Hello and welcome to Marketing Your Truth, the podcast that transmutes the noise of typical generic marketing DS into a method that mirrors the depth of your passion and honors who you truly are. I'm Eleanor Trolley, and if you've been searching for a way for your message to be felt and not just heard, you found the right place. This is your sanctuary where we value and amplify the unique wisdom that only you possess. I'm glad you're here. Let's get started. Most of us were taught that if we want more clients, we just need to be more visible, to create more content, to show up in more places, to be more consistent, and to continue growing our followings and engagement. So eventually our ideal clients will find us. And through all that visibility, they'll reach out to work with us or to buy from us. So that's what most people do. We bash create content, we plan reels, we write emails, and we show up in as many places as possible every single day. And yet I see so many amazing coaches and creatives and service providers who are spinning their wheels. They're on this treadmill of continually showing up, creating content, and wondering why isn't all of this effort is leading to nowhere? Look, if you're listening right now and thinking, yeah, that's the path I've been on, and wondering why all this effort is just it feels like pushing this big boulder up a hill. Why isn't it translating to clients? I want you to know this. You've been sold into the wrong system. The just post and become system, it wasn't built for people like you and I who do deep and transformational type of work. It was built for people who make content for living, for content creators, for influencers, not you. That system is great at getting attention, but it's terrible at building the kind of trust that is needed in order for your prospects to say yes to working with you. So I want you to dish all of that and repeat after me. Visibility alone does not build trust, okay? And we're gonna talk more about trust in a second. But here's the thing, don't get me wrong, visibility does matter. You do need to show up, you do need to be present. But posting just to be visible, it's not a strategy. You're actually on a treadmill. Because if visibility is not connected to a client path, which is a clear way for someone to go from I just found you to I want to hire you, then all of that posting is not gonna lead anywhere. So in this episode, I want to walk you through a better system. And the system that I'm gonna walk you through is not built on content or volume, it's built on trust. Here we go again. That word trust. So here's the thing: at the end of the day, trust is what actually moves a total stranger to becoming a client, okay? Especially in the climate we're in today. In a climate where noise is at all-time high, the market is more skeptic and more trust-starved than ever before, just posting on social media or just relying on your emails or even showing up on discovery calls, it's not enough. We need to build trust long before someone lands on your sales page, long before they book a sales call or start a DM conversation with you or whatever your enrollment method is. And by the way, I go into the details of this client path inside my service first book. And if you haven't read it, you can grab a free copy today. The link to Service First Book is in the show notes, or you can just go to elianatoli.com slash elevate. Now, before we dive into this client path, I want to also say one more thing. There are five steps in this path, but they're not linear. Meaning sometimes your prospect might reach out to work with you right after step one, but most of the time it happens right after step three. Oh yes, pay attention to step three, it's gonna be a good one. And then other times people just linger in step four, maybe for months or even for years. And when the timing is right or the offer is right, they're gonna take the step of enrolling with you. Again, this is not about forcing someone, your prospects through this rigid funnel or controlling the timeline. This is about doing our part intentionally and strategically, so we're not throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. So we basically are creating the right conditions where trust can grow. All right, so let's step through it. The first step is called authority builder. So let me ask you this. In your opinion, what's the best way to build your authority or build your thought leadership in your space, in your market? If you're like me, for years I thought that authority is earned through showing up, sharing my wisdom, and if I did that on a consistent basis, then I'll be able to build my authority. So, in other words, I was told that by being visible and saying really smart things, I'm gonna be able to build my authority, my niche. If that's also your understanding of building authority, which by the way, that's a standard understanding of almost a lot of entrepreneurs, and you've been doing that and it feels like it's taking too long or it's not working as well as you thought it would, here is why. Again, in a climate that we're in today, where everyone has access to AI tools and content is coming out faster than any of us can even consume it, sounding smart or showing you know your stuff isn't rare anymore. It's actually expected. So if your idea of building your authority is to get louder or to post more or to be on more platforms, then again, you're gonna be on a treadmill that's gonna go nowhere. But that's unfortunately what a lot of entrepreneurs are doing right now, which is trying to outnoise the noise. So here's something that I want you to think about when it comes to building your authority. Instead of thinking of yourself as someone who is the source of lots of amazing and valuable information, I want you to think of yourself as not the source of the information, but as the translator of that information into something that only you can say. Okay, so that means sharing your unique point of view when it comes to that problem or the solution inside your work, or sharing a very strong viewpoint and lens that's reflective of your lived experience, your values and your beliefs, and your way of seeing your market and your audience's current circumstances. So it's all about your unique way of seeing everything that encompasses your work, your solution, and your audience's current circumstances. When you show up with a strong and a very unique viewpoint, then you just automatically stop regurgitating those, you know, tips or