He cut him off abruptly and said, “it’s just not working out. We’re not making the sales we want to make.”

This is what happened as I hopped on a client call my first week working as a Senior Marketing Manager at an agency.

As my manager at the time, begged and pleaded and said all the things to try and get this client he had worked with for 2 years to get him to stay…it was done-zo!

And honestly, the client I was meeting for the first time, seemed pretty angry at my boss.

And afterwards I debriefed with my manager to find out what the heck happened - and deep down, tried to figure out why this account was spiraling down the drain and he expected me to come in like a fairy godmother and change it in a week…my manager said, “we had been writing blogs for a while and it just wasn’t picking up the way I hoped it would.”

Ah yes! This is the dilemma many business owners find themselves in.

They want sales, but they may be hesitant to invest the money. So they turn to writing blogs, posting on social media, and all the shiny objects thinking this will create success.

And yes, all those things are truly shiny objects.

But yesterday, as I was on a call with one of my coaches and talked about growing social media - she kindly said to me, “I know entrepreneurs who have a 7-figure business and only have 400 followers, and I also know an entrepreneur with 80,000 followers who couldn’t get a single person to join her email list.”

That’s why I’m going to break down how to make more sales in your business so that you actually have more freedom.

It truly comes down to only 3 steps:

Step 1 - Attract

What you’re doing in this step is attracting strangers into your business. This means you have to get visible.

Do you ever wonder why some business owners instantly look like an authority figure in their field?

There are many ways you can do this.

Yes, you can use social media and blogging.

You can even post in Facebook groups.

But one thing you have to think about is exactly how long it’s going to take you to actually see success.

It can happen quickly.

Me? I prefer NOT to bank on content going viral.

That’s not really a strategy to hang your hat on, you know what I mean?

For me, I prefer to use visibility ads.

Visibility ads introduce your brand to your audience, build trust, establish your expertise, and spark genuine interest.

Not only that, visibility ads prompt engagement—more views, likes, comments, messages, and shares. It’s actually a byproduct of running visibility ads which is pretty cool.

And this is just the first step of the process…

But what’s the psychology behind how running a visibility ad actually leads to more sales?

Here we are. I’m the first person ever this woman hires to help them grow their marketing. And when I say we’re starting from scratch, I mean we’re starting from scratch.

They had:

X No website

X Not even one social media profile

X No email list

X No logo

X Not even a flushed out idea or a marketable business name

And this woman was literally putting the marketing success of her organization in my hands. I’m not going to lie, I was excited to build something from scratch and stake my name on it.

So we started from the beginning. We created a name. We built a logo. We built a social media strategy. We started telling people about who we were online.

Then one day, I got a ring on my cell phone from the woman who’s hired me and she asked me one powerful question…

“How do we really get people to know about this organization?”

Which I then replied, “you need to get on video.”

Even though she was the head of this organization (and definitely a powerful, confident woman), she replied to me and said, “Amber…I’m scared to get on video. I don’t know what to say. I don’t feel comfortable.”

To which I kindly said with empathy and belief in my voice, “the video doesn’t have to be perfect. Write a couple of bullet points and speak to the people that need it…” (or ya know something along those lines. Side note: I don’t recall WORD FOR WORD what I said, but this was years ago. I know how I am. This is literally my brain thinking about what I’m going to eat for dinner tonight.

And this is me trying to remember what I ate two days ago.

But you get the gist!)

And she did.

She got on video and did it scared.

But she didn’t get on video once.

Nope!

She showed up on video over and over and over again. And the organization grew…and grew…and grew.

Other people took notice.

This once tiny organization that only had 5 people and no real name for themselves became one of the most talked about organizations at that time.

And the woman who hired me and told me how she was once scared to get on video gained so much attention that she left that organization and gained one of the highest positions in the U.S. if not the world.

Who was that woman?

That woman is the head of the Small Business Administration, Isabel Guzman.

even if you’re selling a service, video is important. But what’s the psychology behind why a visibility video ad is so important?

I love this quote from another marketing expert Neil Patel…

“There are many reasons why video is such a powerful marketing tool, but they all come back to one thing: human psychology.

Humans are wired for connection.

Face-to-face connection is the most compelling, but that’s not always possible. So, the next best thing, then, is video.

Video enables viewers to connect with the brand on a personal level. They see the human behind the brand. This, combined with the stimulation of the senses, is the perfect storm for eliciting emotion and building those connections that last.

We know that videos, when used wisely as part of your overall marketing strategy, can increase conversions and boost sales. After all, 93% of businesses landed a new customer after sharing a video on social media.”

The most important thing you can do to make more sales is to be remembered. And video helps people on the other end of a screen, feel connected. It makes you more memorable.

But, that’s only the first bit of it. Because you don’t just stop at a video. The video helps slide people into the next stage - Engage…

Step 2 - Engage

Engage with Video

Imagine you walk into a Costco and you have one goal in mind…To get a nice juicy salmon you’re going to cook for dinner.

You’re going to round out your meal with some beautiful rustic potatoes and broccolini (I’ve been watching a lot of Masterchef if you couldn’t tell).

And luckily you have all of the ingredients - except for the salmon. The salmon is the star of your dish. So you’ve got to get it.

After you walk into the store and flash the Costco bodyguard your black card, you start cruising through the store.

You stop in the technology section to check out the Tv’s because who really doesn’t go to Costco and look at all the tv’s we don’t need.

You stop at the first little vendor on the side pushing bbq sauce you’ve already tried before and know exactly how it tastes because hey…why not?

That’s the joys of Costco.

