Complet Newbie, Where do I start learning Marketing and Sales?

Think about this. If you have zero marketing experience, why would anyone hire you or your consulting business?

The best way to learn is to do. First, take some time to study the many different business models discussed on this and other marketing platforms until you find one that resonates with you. Then get started on the basics, learning more as you go along.

You'll make mistakes, probably change direction a few times, and, if you have the aptitude and desire, eventually hit upon a business you can make work.

When you've done that for a while, if you still want to, you might consider offering advice to other would-be businesses.

Hi, Im 50+ years old and have 30+ years experience in sales and marketing and want to start consulting...

WHO has a better chance of success?

Look up the term "Consulting" and the definition is: "engaged in the business of giving expert advice to people working in a professional or technical field." - oxford languages - via a Google search.

So where do you start? by gaining experience. I would suggest at the expense of yourself to start. How many followers on Insta do you have? How many TicToc followers do you have? How many Twitter followers?

Success in todays world revolves around those numbers. THAT is proof of experience. THAT is where you start.

Truth be told, if you build up those platforms you should then be able to monetize those platforms and the idea of "Consulting" would could and should probably fall to the wayside. You will be to busy building on YOU and your BRAND.

Look out in the market place today.. and consultants generally - not all - have a tendency of being those that have been laid off or burned out or are past their prime. Consulting in todays market place is a place of last resort. It does work for some... but most struggle. It has a lot to do with their last position held prior to being a consultant... your 19 and probably have not worked for a fortune 500 - so your last position, is not going to help.

Stop thinking about helping others...and start thinking about helping yourself. Once you have something to offer through personal experience THEN and only THEN should you think about offering others assistance.

Best of luck, and I hope that Helps!

Work for a business that does what you want to do. A smaller business--larger ones will have compartmentalized functions so much you'll get stuck in the weeds and not see enough of the big picture.

How do they get customers?

What do their customers buy?

How do they fulfill those orders?

What promise is made, implicitly or explicitly, that the customer buys based upon?

You don't need a book or a course, even mine. You do need information.

There are no magic bullets.

Making sales is not the same thing as fulfilling orders.

As a consultant, what problems will you solve? Whatever value and meaning you have put on those problems, always remember that your customers will value them differently and ascribe different meaning to them than you do. You are not your customer. It may take years and thousands of repetitions for that statement to sink in.

I know many people who started businesses at a young age. I started my first copywriting business in my early 20s.

But it was specific. I solved a specific problem for a specific kind of customer. I was not trying to be everything to everyone.

I recommend you niche down: choose a clear type of customer to serve, and find out from them what problems you could solve that THEY value--not you.

Then, as in all businesses, you need two things. Traffic, for eyeballs on your offer, and Conversion, to turn some of those eyeballs into customers.

Hanging out your "I'm open for business" sign will mean very little. Doing so does not mean traffic will start to see your offer. You will have to get out there and do the work of meeting potential clients. You will have to sell them. They will have to buy. And then you will have to deliver the results you promised.

Consulting sounds fun. It is not easy. I run a tech consulting business and even after two decades of experience, at startup I still had the same problems of finding customers and the reasons they would buy.

Coursera has some good programs to learn foundational skills.