You Might Be Doing This Wrong With Your Audience

While people are still figuring out who you are and where you belong in their life, like you got to show them, so stop thinking about scalability and start thinking about actually helping people. Because when you actually help people, they're going to want to pay you to keep helping them.

Welcome back to entrepreneur school. I'm so excited to introduce you to my guest today. Her name is Sophia para she is a no fluff marketing strategist and the unfiltered voice behind the marketing unfiltered podcast and pocket CMO, and she has had some incredible success stories with her clients, who have grown from 800 to 50,000 followers, done things like triple their event attendance, land, major features, and she even had one who had a six figure launch through a DM strategy. And Sophia is here to help us ditch the performative content hamster wheel and finally understand what nurturing really means, so you can market your business in a way that feels good and gets results. And also, before we got on record here, we just decided we're going to talk about whatever the hell we want. So that's also what's going to happen on this episode. So welcome Sophia.

Hello. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so thrilled to be here.

I wanted to start with like, a moment for you. When I was out for a walk this morning, I was like, here's how we're going to start this. I'm gonna say Sophia, if you had to get on your soapbox about something right now, like, that's most relevant to you and what you're seeing in your community. What is that? Let's start there.

Oh my gosh. I also, like, love that you were, like, thinking about me, and this was what you thought. You're like, oh yeah, this is what we should do with Sophia, because that's so me. Like, I'm I'm always like, we'll do that in both my clients, like, one second soapbox moment, and then I'll just go on a rant

podcast segment. We're gonna call it the soapbox moment. And it's,

yeah, I love it. I love it. Okay, oh, okay, I could, I could go off on soapbox moments right now. I feel like there's a lot. But what's feeling really top of mind for me today is, and I said it before I started recording, I was like, Oh, is this? Is this too much? Like, I feel like we were all talking about AI a lot, and yet I am seeing again and again and again. I had a call yesterday, in fact, with a client, and she we were running into some problems with her marketing. We were looking at her funnels, and we could see some leaks were happening, and it was very clear to me that the solution was rooted in her offer. And so I we were just thinking, like, what, like, how are we gonna like, sex this offer up a little bit? Sorry, that's like, a really crude way of me being like, saying it's make it more exciting. But that's like, literally what I say to my clients, like, let's sex this up a little bit. So I was like, thinking. I was like, okay, here are the problems with this offer. We're going through it. And then suddenly it clicked and hit me. I was just like, I know what you need to do. And the idea I had was very like, rooted in AI making what she like, the the actual outcome, happen a lot faster. And just like, cut a lot of this stuff that, yes, this program is important to her clients, but it's a little bit like selling broccoli instead of chocolate. Do you know what I mean? And she was selling it as a very like early on in the funnel offer, so it just felt like we needed to make it more exciting. And it was very obvious to me why people weren't that excited about it. So came up with this, AI idea I was really excited about I was like, This is what we should do. It's gonna sex it up, but it's still gonna deliver the thing you actually feel like they need to have, and it set them up for your next offer. And she just looked at me, and she's like, Oh, I don't know, you know, I feel like, AI is really controversial in my

industry. I don't want to, like, you know, basically wear the scarlet letter with it. You know what I mean? I like, she was just feeling really uncomfortable about it. And also feels like for herself, she's like, I also have, like, rough feelings about it, and, you know, I just don't know that I want to go down the AI track. I think I'm gonna stay off of it. Fair enough. We are all like the bosses of our business, and I want you all to do what feels good for you. However, I also feel like people are not fully grasping that the world has changed. Like, there isn't. I'm just not going to go down the AI track like that just doesn't exist anymore, right?

