From Crickets to Clients: The First 5 Shifts to Fix Your Marketing Fast

You don’t need more marketing hacks—you need marketing with meaning.

Let's jump into the 5 shifts that will elevate your marketing and lead to more sales.

01 The Secret To Great Marketing Is Intentionality.

It's not the tools, platform, or tech that results in ROI, it's the intention behind all those things. That's why a zoom webinar can lead to clients while a super polished and edited script with all the modern bells and whistles can be pure entertainment (likes and no sales). Where was the focus? It might have been on creating a great time, and to that end, it was a success.

Here's a trap I know from experience (I have the battle scars to prove it) - creating content that feels good and that we're proud to share, but that doesn't convert because it wasn't designed to move someone forward. It’s like reading a beautiful book that ends with no invitation—no action, no direction, just ideas left hanging in the air. The author didn't lead you to do anything. They merely told you some thought-provoking things and left you to figure out what you'd do with that information.

What is the intention?

Start your week by asking, “What do I want my audience to do?” Then work backwards. --PLAN.

02 Put On Your CEO Brain

Most of us desire to make an impact, to lead our work with purpose, and this is very important. Mission and vision are the drivers that will keep pushing us to take the next step when we truly believe we've hit the end of the road and motivation is nowhere in sight. So, I don't want to diminish their importance with my next short and real story.

I spent days thinking about where I had gone wrong. Was it the choice of what to do? Was it the way I did it? Was there no real value in what I was doing? And the answer was delivered to me through an interview I watched. These were the resounding and profound words that changed everything "Before you can make a significant impact, you must first create something of significance."

Here's the trap, we're so filled with purpose that all we're doing is spreading philanthropic energy (charity work vibes) with our marketing. This is for Christian entrepreneurs: even in God’s economy, value precedes generosity. The worker is worthy of his wages (1 Timothy 5 : 18) —so create the work, earn the reward, and then fund the philantropy.

What are your duties as CEO?

Creating a path to the money. "Sales are the lifeblood of a business."

03 The Mechanics Of Marketing Begin With Belief

The single most powerful persuasion tool is belief. Say what you believe, because the people who align with your mission, vision, and values will feel seen and stirred. To call out your tribe, communicate what you believe. That's how your people will find you.

This doesn't have to be deep; it just has to be your viewpoint on the industry, niche, and transformation promise you're selling. There's a reason why you thought you could make this business a success. What was that belief?Why do you think your approach works? People want to follow your lead --so lead.

There's a trap in marketing to say what we think we should say (all the 100% generated AI marketing content -- no judgement-- it's a useful tool) and become generic. People can feel the lack of conviction even if it's packaged beautifully.

What is the difference that you bring? And why?

Craft your Unique Selling Point/s (USP) and communicate them over and over again.

04 The Signature of Marketing Is TESTING.

Build it in the air! Marketing is always evolving. It's never done, and there is no right or wrong answer. It's a continuum - what's not working -- what's working a little -- what working better than a litte ... Always be testing.

We all begin with a spark of marketing creative ideas that are most probably not the most effective. We do better, by testing, failing, and learning. I'll paraphrase Elon Musk perfectly here "Entrepreneurship isn’t about being right—it’s about being less wrong, faster."

Until the rubber meets the road, there's nothing of value. Test quickly and often. I was reminded of Ried Hoffman's famous quote, which can be applied to marketing, "If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late."

Here's the trap, falling into a "this is the way I do it" mentality which has a cousin called "this is not working." But have you tried it another way? Change the messaging? Try a different CTA? Change the copy? Try a different image?

The great advantage of our time is the ability to test quickly. Talk to your AI! Ask for variations of what you've created. Test and learn. And don't stop testing and learning.

05 Never Over-Promise

Be honest about where you are. Managing expectations is the key to happy clients. People can forgive just about any mishap if it's handled openly. If you are still in the testing phase of your product or service, let your prospective clients know. If they are the founding members of a program, let them know. And then compensate them for taking a chance on you. We all start somewhere.

There's a trap to think that we need to bring "big iconic business energy" to make our marketing impressive and effective, and it's actually the opposite. People are tired of big, faceless corporations, where you're just 1 insignificant blip in a sea of customers.

Lean into authentic marketing. Be transparent. See your clients and let them see you.

People buy from people they know, like, and trust.

Build relationships.

I truly belive in the words of Oprah Winfrey, "when we know better we do better"

I hope my learnings provide your journey with less uneccessary bumps in your journey of buliding a profitable purpose driven business.

Blessings!

I'm Priscilla, a business communications strategist that helps female entrepreneurs stand out in a busy and chaotic marketplace.

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