Let me paint you a picture that might feel familiar…
You’ve got an amazing solution. Your offer genuinely changes lives. You know exactly how to fix your ideal client’s problems. Yet when you present your solution – even to people who openly admit they need it – they don’t buy.
The logical response? Push harder. Show them more benefits. Explain the solution better. Right?
Wrong.
Here’s what most marketers (and their frustrated clients) miss: People don’t resist solutions because the solutions are bad. They resist because they haven’t become the person who takes action on their problems.
I see this pattern everywhere. A coach or consultant comes to me frustrated:
So what do they do?
They double down on explaining their solution. They hire copywriters to articulate it better. They build fancy funnels. They push harder.
And their prospects push back even harder.
Think about your own life for a moment. I guarantee you have at least one problem right now that illustrates exactly what I’m talking about.
Think about waking up in the morning with back pain for the 60th day in a row.
You know exactly what would help – maybe it’s physical therapy, maybe it’s strength training, maybe it’s fixing your posture. You’ve probably even Googled solutions. Your Facebook feed is full of ads for chiropractors, massage therapists, and acupuncturists.
But you’re not doing any of it.
Instead, you’re:
This isn’t a knowledge gap. You know exactly what you need to do. And it’s not a solution gap – there are plenty of solutions available.
It’s an identity gap.
Why?
Because moving from knowing a solution to taking action requires you to face truths and feelings you’ve been avoiding. You’re not just avoiding the chiropractor – you’re avoiding facing what this pain means about your life, your future, your aging… You’re avoiding the emotions that come with admitting something needs to change.
People will go days, months, years—even decades—avoiding an emotion that would last mere minutes to feel. They’ll build entire lives around avoiding these feelings rather than moving through them.
And this is exactly what’s happening with your customers.
They’re not avoiding your solution—they’re avoiding becoming the person who has to face these feelings to implement that solution.
Most marketers speak to the promised land, pushing nothing but fantasy outcomes where you:
This approach completely ignores where your customers are and the emotional journey they need to take.
When customers don’t buy, traditional marketing pushes harder. More emails. More retargeting. More “limited time offers.” It’s like trying to force someone through a door they’re not ready to walk through. But the harder you push, the harder they push back.
This looks like endless testimonials, case studies, and “proof” that your solution works. But here’s the truth: your customers already know solutions exist. They don’t need more proof. They need help becoming the person who takes action.
This means diving deep into how your customers see their world right now. Not how you wish they saw it. Not how they “should” see it. But the beliefs, rules, and stories they’re living with right now.
When you hit someone in their accurate frame, they go “oh, I’m seen.” That’s when trust begins.
Stop trying to correct their story or fix their perspective. When you validate where they are instead of trying to push them somewhere else, something magical happens: they become open to change.
This is where intelligent marketing happens. Instead of selling the destination, you guide them through the emotional journey of becoming someone new. You show them it’s safe to face the feelings they’ve been avoiding. You demonstrate that transformation is possible because you’ve walked that path yourself.
Your job isn’t to be the smartest person in the room with all the answers. Your job is to help people become ready for those answers.
Remember: The truth and the feeling come together. When you stop trying to skip the transformation process and start leading people through it, everything changes.
The path to effective marketing isn’t about pushing harder—it’s about understanding the emotional journey your clients need to take and helping them navigate it. When you stop trying to skip the transformation process and start leading people through it, everything changes.
Your market isn’t one homogeneous group waiting to hear about your solution—it’s five distinct groups, each requiring a different approach. When you push one solution onto all these groups, you create resistance instead of results. But you can learn how to meet prospects where they’re at so your marketing feels authentic… not manipulative.
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