We're past the trend stage. It's not so

Exactly, exactly, I will tell you I just came back. I mean, I'm kind of, kind of sort of still on maternity leave, like, I'm not like, full on back into work. I gave birth about three months ago now, and I was going to come back to work at the two month mark. That's crazy. So I learned that now, right? So anyways, a long story short, I'm working, but very part time, and I have to tell you something, I came back after two. Months, and everything felt different, not just me, myself, but just marketing. So much had happened in those two months, and it was so obvious it was because it was at least partly because of AI, and just like I work in an industry that already changed so often. Do you know what I mean? Like, we already moved a mile a minute inside of the marketing industry, but AI literally turned that into a mile a second. Like everything went so quickly in that in those two months. So I think that some industries are feeling like, oh, but I'm not in that industry. So that's not going to be me. It's everyone, like, everyone is going to be impacted by AI. So I just think if people are still thinking, Oh, I can't use AI because it just doesn't sound like me, the problem you need to solve is, how do I make AI sound like me? It's not okay. I'm just not going to use AI. That's a solution to my problem. No, the solution to your problem is rooted in how you're going to make AI sound like you. So I just think we need to, like, really take it seriously and stop feeling like we have another choice

and and I think that, like the because of that is because people's expectations are changing. Yes, are now like, oh, well, I don't even have to, like, make a meal plan or think about anything, because I can just ask chat, GBT or whatever. So we are, not only do we have instant gratification happening in every kind of content that we consume on social media and short form videos and a whole AI like aI app that makes fake videos that I can't even, don't even get me started on why we need that in the world, but we just have this expectation that, like, things should be easier to do and and AI is like providing that bridge that filters through the learn how to do it and the actual implementation, and it creates it together. So, I mean, I'm totally with you on this. Yeah, I think that's part of the reason, is that people's habits are changing. So this is therefore, from a marketing perspective, who you are selling to has that different belief system,

1,000% like, I work primarily with coaches, and I like, I hate to say this, but like, hear me out here. I'm not saying that, like this in the way where I'm not trying to say, this is the end of the world, it's the end of your business. Like, I'm not saying that, but, like, the truth of the matter is, like, coaching has been devalued. Like, if you're feeling like, wow, things are a lot harder to sell right now, this program that used to kind of fly off the shelves, like, there, it's not these webinars that I used to promote, like, I'm not getting as many signups. Like, if you're seeing that inside of your business, which most people are, right, a lot of that is because AI, like, or AI being in the mix has kind of, like indirectly, some ways directly, like, devalued what we do, because apparently we think our customer thinks, oh, well, AI knows everything. So I can do that with AI. I don't actually need to learn how to do it, because this thing is just going to do it for me, you know. So what we have been doing, at least, if you're in the traditional sense, has been devalued. So it doesn't mean again that, like our businesses are over, but we do have to take a look at that and pivot inside of our business, like, how are okay? Let me back up and say one more thing. What's interesting about the fact that our business, that coaching has been devalued, is that our customer just thinks that what they are getting from AI is like the bee's knees, because they don't know any better, right? So it's like, what's interesting is we, as the experts can see what AI is doing as our job and be like, that sucks, like they're not quite there yet in terms of, like, they can't really put together a marketing strategy the way I can put together a marketing strategy as an example, right? But my client doesn't know that. My client goes into AI and says, This is the strategy that I need. Bing, bing, bing, bing. And it pops out a marketing strategy. And my client believes

that is the best marketing strategy in the entire frickin world, and suddenly Sophia isn't worth it. Do you know what I mean? But so my job, I have a job now to educate people on that, so that people can understand that, yes, AI has tremendous value, but it also has you know, you also run the risk of getting a little bit trapped in something that you think is really good, or you think is going to work, but it's actually not. It's actually not because X, Y and Z, right? So step one for all of us who are out there selling online is we have to understand that we are now speaking like this has to be incorporated into your messaging. You have no choice, right? So you have to address that like, yes, they might think that AI is the solution to the problem that you solve. Tell them why it is not right, or tell them how you are incorporating it into your business so that you can do one step more than what AI can do. All of these things are options. They're all on the table. But for those of us who are not taking that, consider like seriously and really having that. Conversation with ourselves on how we are going to face this head on, we you will fall behind 100% and so I just feel like, I don't know, it gets me a little frustrated when clients do say things like, I'm not going to go down that track because I'm like, You're literally put I hate to say this, but you're kind of putting a nail in your coffin. You know, it's not smart,

yeah, is that

too much? Did I overdo it?

