In a recent LinkedIn post, Sara Simmonds addresses a common yet often overlooked challenge faced by founders: the disconnect between doing good work and attracting the right buyers. Simmonds highlights that even with a strong mission and quality offerings, businesses can struggle to reach their target audience, a situation she describes as deeply detrimental.
Simmonds notes the frustration founders experience when their efforts and the quality of their work don’t translate into market success. She states:
“The work your doing is good. The mission you’re building is real. Yet somehow the right buyers are still not finding what you’re offering, and it’s destroying your business.”
The core issue, according to Simmonds, is not a lack of quality or effort, but a fundamental problem with how a business is presenting itself to the market. She identifies this as a ‘positioning problem’.
Understanding the Positioning Problem
Sara Simmonds argues that a ‘positioning problem’ is the silent killer of many promising ventures. This occurs when a business’s message, branding, or overall market approach fails to resonate with or even reach the intended customer base. As Simmonds explains:
“I have a name for this. It’s a positioning problem and it’s faster to fix than most people expect.”
This suggests that while the problem can be significant, it is often addressable with the right strategy. Simmonds emphasizes that founders often overlook this aspect because they are so focused on the product or service itself, assuming that its inherent value will be enough to attract customers.
Strategies for Closing the Positioning Gap
Simmonds recently hosted a masterclass designed to help founders identify and rectify these positioning gaps. She offered attendees access to her ‘Buyer Psychology System’, a framework intended to improve market penetration. The session also included a live Q&A to address specific founder challenges.
The effectiveness of Simmonds’s approach is underscored by testimonials from clients who have seen significant results. She shared:
“Lauren came in feeling invisible and left with the framework behind a 200K sold out launch. Karie went from competing with 50+ brands to becoming THE choice in her niche in <30 days.”
These examples illustrate the transformative impact that correctly addressing positioning can have, moving businesses from obscurity to market leadership. Simmonds’s insights suggest that founders who are confident in their product but struggling with market reception should critically examine their positioning strategies.
The Importance of Targeted Messaging
In Simmonds’s view, the key lies in understanding the buyer’s psychology and aligning the business’s communication to meet those needs and perceptions. A strong positioning strategy ensures that the business doesn’t just offer a good product, but that it is perceived as the *right* solution by the *right* audience. This targeted approach, she implies, is crucial for sustainable growth and avoiding the common pitfalls that plague early-stage companies.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Sara Simmonds on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on March 20, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →