Tired of Pain Point Marketing? 3 Surprising Reasons Why You Should Like It

Last week I shared a crucial question you have to answer if you want your marketing to work:

Does your marketing solve a problem? 

If you missed this email and why this is a must-have for marketing to actually get clients, check it out here.  

Today is part two...

You see, even though many coaches, healers, and purpose-driven small business owners know they should talk about their clients’ problems in their marketing, they often resist doing it.

Why?

It usually comes down to a few key reasons:

1. It Feels Negative
Many of us purpose-driven entrepreneurs are deeply focused on helping and uplifting others.

Focusing on problems in our marketing can feel like it’s pulling people down, rather than inspiring them. We’d much rather talk about possibilities, growth and transformation than highlight pain points. 

But guess what?? They are in pain. They are experiencing a challenge in their life. They are struggling.

Because they're human.  

You aren't making the challenge worse when you talk about it.

In fact, when you don't talk about the things causing them pain, you are minimizing their experience. Or you are colluding with the original dysfunctional situation that caused their pain.

Ignoring the elephant in the room is how many people got into pain in the first place. Don't add to that for them. 

Positive toxicity is an even worse stance. 

On the other hand, talking and sharing in sensitive, kind ways about your potential clients pain is a way to normalize it so they don't feel so alone. 

It makes them feel seen, heard and understood...which is an act of generosity in this world full of craziness. 

And having their pain mirrored and understood is the very thing that gives them the hope and motivation they need to solve it. 

2. Fear of Being “Salesy”
Talking about problems in marketing can sometimes feel manipulative or overly pushy—like you’re trying to use fear to sell.

Changemakers, coaches and healers often shy away from anything that feels like a hard sell because they want to attract clients in an authentic, heart-centered way.

Quick reality check: who said selling couldn't be heart centered??

Think about the last thing that you bought that gave you joy or fixed a problem you had. 

Wasn't buying it a good experience? Weren't you so grateful for it coming into your life? 

In myself and in many small business owners, this fear of being "salesy" is really a fear of rejection.

Anyone else careen from "What if no one wants to work with me?" to "What if they think badly of me?" when you sit down to work on your marketing??

Solving this was huge for my business growth. 

Because the truth is that If you can't sell, you can't serve.

If you want to attract clients in an authentic way, talk to them about real things in your marketing.

Like the things you see them struggling with. Share why that's happening for them and offer a way to solve it by working with you. 

Sell to them in a heart centered way by being kind and caring about their issues and realistic about how to solve them and you'll never lack for clients. 

3. It's Uncomfortable
Many entrepreneurs, especially those of us in personal development fields, want to see our clients as empowered, capable and full of potential.

Focusing on their problems might feel like reducing them to their struggles, which conflicts with our desire to see the best in everyone.

Simply put, you don’t want to define potential clients by their struggles.

Plus, talking about tough issues—whether it’s burnout, lack of confidence, or feeling stuck—can feel uncomfortable. It’s often easier to focus on the positive outcomes than to dig into the harder aspects of what your potential clients are going through.

While noble to focus on where someone can go, it's no fun to be in a challenging situation and have someone telling you that the weather is just dandy over "there."

You aren't defining someone by their challenges when your marketing speaks about their problems, you are meeting them where they are.

Which from a psychological point of view is the first step in their ability to take their next step toward fixing it. 

Whether they work with you or not, you've done them a service by naming where they are so they can stop any denial they've been holding onto and can begin to move toward where they want to go.

So back to you, my friend.

Do you see yourself in one of these reasons you aren't talking about your potential clients pain in their marketing? 

Shifting out of these so you can easily address pain points in your marketing is important. 

Now I'm not advocating for over the top, hypey sharing of pain either. It's a fine line to be real and sensitive to their challenges vs. needlessly stirring people up.

When you can walk this line, your marketing will start working.

Which ironically is exactly how you'll help these folks move from their pain and challenges into their dreams and desires. 

Next up, I'll share the 5 simple steps it takes to figure out WHAT problems you solve as that can be somewhat hard to do.