Oh my gosh. I'm like, there's a lot to unpack here, for sure, and like, part of it is, like, there's definitely a whole like, sensitivity around value, like our value as the service provider, as the coach, if we have AI, is that make us less valuable. I've kind of reframe that in terms of it actually allows you to to create more value, because, yeah, and use AI to help with certain elements and get, like, further faster, so that you as the human can do the things only a human can do, have that nuanced conversation really, like, unpack things further. Like, let's take the draft that AI made and, like, dig into that and reflect on that, use all of the layers of knowledge that we have from our expertise, and like, carry on.

Yeah, yeah, it's more about, it's about in terms of operations, right? I feel like, like, AI and my business, is just making my life easier, right? It's helping me be more productive. It's taking certain things off of my plate. It's helping me delegate better, too, you know? So I think for me, like, that's how it lives in my business, and now I'm also, I am incorporating it into my my program as well. So, like, but I, again, I had to sit with battle through maternity leave because I didn't quite know how I was going to use it. Yet, I was using it for content, like I was doing all those things, but I have to say, like I was running to the same problems, like I was it wasn't sounding like me, you know what I mean, like I wasn't pumping out strategies that were really that helpful, you know? And the more I played with it, the more I like to solve those problems one by one. Like, how do I make it sound like me? How do I do this? How to do that? The closer it feels. Because the most incredible part about is that it does learn, you know, yeah, so it's now become an incredible tool inside of my business. So I agree, like, I feel like there is a way to bring it into your business without you feeling like it's replacing you because it can't, like, it's not, it's not at that point yet, like, let's not, yeah, let's not, you know, and I hope it doesn't get there, right? Me too, supposed to be me too. Like, let's Yeah.

He's also all taken oath to, like, use AI, human first AI, like, what that? Yes, as far as adopting it into your world, it's a support tool. So, yeah, maybe just another filter for it, right?

Yeah, 100% and I but I do think that where it gets dangerous is, is people's refusal to to learn it to you know what I mean, I feel like that's the part where I'm like, Oh my gosh, you got to wake up and smell the coffee like you are going to get yourself in trouble.

I'm just having a flashback. So I worked in corporate PR, like my whole first part of my career, and I remember when we had to convince the businesses, like corporate businesses, to have social media. So it's like that again. Remember, no, I don't want to be on social media, and now we're like, but I have to be on social media or I'll die. So when does that go

that is so, so so true. And you know, the other thing that I feel like I'm thinking about my mom in this moment, right? My mom is, is an elderly lady, and she tech is just like, she freaks out. She doesn't know it's daunting. And I get it. I can't even imagine, right, like, and so AI, of course, is like, next level to her. She, I mean, she's, she's not someone who's like, oh, I refuse like, I know, I know people in that generation that are like that. She's not doing that. She's actually quite excited by it, and she she wants to learn it. But the other day, she told me that she paid someone $2,500 to build her a custom GPT. And I'm sorry I just built a custom GPT like this morning, and I did not like even though there was a point where I didn't know how to build a custom GPT either, it's very figure outable, and there are free YouTube videos. And so I share this because I think there's also a trap here, especially for people that do tend to refuse new things and do tend to get daunted by this. Who can I hire to take this problem off my plate. I actually don't suggest that, because I feel like something that chatgpt, for example, has really done is, like, they've actually made it quite accessible. Like, this is it's very easy for you to figure out to play with. Even ask chatgpt, like, how can I learn how to do this? And it will tell you, you know what I mean. So I. I think, like, if anyone listening is as kind of like my mom, like who? Because I know this is, this is how my industry started. I started out as a social media marketer. Everyone was terrified of social media, so they were hiring people like me. And I literally shut down that agency, in part because I was like, I am literally like the people that are hiring me to basically pretend to be them online are they're not learning how to they're they're not learning messaging. They're not learning how to exist for their business. They're not looking they're not building relationships with

Well, I think this is, like, yes, a wonderful soapbox moment. And I think the thing I'd like to, like, parlay over to, like, the next part of our conversation is just in general, being aware of not just trends, but shifts, important, big shifts like this and how that affects the way that you do business. Because I know we would all love to think, once I figure it out, everything's gonna be great.