three-step shortcuts that everyone else right now in your market is posting. And automatically you're showing up as a thought leader in your industry. Automatically, you have elevated how your prospects perceive you because you're not sounding just like everybody else. You're someone with a strong point of view, unlike anything that they're seeing or hearing right now. And so that immediately puts you in a completely different category. Now you're visible. So that's step one: building your authority by becoming the translator, not the source, but the translator of that information. So at this point, your audience is paying attention, they're leaning in to learn and hear from your unique perspective. You want to keep this engagement going. And so this next step is called the engagement builder. So here's what typically happens to a lot of people at this stage. Now they're showing up, they're sharing original insights, people are paying attention to them, and so immediately they switch and jump into selling through their post, or they start sending cold DMs or pushing for sales calls. Now, listen, there's nothing wrong with DMing your prospects or inviting someone to a strategy call. As long as you're doing it strategically, not randomly. You don't want to be throwing darts in a dark or you don't want to annoy your audience. That's a big no-no. I want to offer you another option. And this option actually is more predictable and it's more reliable. And on top of that, it actually compounds over time. Meaning, instead of waking up every single day and thinking, oh my gosh, who do I need to DM today? Or how can I get more people on sales calls or get more calls booked on my calendar? What if? Use that same time and energy to build your own tribe. This could look like a private community on school or Facebook, Facebook groups. I built my own community of 6,000 inside my Facebook group for years. It could be a newsletter, a LinkedIn newsletter, or a Substack newsletter, or it could be your own email list, which I absolutely recommend for everyone to build their own email list, even if you're building your community somewhere else, also. And the reason is your email list is one of the best assets that you can build for your business because it's yours, right? You're not at the mercy of algorithm, you're not competing for attention in someone else's playground, and you're not one platform glitch away from losing your entire audience. All of this, by the way, happens on a consistent basis. I've heard all types of horror stories about this. Your list is your direct line to your people, and it grows in value over time. And again, it's yours, nobody can take it away from you. So the question is how do you grow that list? The most common method is a lead magnet, which is a free resource of some kind that you offer to your prospects in exchange for their email. But here's what matters most at this stage. What really builds engagement, which is the thing that you're after at this stage, is relevance. If your lead magnet isn't relevant to what you've been talking about, which is the thing that got them interested or got their attention in the first place, it just won't work. Let me give you an example. For the past few months, I've been focusing on messaging and positioning, which is helping my people find their voice and build their message from the inside out. So if someone reads one of my posts or listens to one of my podcast episodes on messaging, it'll only make sense to offer them something that's related to messaging and helping them to get one step closer to finding their voice. And so that's why I created my Build to Reflect You messaging guide, which again is designed to make them exactly where they're at, where they don't know why their message is not landing, and helping them find or dig out their unique voice and their unique point of views so they can create a strong message. That's the key to building real engagement at this stage. Not coming out with this generic checklist or a random freebie, but something that's obviously connected to the journey that you're taking your audience on or the journey they're on already. So here's what I want you to ask yourself when it comes to this lead magnet. What's the core theme or topic that you're consistently talking about? And then once you figure that out, ask yourself what's one simple and relevant. The keyword is relevant, resource that you could offer them, offer your prospects to take the next step in the right direction of getting closer to that desired outcome. So if there are two or three core things that you routinely talk about, which by the way, that's another topic for another episode, but it's also very important to find two to three core pillars or core topics to talk about. Not five, not ten, not twenty, um, that would really confuse your audience. And that's um something that I see a lot of people do. They're kind of all over the place with the topics that they talk about. So it's very, very important to pick only two to three core topics. And then when you do, then come up with a lead magnet for each of those topics because relevance at this stage is what builds meaningful engagement. All right, so now we're off to step three. You've nailed your unique point of view, it's helping you elevate your presence on social media or however way it is that you're getting in front of your audience. Your audience, your prospects are leaning in, they're engaging with your lead magnet, now you're building your tribe through your email list, and this is exactly where things go off rails for a lot of people. Whether they have 10 people or 10,000 people on their email list. I've seen it all. And look, there's no shortage of advice on what kind of emails to send to keep your list engaged or to convert your new prospects. But I want us to zoom out for a second here. A total stranger just came across your platform. They found your content, got curious, they leaned in because what you're sharing sounds different than anything they've heard. Now, through your lead magnet, they've taken a next step. They're on your list, they're in your world. But reality is that they still don't really know you. You're still unfamiliar to them. And so that's why this next step is called connection builder. Because if you don't deepen that connection quickly, you risk losing them to the flood of content and distractions that's competing for their attention, both in and out of their inbox. So you need to create a way for your name and your