When you’re an entrepreneur, you spend most of your day communicating. Whether it’s talking with your team or trying to convince the masses to buy what you’re selling, good communication is essential to a successful business. Whether by text, email, Slack or in person, a good part of your day is spent communicating. But, there are 3 common pitfalls that many entrepreneurs fall into without even knowing.

They Talk About Themselves & Their Story

Maybe your story is a big part of your brand, but just telling your story over and over isn’t the way to go. When you communicate, you need to relate it to your listener. Humans are essentially self-centred. They want to know what someone can do for them.

Ask yourself these questions. What does your target audience want? What can you do for them? How can I use my experience to sell my products or services by giving them what they desire instead of telling them what they need?

Show them the benefits of what you offer, not just the features.

They Don’t Know Their Audience

Know your demographic. If your target audience is middle-aged working women, where do they work? At-home or in an office? Kids or no kids? What’s their buying motivation?

You can’t appeal to someone if you don’t know these details. So, spend some time creating an avatar of your typical customer. Put yourselves in their shoes. What are their worries and their wants? Fleshing out these details will help you create compelling content that engages your audience.

They Don’t Include A Call to Action

So, you’ve done your research. You know how your target audience thinks and acts. You wrote some compelling content and poked at your target audience’s pain points. But, then you fail to deliver a call to action. And, suddenly all the rapport you’ve built with your audience goes down the drain.

Even if it’s a small step like commenting on your post, a call to action builds on the rapport you’ve established. The call to action doesn’t even have to be an action. It can be a change in the customer’s thought processes. But you need to make it crystal clear what you want them to think. Don’t leave them to make their own conclusions. The call to action should be clear and simple. There should be no doubt in the reader’s mind what you want them to think or do.

For more on how I can help you cut through the chaos in order to provide the clarity that you need to lead your businesses and enjoy an even better life, just send me a note here on Linkedin and we’ll have a chat.

This article was written based on Episode 8 of the Simplifying Entrepreneurship Podcast where I interviewed Jenny Locklin to discuss the three biggest mistakes. Just click the link above if you’d like to hear the whole podcast or you can watch it below.