Oh, that's so true.

Without laughing, because how it works, yeah? Like, cool. You figured that out. Now, moving on like you either Yeah, pandemic

or Yeah, or that very thing totally, or that very thing you figured out is now different, like, because that happens all the time, yes,

so, so what are your like current hot takes on some of the more important things that are working well, or things to focus on when it comes to marketing,

yeah, well, I mean, I do think that incorporating AI is one of those things, and we can talk more about that, that there's been a little bit of that in the last few years, even before chat between, like, many chat and things like that, like, there's lots of AI out there that you can use to Just take one of the lifts off of your plate, right? So, like, again, we can talk about that more, more specifically, if you want to. But I also think there's, like, a very almost too basic thing that is so freaking important. And it to be honest, it's never stopped being important. But I do think people got really lazy and started feeling like that was like, oh, that's like, not that important anymore. That was important before, but now I'm going to scale my business, and that's not scalable, and that it's really rooted in how you're building relationships. I think a lot of people probably listen to this podcast, and definitely people that listen to my podcast, like, there's something that we're calling the trust recession. It's out there. It's real. It's all about, you know, people now, like online business has been around for a while now, and people are feeling, a lot of our customer base are feeling burned by programs they've invested in, coaches that they've worked with. You know, whatever it might be like, they just feel like they thought it was going to be one thing, and it wasn't right. And unfortunately, there are lots of shady marketers online, like, you know, click bait and switches are a real thing, people making false promises. There's something we call bro marketing, which just feels really slimy, like all of that stuff exists. So when you are not that person, it can be really disappointing sometimes to sell super authentically, and basically have a room full of people just not feel like you're the real deal, or not really feel like you're authentic. And unfortunately, that's because of past experience that they have had. So we are at a

point now in online business where there's been a lot of that, right? There's been a lot of slimy selling, a lot of false promises. And now we are feeling that. Now, I think, with the introduction of AI as well, we're feeling that in a way that we never have before, right? So again, back to those sluggish sales, the webinars that aren't failing, all of those things that's happening, yes, in part because of the introduction of I don't know if you noticed it before. I said it was in part this the other reason is because of the trust recession, right? So for me, something that I spend a lot of time doing is nurturing my audience. And when I say that to people, a lot of people are like, oh, yeah, yeah, no, I do that. I like post every day, you know? And I like email like every week, like, I'm really good at nurturing, and I hate to tell you this, but that's not nurturing, right? We have been told that's nurturing, because, sure, three years later, if you nurture well enough, they might buy from you, right? But nurturing is actually about creating a back and forth conversation, and if we're being honest with ourselves, your daily posts. Are not creating back and forth conversations, your weekly emails, maybe a couple, a handful of replies, sure, but I'm gonna bet like we're you're not creating as much conversation as you should be, if you're gonna call that nurturing. So something that I talk about a lot. And I don't know if this is necessarily what's hot right now for everyone, but this is definitely important for me. Is creating, you know, almost like events or efforts inside of your business that are solely designed for nurturing in the same way that we launched to sell. We host campaigns to sell, right? We do bundles to grow, like we have these concentrated efforts to grow and to sell, but when it comes to nurturing, we're just so passive about it. We're just like, Oh yeah, I'm just going to be consistently creating content that will do it.

But so I instead of taking those same ideas, and I'm like, this point of this event is only to nurture. I'm not selling on it. I'm not doing anything like that. I am giving people an opportunity to have a conversation with me, so that they get build a relationship with me, and when it comes time to sell, right? I already have a warm list of people that have already demonstrated an interest in me and have already talked to me before, so they're already warmer, right? So I can much more easily sell to them, but also they will much more easily jump into my sales events because of that relationship. So for me, this, like much more intentional way of nurturing is is something that I see probably 80 to 90% of business owners not doing okay.

