If it feels like people are taking forever to decide to work with you, this episode is going to show you exactly where the breakdown is happening. In this episode of The Real Truth About Business podcast, I’m breaking down how to shorten your buyer journey without forcing or convincing people into a sale. This is for service-based entrepreneurs who are seeing longer sales cycles, slower conversions, and a frustrating revenue plateau despite consistent lead generation. After 9 years of experience, I can tell you buyers aren’t broken and your business isn’t failing. The way decisions are being made has shifted. Inside this episode, I walk you through four strategic adjustments you can make in your business strategy, sales process, and pipeline that will help you increase conversion rates and move the right clients through your business faster.

What You'll Learn:

• Why your buyer journey is longer and how to shorten it strategically
• How to improve your conversion rate without increasing pressure
• The role of trust and experience in modern lead generation
• How to remove friction from your sales process
• Why clarity in your pipeline directly impacts revenue growth
• How to focus your business strategy to attract ready-to-buy clients

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] Introduction: Why buyer journeys are longer right now

[03:00] The problem with relying only on content for conversions

[06:00] Why buyers need to experience you before they decide

[10:00] How in-person and live interactions speed up decisions

[13:00] Where confusion in your pipeline is costing you sales

[16:00] The power of clear next steps and focused strategy

[18:30] Speaking to ready buyers vs. convincing the unready

Key Takeaways:

Content Alone Is Not Enough Anymore

Here’s what I see constantly. Business owners relying heavily on content and wondering why people aren’t converting faster.

After 9 years of working with service-based entrepreneurs, I can tell you content attracts. But it rarely closes on its own.

Buyers want to see you. Hear you. Experience how you think.

If your business strategy is built only on written content or passive consumption, your buyer journey will naturally be longer. That doesn’t mean content isn’t working. It just means it’s only one piece of the pipeline.

Buyers Need to Experience You to Make a Decision

We are operating in a trust-driven market. And trust is built through experience.

This is where your sales process needs to evolve.

Podcasts, live events, video content, voice notes, workshops, even simple conversations. These are all ways to collapse time in the buyer journey because they allow someone to move from awareness to consideration much faster.

Inside the Focused Visionary Framework, this sits right between Pipeline and Sales. If people can experience you sooner, they decide sooner.

Confusion Is Killing Your Conversions

One of the biggest leaks in your pipeline is confusion.

If someone doesn’t know what to do next, they won’t ask. They’ll leave.

Your job is to make the next step obvious. Not optional. Not hidden. Not layered behind multiple steps.

Clear direction speeds up decision-making. Whether that’s booking a call, joining a program, or taking a specific action, your sales process needs to remove friction at every stage.

More Options Slow Everything Down

Giving people too many choices feels helpful, but it creates hesitation.

When your offers, messaging, or calls to action are unclear, buyers stall. They don’t want to figure it out. They want you to guide them.

This is where focused execution matters.

The more dialed in your business strategy is, the faster your buyer journey becomes. Because your audience knows exactly what you do, who it’s for, and how to move forward.

You Can’t Speed Up Someone Who Isn’t Ready

This is the part most people avoid.

If you’re trying to convince someone they have a problem, you’re automatically creating a longer buyer journey.

The fastest conversions come from people who already know they need help. They’re problem-aware. They’re actively looking for a solution.

Your job is not to convince. It’s to position yourself as the right solution.

That’s where your messaging, your pipeline, and your sales process all come together to support real, sustainable revenue growth.

Resources Mentioned

• Subscribe to Back Pocket Insights for FREE
• Book a CEO Strategy Call
• Learn more about The Missing Piece Intensive
• Learn more about The Focused Visionary Accelerator
• Download the FREE Lead and Conversion Tracker
• Subscribe to the Sunday Morning Brew Newsletter

About the Host:

Michelle DeNio is a business strategist based in Sarasota, Florida, specializing in helping service-based entrepreneurs break through revenue plateaus using her Focused Visionary Framework. With over 300 podcast episodes and 9 years running her consulting business, she helps coaches, consultants, and service providers scale sustainably through strategic planning, pricing optimization, and sales process development.

