Have you ever wondered why some marketing campaigns capture attention but fail to convert that interest into sales or lasting relationships?

In this episode of Sequence Over Strategy, I emphasize the pivotal role of engagement strategies in effective marketing.

I discuss how businesses often excel at creating awareness but falter when it comes to engaging their audience, which is essential for converting interest into action. I also introduce my framework that prioritizes a clear marketing sequence: awareness, engagement, and then sales, stressing that each stage is interconnected.

Have you ever considered the role of trust transfer in borrowing audiences for relationship marketing? In this episode of Sequence Over Strategy, Michelle Warner explores how establishing trust through collaboration can greatly enhance an individual's impact on new audiences. The key to success lies in whether the host understands and values the guest's expertise, facilitating a smooth trust transfer between the guest and the audience.

Through real-life examples, Michelle contrasts successful collaborations, where the host is well-informed and invested, with less effective partnerships based on transactional motives. She highlights how to vet opportunities by assessing the potential for trust transfer and explains why working with collaboration-minded partners can lead to long-term value, even when the immediate audience fit may not be perfect.

Many entrepreneurs find themselves asking, “Is my marketing working?” It’s a question I address in this episode of Sequence Over Strategy. Rather than trying to figure out if a strategy is failing or not, I emphasize the importance of sequence—the order in which marketing steps are implemented.

I'll explain how breaking marketing down into three steps—awareness, engagement, and sales—can provide a clear framework for diagnosing issues. Often, the problem lies not in your ability to sell, but in failing to target the right people in the awareness stage. If the wrong audience reaches your engagement stage, sales won’t follow, no matter how polished your approach is.

By focusing on the sequence of actions, you can diagnose problems and determine whether adjustments in one step might improve the entire process. Instead of blindly tweaking your sales tactics, step back and ask: Am I engaging the right audience from the start?

If...

Is your business missing the mark by not speaking to customers at the right level of understanding? Are you losing customers because your messaging is either too advanced or too basic for where they are?

In this episode of Sequence Over Strategy, I unpack the crucial concept of customer maturity and how it directly impacts your marketing success. I dive into why understanding exactly what your customers know and care about is the key to designing offers that truly resonate.

You'll learn what customer maturity is and what it means for you and your business. You will also hear about how aligning your marketing, messaging, and product strategy with your audience’s maturity level can bridge the gap between what you offer and what your customers actually need.

If you're ready to discover more about customer maturity and business model alignment and how you can make your model work, doors are open now for my Map Your Model Bootcamp right here and I'd love to...

Is your business struggling with aligning its advanced products with an evolving customer base?

In this episode of Sequence Over Strategy, I explore how a mismatch between your product sophistication and customer needs can lead to frustration and ineffective marketing. Learn how to address the common issue of feeling bored or frustrated with your clients by realigning your product, customer, and marketing strategies.

Let’s discover how to navigate these shifts smoothly to keep your business model in harmony and set yourself up for continued success!

If you're ready to discover more about business model alignment and how you can make your model work, learn more (and jump on the wait list) for my Map Your Model Bootcamp right here.

Do you struggle to decide your marketing strategy? Do you know if you want to reach as many people as possible or just your target audience?

In this episode I discuss a shift I'm making in my own marketing strategy. Previously focused on one-on-one work and relationship marketing, I'm now transitioning to teaching more bootcamps, which requires a higher volume of leads. This shift means I'm going to need to balance my marketing strategies, incorporating more traffic marketing alongside relationship marketing to align with her new product mix.

I explain the difference between relationship marketing (deep, authentic connections) and traffic marketing (mass outreach) and stress the importance of aligning marketing strategies with your business model.

I also highlight an opportunity for you to learn different marketing strategies and think through which might meet your own traffic and relationship marketing mix: Michelle Mazur’s...

What if the key to successful relationship marketing isn't about trading audiences, but about providing value that makes others look better in front of their audience? In this episode of "Sequence Over Strategy," Michelle Warner challenges the common misconception that audience size determines fair exchange when borrowing audiences. By reframing the value exchange as a way to help others achieve better results, Michelle shares examples from her own business to illustrate how focusing on value can lead to mutually beneficial relationships.

What stage of small business growth are you currently in, and are you prioritizing the right actions for that stage? In this episode of "Sequence Over Strategy," Michelle Warner discusses the importance of understanding and aligning with the five stages of small business growth, with a special look at what happens when you prematurely outsource or automate your processes. From the importance of validating your business idea to finding product-market-founder fit and building a solid foundation, Michelle provides invaluable insights to help you steer your business in the right direction and avoid the pitfalls that entrepreneurs often fall into.

They say you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. What happens when you apply that line of thought to your business? It’s your network that determines your business’s worth. In this episode of Sequence Over Strategy, Michelle Warner discusses how to create and nurture strong networks, and how specificity, involvement, and consistent communication will build deeper connections with the right people.

If you know you’re going to get new business after a keynote or other speaking event, should you also be getting paid for it? In this episode of Sequence Over Strategy, I take this question head on, and immediately starts digging down into what we really need to answer instead.

Using listener Jay Acunzo's question as a case study, Michelle emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between when speaking serves as a marketing tool versus a paid product, and shares the tools you need to do it for your own work.