I love that you're uncovering this and calling out just like what we think consistent communication is nurturing, but you're right, because that still allows people to be passive. And yeah, like, yeah, I can see my open rates, and I can see my click through rates, but I feel that pain. I'm like, How do I get people to actually respond to me? So I've been trying some different things too, so I'd love to hear some examples of how you do this, and then also maybe, like, is there a specific sweet spot that you're finding, like, within, like, a new a new lead journey, I guess so say, like, you just hosted a bundle, then within three weeks or a month, you're gonna do something, I don't know. What is it?

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I do all those things, right? I kind of design those ideas, like case to case, like, based off of what I'm doing, but I have a checklist, right? So it's lit, growth is always the first thing, typically, right? So it's like, I actually think when I'm doing a growth effort, what is my nurture effort following that, and then what, like my sales efforts are already in my calendar, like they just stay there, right? And in between them, I'm thinking, what's my growth effort and what's my nurture effort? And I'm just basically repeating that cycle, growth, nurture, sell growth, nurture, sell growth, nurture, sell. And so what that means is, like, pretty much every month I have a different focus, right? If I have one focus, that's growth, let's say January is growth, right? February is nurturing. March is sales, April is growth. I was like, wait, what comes after March? You know? So again, it doesn't have to stick that way, but I do feel like that makes sure that I really am hitting all the things on a consistent enough basis. Now, I want to be clear, it does not mean when I am nurturing. It was when I am growing in January. Let's say I have a bundle happening in January, right? It doesn't mean I'm not nurturing, or I don't have the opportunity to sell, or I don't. It doesn't mean those things aren't happening, but I know when the volume is up, right? So I alternate when the volumes are up on which effort. Because again, I need new people in my community to keep selling to them, I need to be having conversations with people so that they want to actually buy from me. Eventually they have enough trust to actually make that leap. And then I need to be selling because I'm a coach, and a lot of coaches do tend to forget to sell because we love just giving to people. We love supporting people. We love what we do like part of what we do is, like, we like to help people, so we literally forget to sell. So I have to have those things in as well

as like to basically be checking off each effort, right? So, okay, a couple of specific things that I do, right? One thing that I've talked about a lot. Have you ever heard me talk about my Q and A Day party? No, but I love that idea. Okay, so there was a point in, like, a lot of my clients were hosting these, like, Q and A days, right? And the idea was, come on to zoom, and you can ask me your questions and this and that, but people were not showing up for them, right? Like, maybe a couple. But then what was happening was two people for an hour long Q and A day, they were basically giving, like, private sessions, and that wasn't feeling like a nurture event. It was just feeling like they were just literally, like, like giving away free coaching calls. Do you know what I mean? It just didn't it started to feel icky. It started to drain them a little bit. Then I also was moved to England, and had a major time zone issue, where, when I was available and feeling good. About a Q and A webinar or whatever. It was not a good time for, like, my audience, which is in the States, right? So I had a text list at the time, and I'll tell you why I shut down my text list, though, the first I'll say I had a text list at the time, and I was like, Wouldn't it be so fun if instead, I was just like, text in text conversations with people, like, so it's like they could ask me questions and I could just, like, give them a reply. But like, then it was done. It wasn't like we are just sitting there, just chatting for an hour. You know what I mean? It was more like, here's your question, let me give you an answer. So I was like, let me test this. So I basically said, Hey, like, I'm hosting a Q and A I called it the Q and A text list party again, I wish I was more creative with names, because I didn't realize it would become like a whole thing that I was going to do, but I'm having a Q and A text list party like, text me a question to this phone number. I'm going to respond to as