Connect with Michelle

1. Website
2. Threads
3. Instagram
4. LinkedIn
5. Facebook

Hello.

Hello.

Welcome back to the real truth about Business.

Today we are diving into the topic around shortening your buyer journey.

Now, I know there is a lot of conversation out there happening around buyer discernment being higher than it ever has been, that buyer journeys are a little bit longer.

Maybe you're seeing it, maybe you're experiencing it, but there are a few small things that you could be doing in your business that will and have potential to spread speed up your buyer journey that are sometimes, some are big, some are small, but they will make a difference in actually increasing your conversion rate in the sense of, like, how quickly somebody goes from lead to client, especially if they are a hot lead.

So that's what I want to talk about.

Today.

We are diving in.

I've got four key points for you.

So if you have a notebook in front of you, grab it.

If you're listening while you're walking or doing all the things, make sure that you come back to this and think about it.

But, yeah, dive in.

All right.

Welcome back.

First and foremost, I need to remind you that Back Pocket Insights, the private podcast, is now completely free for you to subscribe to and listen to.

So Back Pocket Insights is my private podcast that I have had for over a year.

There are 70 plus episodes there.

And they are more.

They are definitely shorter.

So what you can expect from that is they are like little short snippets, very much like voice memos that I send back and forth to my clients in WhatsApp.

So if you want more of that strategist in your back pocket, if you want to hear my voice more often, you now can do that by opting in to Back Pocket Insights.

It's a free, completely free.

The private podcast is free.

And then if you want to attend the monthly Mastermind, there is an option for that as well.

So don't forget to opt into the private podcast before we.

Before I forget to tell you.

All right, so let's talk about client journey.

Okay.

And how can we move it and get people to convert faster?

Right?

Because I am a huge.

You know, I have been talking about the different stages in your pipeline and that people are not moving from awareness to decision immediately, that they are taking their time, that they're moving from.

Like, I'm aware of you, I'm interested in learning more about you.

I'm considering working with you, and I'm ready to make a decision.

Right.

Those are kind of the pipeline stages that almost every buyer is going through, and most people are not jumping from that.

I'm aware of you to I'm ready to make a decision about working with you in one fell swoop.

Okay.

And so that that buyer journey from I'm aware of you to I'm ready to make a decision sometimes right now is taking upwards of six months to a year for some people.

But there are ways that you can shorten it.

And that's what I want to talk about today.

So, number one, one of the biggest things I see is that too many people are relying on content alone.

Now I know that there's content creators out there, there are other business strategists out there.

I am working on increasing my content game myself.

So I do believe that content will attract.

I do absolutely believe that.

I know it to be true.

As a buyer on the other side of the coin, I am definitely attracted to people through their content.

I do consume content on a regular basis.

However, not everybody consumes content.

Right.

Number one, and if we are being honest, the content that I am talking about that a lot of people are consuming is that kind of face to camera content.

Okay?

They want to see your face, they want to experience your vibe, they want to have a chance to really like get a tone for who you are, what you stand for, what your beliefs are.

Right.

Like how you approach things, the way your brain thinks.

And so you can do that in carousel posts and reels with B roll, with just, you know, words over the top of them.

But with the way buyer, the buyer journey is a little bit slower.

That is going to be a long game.

So if you are relying solely on written content, short form written content, I would highly recommend you add either some type of face to camera content of some sort, whether that's showing up on your stories, whether that's sharing reels, whether that's doing events, that's what I'm going to talk about here in a minute.

Or you know, or adding in something longer form where you can dive deeper.

So if that's more of your email marketing where you're getting really hyper specific on something, maybe it's a, you know, a free lead magnet that's really of high value.

Again, you've got to do something where they can experience you.

People do not trust just written words on a screen anymore.

Okay?

Too many people have gotten burned by that.

That takes a very long time to convert.

So if you are hiding behind your content and you are not showing your face, you are not letting people hear your voice, I highly recommend that you start finding a platform that you can do that now.

You know, you guys know I Love hanging out on thr threads.

Part of why I love hanging out on threads is because I don't have to do a lot of video content.