message to stick in their memory. And at this stage, emails alone are just not gonna cut it to deepen that connection. Again, especially because noise is at all time high. So the way that I've been building this next layer of connection is through what I call a live serve event. Ideally, once a month, you bring a small group of people together. These are typically people who've come into your world or joined your list in the last 30 days. And we're not gonna bring them together for a typical webinar to pitch to them or offer them fluff content. And this is definitely not a sales call disguised as free training. It's a true surve-based experience. And the goal is the most important goal here with these life serve events is to first and foremost help them fully understand the underlying reasons, the underlying patterns that's kept them stuck and unable to reach their desired goals, their desired destination. Because no matter what niche your industry, no matter who your audience is, and no matter what your solution is, there are some underlying patterns and underlying reasons that's keeping your audience from getting unstuck and getting to their desired outcome, without a doubt. And when you dig those underlying patterns and reasons out, when you do that in a specific way, and by that I mean there are four core elements that you should include in the surf events, and I go into details of what those core elements are inside my service first book. Not only you give them the clarity that nobody else is giving them right now, I always describe it as holding up a flashlight and showing them the real reason that they're stuck beneath the surface or visible reasons that everybody's shouting at them. So not only you give them that clarity that like they've never had before, it also helps them realize that you're the right person to guide them to that desired outcome. And your unique process, your solution, is the right path to getting them there. Again, this is not your typical webinar filled with a bunch of fluff and a hard pitch at the end, it's not a sales call masked as a free training, it's a true surve experience, the way that I've structured it. So imagine that if your typical way of getting clients is through doing discovery calls. When you run these surve events, instead of holding 30 individual calls or perhaps going back and forth with 30 different prospects inside DMs, you just host one event every month. And because it's a surf event, it actually builds connection and leads to enrollment much faster. Think about it. When a prospect shows up to a typical sales call, discovery call, or strategy call, even if they initiated it, their guards is automatically up. They're bracing themselves and anticipating to get pitched. But during the surf events, especially again, the way that it's structured, the pressure goes away immediately. From the very, very beginning. Remember from the beginning when I said you hold up the flashlight and show them those underlying patterns, their shoulders drop, you will see the energy shift immediately in your event. And then again, it's not manipulative, it's not pushy, it's not coercive. And as a result, it builds deep connection and trust like you've never seen before. And don't be surprised if you hear comments like, This was the most useful training that I've ever attended in the last X many years. My clients and I hear that kind of feedback all the time. So when you do one of these survey events, you're gonna get enrollments, you're going to get clients, but we're not gonna stop there. So now comes step four, which I call that belief builder. Now you have people who are on your list, whether they're brand new or they've been on your list for a while. Let's pause for a second. When someone joins your list, but they still haven't taken the next step towards enrolling with you. It's almost always because there's a belief gap somewhere. Either they don't believe that you're the right person, or they don't believe that your solution is the right option for them, or they don't believe that they're able to follow through to make your solution work for them. There's a hesitation somewhere, there's a lack of belief somewhere, and that's exactly what this step is designed to address. At this stage in your client path, your emails are not just about staying in touch or nurturing them or converting them, they're about closing that belief gap, deepening trust and moving someone closer to readiness by getting rid of that belief gap. Okay? And here's how we're gonna do that. Now, there are core three types of emails that I send at this stage. And again, I go much deeper into these steps inside my service first book, but let's walk you through an overview of all three of them right now. The first one is called indoctrination email. This is the very first email that someone gets when they join your list. And its purpose is to humanize your brand and immediately show your deeper why. This is really, really important to do because you want them to understand that you're not here just to make a sale. You're here because you care, because you're standing for something, something greater than yourself. You're on a mission. So, my question to you is what is your big mission? Okay, what is it that you're fighting for on behalf of your audience? And if you don't know it yet, it's really, really important that you spend the time to dig this out, not just for the purposes of this email, but for your messaging and positioning. Because nothing builds likability and trust of your brand faster than when your audience sees that you're standing for something greater than your own needs, that you're here to make their life easier. So that's what the indoctrination email is all about. It sets that emotional foundation. The next email is called qualification email. This one is just as important as the indoctrination email, and here's why. Our brains are wired for efficiency. We're constantly scanning our environment and asking, is this thing safe or is it unsafe? So when we encounter something that feels familiar, something that reminds us of ourselves or our past experiences, the brain processes it as more fluently. It takes it as a good sign. Now, not to get too geeky on you, but brain regions like hypocampus and amygdala help us rapidly recognize patterns. So if something feels familiar, it's flagged as safe. That means that your audience doesn't have to burn energy figuring you out. They can just relax into resonance, okay? But when something is unfamiliar, it