Most solopreneurs I work with don’t have a sales problem.
They have a sequencing problem.
If your marketing isn’t converting, it’s likely not because your offer isn’t good, or your price is too high, or you need to post more often. More often than not, the issue is that your message is showing up at the wrong time or skipping the part of the journey that matters most.
Let me explain.
The Difference Between Marketing and Sales (And Why It Matters)
Most people treat marketing and sales as the same thing. But they serve different roles at different points in the buyer journey.
- Marketing is the first 75% of the journey. It’s where trust is built. It’s where the buyer feels seen.
- Sales is the final 25%. It’s where you present your offer clearly and invite a decision.
When we collapse these two, or jump to sales too early, the buyer feels pressured. They don’t yet have the context to understand your solution, let alone invest in it. Instead of leaning in, they back away.
But when these phases are respected and sequenced intentionally, selling becomes almost effortless. You’re no longer trying to persuade. You’re simply guiding.
Picture This: The Spotlight on the Bridge
A helpful way to visualise this is to imagine the buyer’s journey as a bridge.
They start on one side, unsure. Curious, maybe. Looking for something, even if they can’t name it yet.
Your job is to light their way across.
Picture a spotlight shining just ahead of them as they walk. At first, the light is on their world, their frustrations, their questions, and their hopes. Your messaging meets them there.
As they move forward, the spotlight gradually shifts. Eventually, it begins to illuminate your offer – your process, your results, your invitation.
But if you shine the light too far ahead too soon, they get lost in the dark. Or they turn around altogether.
Most people skip that first 75% of the journey. The part where it’s all about the buyer. The part that builds resonance.
That’s the part that matters most.
Start With Their Story, Not Yours
Marketing is not about you, at least not at the start.
Early on, your job is to reflect the inner world of your buyer, not in a performative way, and not by mimicking surface-level pain points, but by speaking directly to their lived experience.
What are they struggling with? What do they quietly want more of? What feels overwhelming, confusing, or just out of reach?
When your message lives in their world first, it earns the right to later introduce yours.
Let Marketing Do the Heavy Lifting
If you’re finding sales draining or awkward, it’s likely because your marketing hasn’t done enough of the emotional labour upfront.
Good marketing builds belief. It builds trust. It creates the kind of emotional readiness that makes a sales page feel like a confirmation, not a confrontation.
This doesn’t mean creating more content. It means creating the right kind, the kind that meets the buyer where they are and gently helps them see a new possibility.
Selling, when done well, is simply a continuation of a conversation that’s already built momentum.
Use the 75/25 Rule
A practical rule I often share with clients:
Spend 75% of your energy on marketing, and 25% on sales.
That means most of your communication should be focused on the buyer – their needs, fears, desires, and worldview. Only in the final stretch should the spotlight fully turn to your product or service.
Get this ratio right, and resistance drops dramatically. The buyer already feels seen. They’re no longer evaluating your offer from a place of scepticism, they’re exploring it from a place of readiness.
Marketing as Guidance, Not Persuasion
The best marketing doesn’t try to convince.
It simply guides.
Your job isn’t to push someone across the bridge. It’s to shine the light clearly, one step ahead. To help them see their current reality, then gently point toward what’s possible.
When you do that well, selling isn’t something you have to “get good at.” It’s something that happens naturally, through relationship and resonance.
Final Thought: Sequence Creates Safety
We talk a lot about clarity in business, but timing is just as important.
When you meet the buyer too early with your offer, it creates confusion or pressure.
When you wait too long, the momentum may fade.
But when your messaging is paced with their journey, it creates spaciousness and safety.
That’s what real resonance looks like.
And that’s what turns marketing into something that feels both effective and easy.