However, I'm shifting that, so stay tuned for that.

But I do love threads because I can just pop something in there quick.

However, I have this, I have this podcast, right?

So this is my next point is give people a chance to experience you.

I've been talking about this a lot.

We are living in what they are calling the trust economy.

Trust is built through experience.

I call it an experience economy.

How can people experience you?

So even all of these coaches and providers and business owners that you are seeing that are like really killing it with their content and drawing people in, they are still giving people a chance to experience them.

Every single one of them.

I know.

Whether it's low ticket, high ticket, really high ticket, they all have these experiences.

Whether that's a free telegram community, they're doing Instagram stories where they're interacting with people.

This pot, you know, a podcast where I tell people all the time, go listen to my podcast.

You're gonna love me or hate me at the end of it, right?

Like, you're gonna love the way my brain thinks or you're gonna be like, this is not my.

This is not for me.

Right?

This is not my jam.

This is not how I like to operate.

This is.

Yeah, right.

Or it's gonna be like, yes, please.

This is exactly who I need.

This is exactly what I need in my life.

Right?

So again, it's also where these conversion events come in very, very handy.

Whether that's an open qa, doing little behind the scenes audits, even these, what I'm finding to be extremely beneficial right now are like some type of loom or video recording where.

So it's totally asynchronous and you're giving them a chance to see your face on video in, in your zone of genius.

So I did it in a. I've done these K mapping sessions where they're.

They send me some information and then I reply back with a video of like a plan that is working really well.

Again, it's giving people a chance to experience me.

It's extremely low lift.

Okay.

You've got to give people a chance to really under, like experience what it's like to work with you.

Right?

Give them a little bit of the how.

Show them the way you think.

Again, I'm in a telegram chat with somebody else that I am finding it very helpful.

She drops a lot of audio content in there.

I have the Private podcast.

Again, I mentioned that earlier in this episode, like, you want to experience kind of my coaching style.

I'm gonna.

There's episodes in there that are literally direct snippets of my coaching calls and my strategy sessions.

So, like, get in there and listen to it.

Again, it's a way for people to experience me.

It's a way for them to build a relationship with me.

My email marketing, my Sunday morning brew, that's another way that I build relationships and give people a chance to experience me.

Because I'm always sharing something personal.

I'm.

I'm attaching it to a story.

Right?

So again, in person events too, like in person events are to me going to be the fastest way for you to collapse that client journey.

Because at an in person event, you can have a conversation that moves somebody from aware I just found out you existed to interested in learning more to considering working with you.

You can move people three steps in your pipeline in one conversation.

In person, it just hits different, okay, so get out there and get in person with people.

Do what you can, whether that's something local in your area or if that's traveling to an event every quarter or something of that sort.

Get in person with people.

I'm telling you, like, it converts faster.

I just spoke at an event and I did a talk.

There was a lot of people in the room that I didn't know.

They didn't know me.

Before I walked into that room, I didn't know them.

And one of them converted within 10 days.

Not even like a 10 day cycle.

I think it was less than a week because we had conversations.

She said to me, tell me a little bit more.

The way you explain that in your talk was so helpful.

I had another person say, like, oh my God, that 10 minute conversation is just help me solve something that I've been dealing with for four months.

Right?

So again, like, you can get deep, you can get granular, you can build that relationship very quickly in person, and that takes a little bit longer online, even if you're doing virtual coffee chats or anything of that sort.

Virtual coffee chats, as far as I'm concerned, have still been one of my tried and true strategies that have always worked for that reason because I can really dive in and let people experience me and have a conversation with me very quickly.

Okay, so let people experience you.

The other thing, the third thing on my list here is making sure that your pipeline is very clear.

Right?

Confusion stops people.

The second somebody is confused about what they should do next, they get overwhelmed they, they, they're out.

Very few people will ask further details.

And here's a great example of this.

So I just had a client who went to an event.

She set up a QR code.

I didn't realize that she had done it this way, where she set QR code for them to scan to book a call with her.

And she had it scan.

The QR code was like a link to book a call, but it scanned and went to her email like they were opting into her email list.

