PODCAST: Season 7, Episode 31
Grab your coffee, get comfy, and let’s dive into something that trips up nearly every business owner I work with: the difference between being seen and being trusted. I’m pulling back the curtain on a new marketing experiment I’ve just started, and using it to break down the four things every business actually needs to make sales. Spoiler: more reach on its own isn’t one of them.
Why Getting More Reach Doesn’t Automatically Grow Your Business
I’ve just started working with a marketing agency whose whole strategy is different from the Facebook ads I’ve relied on for years. Instead of paid ads, they get you featured on big, trusted accounts with huge followings. My own following and engagement have gone up since starting, and the early results are genuinely great. But here’s the thing I want to be really clear about: reach is not the same as trust, and it’s definitely not the same as revenue.
The Difference Between Being Seen and Being Trusted
So many of us spend months, sometimes years, chasing the follow, the feature, the viral moment, and almost no time thinking about what happens after someone actually lands on our page. If someone finds you through an ad, a feature, or a friend’s tag, what do they find when they get there? Do they understand what you stand for? Can they hear your personality? Can they picture working with you? Or are you just blending in as another service provider saying the same things as everyone else?
The Four Stages Every Business Needs to Grow Sales
I break marketing down into four stages, and each one has its own job to do:
- Reach – can people find you? This is your ads, features, podcast interviews, referrals, and speaking gigs. It’s the introduction, nothing more.
- Relationship – do they actually know you? This is where storytelling comes in: your emails, your podcast, your stories, your opinions. Reach can’t do this part for you.
- Reputation – do other people trust you? Your case studies, recommendations, features, and anything that proves you are who you say you are.
- Revenue – have you made it easy for them to buy? Followers, trust, and visibility mean nothing if your sales process isn’t smooth and your offer isn’t obvious.
Reach introduces. Storytelling connects. Reputation reassures. Revenue converts. Miss one and the other three stop mattering.
How to Find Your Business Bottleneck With a Simple Audit
I recently had a discovery call with someone whose offers I genuinely couldn’t find anywhere on her page. I know she has programmes, I know she does the work, but there was no obvious link, no clear next step. So I stopped looking. A cold, new visitor won’t dig any harder than I did. That’s a revenue problem, not a reach problem, and it’s a perfect example of why knowing your specific bottleneck matters more than doing “more marketing” in general.
Why Paid Features and Ads Alone Won’t Build Client Trust
Whether you invest in paid features, ads, speaking slots, or stick to organic content, the format isn’t really the point. What matters is understanding which of the four stages is actually holding your business back right now, and putting your energy there instead of spreading it everywhere at once.
Reflect On This
- Do you know what your biggest bottleneck is right now: reach, relationship, reputation, or revenue?
- Are you giving people who land on your page a genuine reason to stick around and get to know you?
- Do you have visible proof, like testimonials or features, that shows people you can be trusted?
- Is it actually easy for a stranger to find your offers and buy from you today?
- Are you expecting one part of your marketing, like ads or a single viral post, to do the job of your entire sales process?
Let’s Connect
- Instagram: @mills_gray
- The Rebellious Leader Book – www.millsgray.com/book