Have you ever wondered why you have to deal with so many time wasters?  I was thinking about this question earlier, after hearing the owner of a small business complaining that all he seems to get these days, are enquiries from people who are wasting his time.

Marketing and fishing

The thing is, marketing is a bit like fishing.  When an angler wants to catch a certain type of fish, she knows she needs to do 2 things.

• First off, she needs to find the correct spot (where that particular kind of fish is.)
• Then, she needs to use the correct bait.

If she’s in the right place, with the right bait, she stands a good chance of catching the fish she wants. However, if she uses the wrong bait for that type of fish or she uses the correct bait, but is fishing in the wrong place, she is going to attract either the wrong kind of fish or no fish at all!

If you find yourself dealing with a lot of time wasters, it’s probable that you are using the wrong marketing message (bait) or that you are using the correct message, but delivering it to the wrong people. Yes, there are many other possibilities, but I would always check those 2 first.