And then once they opted into the email list, then she was emailing them the link to the calendar.

Now she understands why this was a friction point.

But again, like, that was confusion, right?

Like you're telling me to book a call, but now I got to get on your email list and now I'm out, right?

So.

So again, are you giving people an out just by simply creating confusion for them?

Is it very clear what you're asking them to do?

I just gave you guys a very clear next step.

Go download and subscribe to Back Pocket Insights.

That is a very clear next step.

All right.

It's, it's very.

There's no question about what it is to do, right?

You're listening to this podcast.

You want to dive a little bit deeper.

Go listen to the Back Pocket Insights, right?

You're going to be able to get in my email that way, because I send an email every single week, right?

If you're having a conversation with somebody.

So at this event that I was having this conversation with this woman, she was saying, tell me a little bit more.

I think I want to workshop this with you.

I think I need your help strategizing this event strategy.

I was like, absolutely.

Here's what's going to happen.

You're going to get an email with a link to a 90 minute session.

Go book that 90 minute session.

It's going to come directly to your email tomorrow.

So when I saw her or when I was following up with her, I said, you should have gotten the email by now.

Let me know if you don't have the link.

But I want to make sure that you get the link to schedule that session.

Again, very clear.

You want to strategize this.

Here's how we do this Book XYZ session, right?

That would be another very clear next step for all of you listening.

If you're saying, like, I don't know how to shorten my buyer journey, I want to increase my revenue by $5,000 a month every month on reoccurring revenue.

Okay, great.

You want to look at it?

Let's look at where that is not happening.

We can do that in a revenue intervention session.

Link is in the show notes.

Right?

Again, very clear.

Next steps, do not make people work for it, okay?

And then also, don't give people too many options.

I am all for giving people different entry points, okay?

I am the queen of having different entry points.

I am the queen of having multiple calls to action inside of all of these episodes.

I do it because, again, it's like everybody's at a different point.

And so.

And because with podcasting, you don't know where people are at.

I do like to give multiple calls to action, but they're very clear in what I'm asking you to do next.

Right?

If you want to take this a step further, here's how you can do this.

All right?

If you are having a conversation with somebody and you're saying to them, I'm going to send you some options, right?

And you just send them a document with a bunch of options, their brain is going, I don't know what one to pick.

I just want you to tell me.

But you're not telling them what one you think is best.

Remember, they're coming to you as the expert.

They are relying on you to tell them what is going to get.

Get them the best results and what is the best fit for them.

So I would be very, very careful in making sure that you're not giving too many options and you're not promoting too many things where people don't know what do I actually.

What.

What service is she offering?

Which one is the best fit for me, Right?

Like, that gets very, very confusing.

And that brings me to my last point of get focused.

Right?

If you want to increase and speed up your buyer journey, you've got to get focused on that and you've got to get super clear on your plan.

You' know exactly what's working.

You got to know exactly where to spend your time.

You got to know exactly what marketing you need to be putting your efforts into.

You need to know exactly what client you're trying to attract, right?

You cannot be all over the place.

When you're all over the place, you're going to have a longer buyer journey.

And there may be seasons in your business where being all over the place is beneficial because you're trying to collect data and you're trying to see what's resonating and all of that.

But if you are in a season where you're trying to speed up the awareness to decision, then You've got to get super clear on your pipeline.

You've got to get super clear on your focus, and you need to know exactly what that looks like and where you need to be spending your time.

Okay?

These are the things that are going to speed up your.

The buyer's journey.

Because at the end of the day, buyers speeding it up, what they need is a easy way to make decisions.

Right?

That's what this comes down to, is that people need an easy way to make decisions.

Okay.

So how can you make it easy for them to make a decision?

Right.

Some of that is in.

Again, like we talked about, doing more face to camera, making sure that people can see your face, can hear your voice, giving a way for people to experience you.

I think it's a great way to do, like a conversion event or again, like I said, get out and in person with people.

Make sure your pipeline step is clear.

Okay?

If someone is consuming your content, then what if they are showing up to a conversion event, then what if they are considering it and you've sent them a proposal or you've sent them a link to buy and they have it, then what?