You make your way over to the meat section and stop to glance at the rotisserie chickens spinning on the rack and of course they look more delicious than ever.

But all of a sudden you notice a small crowd of people bunched together near the vendor at a freezer section.

Hmmm…what does that vendor have? Frozen ham and cheese croissants heated up in a toaster?!?! I’m in!

Of course the vendor tells you where to find the croissants and while you mosey on over to the aisle, you see a bunch more of delicious treats you just have to grab.

In fact, you grab treat, after treat, after treat.

Until you notice, “wow, Costco’s really starting to get more crowded and there’s no way I want to wait in that long line to checkout.” So then you start heading towards the exit.

You take one last look at the vendor right before the checkout to see what they have. “Gummy vitamins? I’ll pass,” you think.

You reach the checkout and notice how long the line is behind you.

“Yes!” I’m getting out of here before the rush. You make your way towards the exit, flash the Costco exit bodyguard your receipt, and make your way to your car.

You believe you’ve finished your shopping, head to your car and pop your trunk. Then immediately stare off into the distance, hang your head, and realize… “I forgot the salmon.”

This story is exactly what most small business owners do.

Instead, the salmon is your lead generation. And all of the vendors, the technology section, and the little tiny shiny objects are everything we’re told to do online.

They are posting to social media, tinkering with your website, printing up business cards, and much, much more.

When you start actually spending your time focused on lead generation with ads, you will find that you’re actually moving forward.

That’s exactly what the Engage Stage is. It’s much like your commitment to perfecting the main course for your dinner.

Here, the lion's share of your budget (80-95%) goes into Lead Generation—an intricate process akin to crafting the main dish.

We're not just creating leads; we're striving for high-quality leads that resonate with your brand.

And recognizing that immediate action is rare, we implement a comprehensive full-funnel strategy—email marketing, text messages, and ads—to ensure a thorough follow-up.

Like I said, 80% to 95% of your ads investment should be on lead generation. It is the main star of your dish.

But that’s only one part of the engage stage.

Engage by Retargeting

You know there’s one thing I absolutely love - it’s retargeting!

If you’ve ever seen those ads that seem to follow you around the internet, those my friend, are retargeting ads. And love em’ or hate em’ they are darn effective.

I’ve heard some women say that they absolutely hate those ads because they don’t want to seem annoying.

But literally, it takes a whole lot to feel annoying to a customer.

There have been multiple studies that show when it comes to sales that you typically need about 7 to 8 follow ups to really make a sale. Most people actually give up after the first or second try.

This means that just by consistently following up, you can become the creme de la creme.

Now this doesn’t mean you need to go on out and just blast someone over and over with a cold call, or a cold email, or even one type of ad.

But it does mean that if you really want a sale to happen…you probably aren’t following up enough.

If you really want your business to pop, become a follow up queen.

I mean it. Master the follow-up. Because when everyone gives up after the first or second try, your follow ups are just beginning.

Think about it.

Whether you’re driving your car down the street or cruising around on the internet.

How many ads do you only see one time over the span of a week? Or even a month? Quite a few.

But the companies that stick out? It’s probably because you’ve seen their ad or heard about them quite a few times.

This is what makes retargeting ads so powerful. And it’s where we place 10% of our budget.

Retargeting ads are like your follow-up salesperson that helps to move your future customers closer to you.

They help you stick to your customers like glue in their mind. Because remember, most people stop after the first or second follow up.

Which proves the saying is very true, “go the extra mile. It’s never crowded.”

There’s only one last step and it’s truly one of my absolute favorite steps because it shows you how to have customers who love you for life.

Step 3 - Build Loyalty

Have you seen the Apple commercial for the iPhone 15?

There’s one I love where it shows a kid trying to break wood with his hand while his family watches.

His dad is recording his son over the camera so he can catch him splitting the wood knowing deep down he won’t be able to do it (still such a supportive dad!).

There’s also another Apple commercial floating around on the web that annoys the bejeezus out of me (I’m not sure if it’s a popular singer's voice or whoever) but it shows a dad waving goodbye to his daughter as she heads off to college.

The dad is sitting around looking like it’s the end of the world until finally he gets a notification on his phone that his daughter arrived at college. (Whewee! He can finally take a breath!) And then, of course the commercial ends with the iconic apple logo.

So what does any of this have to do with building customer loyalty?

No, I’m not saying you need to have a funny commercial like the kid chopping wood or a slightly serious commercial like the dad getting the notification about his daughter arriving at school. (Side note: both commercials are actually targeting parents in a different way, but that’s a conversation about messaging for a different day.)

Back to the conversation about customer loyalty.

Where a lot of business owners fail is they believe once they have a customer, they no longer need to market to them because they think it’s a waste of money.

Yet right now, my husband and I live in a house where everyone owns an iphone. And we’ve been seeing these Apple commercials multiple times a day.

So the real question is this…if Apple, who's literally the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world that owns 61% of the mobile phone market STILL launches an ad every time they have a new product?...

Why would you think you don’t need to market to your customers as well?

That’s where customer loyalty campaigns come in. Customer loyalty campaigns give you the ability to build even more support for your customers and reaffirm they’ve made the right decision.

If nothing else, customer loyalty campaigns also keep you top of mind because you better believe that if you’re not marketing to your customers reminding them to buy your products, someone else who may not have your skill, talent, or even care about your customers is.

Now that we’ve gone through weeks of content about how to make more sales, you might be wondering how to actually implement this in your business.

The easiest way is to grab my Ultimate Ads Guide to Discover how to amplify your business with ads. Ads are the fastest way to start implementing these steps even with a small budget.