd genuinely love to work with. What does she value? How does she identify? What season is she in? What is she completely sick of dealing with?
Then ask yourself why that person would choose you.
You don't have to be the only person offering what you offer. There are plenty of photographers, coaches, designers, consultants and service providers out there.
You don't need to be the only choice. You need to be the obvious choice for the right person.
2. Understand the Difference Between Marketing and Selling
Now that we've talked about becoming easier to choose, let's talk about something that makes a lot of business owners uncomfortable.
Actually selling.
Think about the last week in your business. How much time did you spend marketing, and how much time did you spend selling?
Because those are two very different activities.
Posting on Instagram, recording podcast episodes, updating your website, writing newsletters and attending networking events are all marketing activities. They're important, but they're not necessarily sales activities.
Following up with someone who expressed interest, sending a proposal, asking for a referral, inviting someone to work with you or asking someone to make a decision? That's selling.
Marketing creates awareness. Sales asks for a decision.
You need both, but I see so many entrepreneurs spending enormous amounts of time marketing and very little time actually giving people an opportunity to buy.
Your marketing opens the door. At some point, you have to let people walk through it.
Pay Attention to the People Already Raising Their Hands
Before you go looking for another 500 strangers on the internet, I want you to look at the people who are already in your world.
Someone replies to your Instagram Story. Someone asks a question about your services. A past client mentions something they're struggling with. Someone responds to your newsletter or fills out a form on your website.
These moments can be signals that someone might need your help.
Now, not every comment or interaction is a buying signal. Someone commenting "Love this!" on your latest post is lovely, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're interested in working with you.
Someone saying, "This is exactly what I'm struggling with right now," is a different conversation.
And that's where I see so many business owners miss opportunities.
Someone expresses a genuine need, and instead of exploring it, we celebrate the engagement and move on to creating our next piece of content.
What if, instead, you started a conversation?
Selling Doesn't Have to Feel Sleazy
I think one of the reasons so many women feel uncomfortable selling is that we associate it with those awful scripted messages that show up in our inboxes.
You know the ones. The fake compliments, the forced friendliness and the pitch you can see coming from a mile away.
Nobody wants to be that person.
But the problem isn't starting a conversation. The problem is starting a conversation that isn't genuine.
Good sales conversations begin with curiosity.
If someone tells you they're struggling with something, you can ask what's going on, what they've tried so far or what they'd like to change.
You're not trying to convince them they have a problem. You're trying to understand whether there's a problem you can genuinely help them solve.
And sometimes, the answer will be no.
I've had conversations with business owners where I've realized I'm not the right person to help them. When that happens, I'm happy to point them toward someone who might be a better fit.
That's still a good sales conversation.
Good selling creates clarity, not pressure.
Your job isn't to force someone into saying yes. It's to figure out whether working together makes sense.
You Have to Make the Invitation
This is the part I see women skip constantly.
You have the conversation. Someone tells you what they're struggling with. You know you can help, and they're clearly interested.
And then you end the conversation without ever offering the next step.
You don't need to launch into a complicated pitch. You can simply ask whether they'd like to hear how you could help, whether sending more information would be useful or whether they'd like to book a call.
That's it.
You aren't pressuring someone into making a decision. You're giving them the opportunity to make one.
People can't take the next step with you if you've never made that step clear.
And Yes, You Need to Follow Up
I am willing to bet there's money sitting in your follow-ups right now.
Old inquiries, proposals you've sent, previous customers, warm conversations and people who told you they weren't ready yet.
How many of those conversations have you left unfinished because you didn't want to bother someone?
Here's the thing. If someone has told you no, respect that. No means no.
But if they haven't said no, there are plenty of reasons they might not have responded. Maybe they're busy, your email got buried or they intended to reply and life got in the way.
Sometimes people are interested but need another conversation. And sometimes, if we're being honest, we get uncomfortable and disappear.
Following up isn't refusing to accept a no. It's completing a conversation.
I've actually set myself a goal of collecting 31 no's in October. I'm pursuing some big things in my business right now, from sales opportunities to partnerships and event speakers, and I'm willing to ask.
Because you can't get a yes if you're never willing to risk hearing no.
3. Stop Measuring Sales Effort by How Busy You Feel
One thing I hear all the time from business owners is that they're trying really hard to get clients.
And my response is usually some version of: Show me.
Who have you identified as a potential customer? Who have you spoken to? Who have you invited to work with you? Who have you followed up with?
Because trying is a feeling. Trying needs evidence.
You can spend ten hours creating a content plan, redesign your website, film a dozen Reels and write endless newsletters. You can finish the week completely exhausted and still have done very little actual selling.
Being tired isn't a particularly useful sales metric.
Instead, I want you to start building a consistent sales rhythm.
A Simple Sales Rhythm for Service-Based Businesses
There are five steps I want you to think about:
- Attract: Use your marketing to reach the right people.
- Identify: Pay attention to people showing signs of interest or need.
- Converse: Start genuine conversations to understand their situation.
- Invite: Offer a clear next step when there's a good fit.
- Follow up: Revisit conversations that haven't reached a decision.
The exact numbers will look different depending on your business. Someone selling a $10,000 service will have a very different sales process from someone selling $50 products.
There's no magic number of conversations or invitations that guarantees a sale, but I do want you to have numbers you're paying attention to.
How many meaningful conversations are you starting each week? How many people are you inviting to work with you? How many potential customers are waiting for a follow-up?
Those activities tell you much more about your selling efforts than how many hours you spent making content.
Your Next Sale Might Be Closer Than You Think
Before you move on with your day, I want you to do something.
Think of three specific people you could contact about your business.
Not a general audience or a list of strangers you'd like to reach someday. Three actual people who already know you, have expressed interest in what you do or have mentioned a problem you might be able to solve.
Maybe it's someone who asked about your services a few months ago. Maybe it's a past client or someone you met at an event. Maybe it's a conversation you've been meaning to follow up on.
Start there.
You don't need to become pushier, send a hundred cold DMs or turn into someone you don't like to make more money.
You need to understand why the right customer would choose you, pay attention when people show interest and become more comfortable making the invitation.
You can keep creating content, building your audience and doing all the marketing things. But don't forget that at some point, you have to actually sell.
Your next sale might be a whole lot closer than you think.
Now go follow up with somebody. Seriously.
And then go run your business like the CEO you are.