Right?

Like, if they've asked for more information about one of your offers, how do they say what is their next step?

Is it to book a call with you?

Is it to apply for a spot?

Is it to just pay their invoice?

Right.

Like, be very clear and then also get super focused.

Okay?

Get super focused in where you need to be spending your time and energy.

All right?

That is what's going to speed up your buyer journey.

I know you guys are all looking for some magic pill, probably, and you were hoping that I was going to say, if you just do this one thing, it will make everything so much easier.

I don't really feel like there is any one thing.

The one thing I do know is that you can't.

You have to work with those that are ready.

Right.

Honestly, if you are in this, like, convincing energy, that is going to be a very long buyer journey because you cannot convert somebody that is not ready.

You just can't.

Right?

So you're going to feel like you're dragging them along.

You're going to feel like they need a lot of hand holding.

You're going to feel like you're.

You need to do a lot of convincing.

It's going to take you out of the.

Your authority.

It's going to take you out of your position of, like, this is who I am.

This is how you can work with me, right?

You're going to move and you're going to be kind of just like babysitting.

You can nurture people and you can keep the door open with while simultaneously just continuing to move and speak to the people that are ready to hire you.

Okay.

Because the ones that are ready, they are problem aware.

They know they have a problem and they are looking for a solution.

They just don't know that you are the solution.

Right.

So how can you show them that you are the solution to the problem they are already aware of?

Okay.

When you are in convincing energy, you are trying to convince people of a problem that they are not aware of.

Right.

They don't realize it's a problem for them yet.

And that is a much different buyer journey.

Right?

So start speaking to the ones that already know they need you or they already know they're ready to hire.

They just don't know who to hire.

They don't know who the right person is.

Okay.

And you do that by getting super focused on where you're spending your time, where your last clients came in from, where your marketing is converting the best.

Right.

That's going to speed up your buyer journey in itself because you're working with the people that are already ready.

Okay.

So that's what you're working on today.

I want you to ask yourself really, like if you want to reflect on this a little bit deeper, you can reflect on it by asking yourself like, where.

Where is there confusion or stuck points in your client journey?

Right.

When we're talking about like how does somebody move from I just became aware of you to I want to.

I'm interested in learning more about you.

I'm considering actually send me your offer.

And now I want to make a decision.

Where is there a stuck point?

Where is there a gap?

Where do you feel like people are going to fall through?

Okay.

And then really look at how are.

Am I giving people a chance to experience me?

Are you giving people a chance to experience you?

Maybe you're not.

Maybe you think you are, but maybe you're not.

Right?

Can they experience you by being a guest on other podcasts?

Like, that's another great way for people to experience you.

All right, and then what is a next step?

That is a very clear next step step, right?

How can you make it so granular that it is like they don't even need to think about it?

Because it's just do this type of thing, like get that clear with it.

All right, there's.

That's what you're working on today.

If you're listening to this, and you're kind of realizing that your buyer journey is longer than it needs to be.

This is the work that we do in.

In the Focus Visionary.

This is what I work with my clients on in the Focus Visionary Accelerator.

So if you want to talk about that, you absolutely.

Let's book a CEO strategy call.

That's a great starting point.

Right?

I'm just giving you that.

Here's your starting point.

You may not be ready to convert into the Focus Visionary Accelerator yet because you just became aware of me.

But if you're interested in learning more, here's your next step.

It's a CEO strategy call.

This is a completely free call.

Literally no obligation.

But we're going to look at it.

You can talk.

We can talk about where in your buyer journey you feel like things are slowing down.

And then we can.

We'll come up with an action step inside of that call.

You absolutely will walk away with an action step in that call.

And then we'll also talk about whether or not it makes it sense for you to move into a different offer with a little bit more support.

Okay, so I gave you that.

I just modeled that for you right inside of here.

So if you are feeling like your buyer journey is a little bit longer, use something like that.

Go back and listen to that.

Record it.

Do what you need to do, but model after that of being very clear in what you want people to do and what actions you want them to take.

All right.

I love you.

I believe in you, and I will talk to you soon.