In this edition of What Went Wrong, I got a chance to explore mistakes, missteps, and the humbling reality that even seasoned pros can land flat on their face with repeat guest Robin Waite. This time, he didn’t come with a polished pitch or a shiny success story. He brought a cautionary tale about Facebook ads, cold leads, and a £9,000 lesson in what happens when you trust the algorithm more than your instincts.

Even Experts Trip Up Robin isn’t new to marketing—he ran an agency for 12 years. But when it came to Facebook ads for his own coaching business, he got caught in the allure of automation and scale. What started strong eventually crashed, all because the warm audience he’d been nurturing for years dried up.

Your Audience Isn’t Infinite Facebook ads worked—until they didn’t. The moment his familiar, friendly audience was exhausted, the leads stopped flowing. Robin kept the campaign running for three more months, hoping it would fix itself. It didn’t. Turns out, if you don’t refill your marketing funnel, it doesn’t matter how clever your copy or shiny your creative.

Know Enough to Stay Dangerous Robin outsourced the nitty-gritty to so-called ad experts, trusting they’d fix the problem. But no one could explain what was going wrong. That blind spot cost him. The lesson? You don’t need to be the expert, but you need to know enough to ask the right questions.

When in Doubt, Go Back to What Works With his budget blown and confidence shaken, Robin went back to basics—his podcast, speaking gigs, and book. Instead of chasing cold leads, he rebuilt slowly by focusing on brand-building and trust, knowing that meaningful connections take time.

Marketing is Just One Big Science Fair Like any good experiment, sometimes things blow up. And that’s okay. Robin reminded us that failure is part of the formula—especially in marketing. The trick is not to avoid mistakes, but to make better ones next time.

Takeaways for Business Owners

• Warm audiences are wonderful—but they won’t last forever. Always be adding new people to the top of your funnel.
• Facebook ads can be powerful—but only if you understand the mechanics. Don’t hand over your entire budget without oversight.
• Track what’s working, and don’t be afraid to pivot. If your gut says something’s off, it probably is.
• When the fancy stuff fails, go back to your roots. Relationships, conversations, and trust still matter most.

And maybe most important of all: Marketing isn’t magic. It’s messy, imperfect, and beautifully human—just like us.

Robin is the founder of Fearless Business, a Business Accelerator for Coaches, Consultants and Freelancers.

Having spent 12 year’s running a digital marketing business, Robin pivoted in 2016 to focus on the part of his business he liked the best; training business owners how to be better in business. In 2016 Robin founded Fearless Business, a unique Business Growth Accelerator for Coaches, Consultants and Freelancers so help free them from the sales cycle of doom!

LEARN MORE ABOUT ROBIN

And be sure to look for Robin's new book THE FEARLESS BUSINESS OWNER'S BLUEPRINT