demands more effort, more energy. So your brain slows down and stays cautious and waits to decide. All right. So if your audience feels like you're familiar, immediately they feel as if they've known you. You feel safe to them. So that's what we're after. Now, how do you help your audience feel that familiarity, to feel that you're safe? The easiest way to do that is to share one of your core values or beliefs, right? Think about a belief or value that you hold when it comes to your work, when it comes to your niche or industry. For example, one of my core beliefs is this you don't need to manipulate your audience to make a sale. You just need to show up in your own truth, and the right people, the right prospects will say yes to you. So now when someone in my audience hears that and they also hate Manipulative or pressure-filled sales tactics, something clicks, right? They immediately feel like, oh, she's one of us. And that's the point of this email. You're using your belief like an invisible antenna to attract the people who already resonate with your worldview. People who hold the same belief and same value as you. And by the way, these are the people who come to your sales calls already convinced that they want to work with you. And they're a joy to work with because they're your best fit clients in terms of working relationship. All right, so far we have the indoctrination email, we have the qualification email, and then comes the third type of email, which is called nurture activation emails. So these are the ongoing emails that you're gonna send to your list on a regular basis for as long as you're in business, as long as you're building your tribe. So this is what we're gonna do for you to stay in touch with your tribe, nurture those relationships, and keep on extending the invitation to work with you. And to accomplish this, right, to make this happen, we need to make sure that each of these emails strike a really nice balance between nurturing those relationships and activating them to take the next step with you. And so the main point here is that these emails aren't about dumping or blasting tips or resources or you know values. They're about giving your people, your audience, shifts in their current perspectives, in their current situation so they can see what they're going through from a different point of view, and then inviting them to take your hand and get the help that they need. Of course, we're gonna do it with no pressure, right? It's just that invitation. And again, I go deeper into each of these emails, how to structure them, what to say in each of them inside the book. But the big takeaway here is this for as long as you're in business, you should be sending emails that builds belief because readiness isn't built overnight, it's built over time. Alright, so now we're at the final step, which is called conversion builder. And as the name implies, this is where you extend the invitation. It's how you invite people to take the next step of enrolling with you. But I want to be clear here. I'm not talking about the pushy kind of invitation, and you already know that. Not the handle objections kind like a pro, not the scarcity timer, not the early bird bonus kind, not the click here now or else kind of invitation. I'm talking about the energy behind your ask because you can have the most beautifully written sales page, you can nail every copywriting formula, you can walk someone through a perfect sales pitch, but if the energy behind your invitation is off, if you're showing up a little desperate or a little unsure or a little too eager to convince, all of that will come through every single time, even if it's written. Even if you think you're hiding it really well, people will feel it. So before you make that invitation or write that sales page, I want you to take a moment, I want you to pause and check in with yourself. Ask yourself, am I 100% certain that this solution works? Am I 100% certain this offer is the right fit for the person in front of me? And am I 100% certain that I'm ready to walk beside them, not just sell to them? Because when you have that kind of clarity and conviction, you don't have to persuade anyone. You don't have to pressure anyone. You just simply extend the invitation and guide. And the right people will trust you because they feel that alignment. You don't need hacks, you don't need tricks, you don't need scripts to handle objections. Your job is just to discern if this is the right person, if this is the right time, or if this is the right fit. And if the answer is yes to all of those, then invite them clearly, calmly, and confidently. And then let it go and trust that they're going to make the decision, the right decision for them and for you. Because here's the thing: when you show up with clear and grounded energy, the right people will feel it. They don't feel pushed, they don't feel manipulated, they feel safe. And so from that place of safety, people are far more likely to say yes to you. Not out of fear of missing out, not out of urgency, not because of some fake deadline, but because it genuinely feels right. It feels aligned. And by the way, that's what we want. We want that kind of yes that leads to incredible clients and long-term results. All right, so those were the five steps. And so as we wrap up here today, here's what I hope that you're walking away with. If you've had that feeling that your marketing should be working by now, that something must be off, even though you're showing up, you're staying consistent, and you're doing all the things that you're being told to do. You're not imagining that something's off here. The issue is that you've been handed a model that was never built for someone like you. So the five-step client path that I just walked you through, it works because it's grounded on how trust is actually built, which is gradually and intentionally and in a way that honors your voice, your values, and of course your audience. So if something in this episode resonated, if you felt that mix of relief and realignment, let that be a sign for you to take a pause, to take your foot off the treadmill, and to take a stock of where you are right now. And ask yourself where in your business you might need less volume, but more clarity, less hustle, but more trust. And of course, if you want to go deeper into these five steps, download the service first framework. It's completely free. You'll find a link in the show notes, or you can head straight to ellionatoli.comslash elevate.