many as I can between the hours of 9am and 3pm I am still coaching today, so I can't guarantee I'm going to get back to you, but if you send me your question, that means you have the opportunity to get it in front of me so I can shoot you an audio or some kind of a demonstration, or maybe even a free resource to help you solve that problem, right? So I put this out. I had no idea what was going to happen, and suddenly my text list really started to grow, right? Because people are like, Oh my god, I have a question. I have a question. I have a question. Now there are rules to this, right? That you can only ask one question after I give my response. It's not like you can have a follow up question that was not what it was, right? It was an opportunity for me to give you a detailed, like, a quite an answer to you specifically, instead of, like, this kind of cookie cutter response, right? It also meant I could basically scale discovery call conversations, right? Because a lot of the times you get on a discovery call, and I don't know if everyone does this, but I do give a little bit of coaching. I want people to really understand that I know what I'm talking about. So it's not just like a hey, let me come on, let me sell to you kind of thing. So I was like, this is an opportunity for me to, like, demonstrate that I know what I'm talking about, even just looking at their Instagram page, right? Without, like, you know, having to put something on my calendar, which, let's face it, I didn't really have that much time. Do you know what I mean? So, long story short, I started doing these things and I again, they were like, one day a month, let's say, and people could ask me a question, and there's response consistently. Was like, Oh, my God, I didn't think you were going to reply to me, right? That was, like, the constant response. They were so stunned that someone was actually putting energy back into them, right? Because that's just not what they were used to.

So that felt really good. I gave them lots of clarity. And then they were consistently saying, Is there, like, Do you have a place where I can go learn how to work with you, right? So then I was like, Okay, what if I made this a little bit more intentional? Right? Now, I'm just doing random Q and A, right? So I started using them as market research as well. I started writing down every single thing that people were asking. There was lots of repetitive questions. So then I turned those into like, offers, like, solve this thing in 12 hours. Like, I started to turn those into, like, you know, things that I could actually sell. So that was one way that I use them. I turned them into email, email topics again, like I had this massive database that I sold. I sold, like, membership to so they could have access to as long as they were a member. I kept building out that database based off of what people were asking, and I turned it into a sales activity. So in addition to having this conversation, right, what would typically happen is they would ask me a question, like, Hey, I'm just making this question up, but like, I'm curious, like, what do you think is the best growth strategy for me? Right? I'd ask them a couple questions, and I'd say, this is probably it. And here's why they were like, Oh my gosh, I've been trying to solve this problem for two years. Like this makes so much sense. And then they would say, then I would say, You know what? Like, if these are the kinds of questions you have, you should probably check out my such and such membership. Let me know if you want the link. So I wasn't even like a like, it was just like, I've got it there. Let me know if you're interested, right? And everyone started asking for that. So in the first year I did, I had a 100% conversion rate with my Q and A days. Every single person who asked a question became a client by the end of the year. So that's how it started. Then the following year, I had a 93%

conversion rate. And then this year, I'm in the 90s. I'm for this. We're not. It's October right now, so we're not the end of the year, but I'm still in the 90s. So why is that happening? Because I'm actually having back and forth conversations with my community. I'm not waiting for them to read an email, I'm not waiting for them to watch my reel like I'm creating opportunities for them to actually have a conversation with me, and I'm creating content based off of that as well. So I'm speaking to my entire community with the topics that are being presented to me inside of Q A days. But then I'm actually those conversations that I'm having are where a lot of the sales are happening. That was, like, very long. I hope that

was so I was like, all the details. Okay, so here's the like piece that my follow up question is, where. Are you making the invitation to start that conversation? Is it primarily your podcast? Like? So this is like, people are already in your sphere somewhere, yeah. And then the like, here's my number. Text me. Thing comes up. Like, what is that process?

Yes, so I should say that I have, I'll give one piece of information, and I'll answer your question, I shut down the text list because I tested the same strategy on my email list and I had the exact same results. So I was like, Well, I'm not going to do text list then, because why? Just more content for me to create, you know? So I now do that on my email list, right? So that is, I used to invite people on like social media my email list to drive to my text list right now. I'm like, if I was seeing the same results in my email list, I don't need to have another thing going, right? So now I mentioned it on social media. Sometimes I'm in a hiatus, so I don't even do that now, but I literally just invite people on my email list and say, hit reply with your question. I'm answering from nine till three, right? So now it's a question again, this is a nurturing effort, not a growth effort, right? And I think that's really important for people to understand, like, in the same way that your bundles, like, Sure, would you like to be nurturing the people that come through a bundle? Absolutely, you'd love to do that, but it's really hard to be having back and forth conversations while you're in the middle of a bundle and all these new people are coming in, right? And also might be too much, right? And I think there's value in like giving people space to to have the experience you've designed. And if a bundle is a growth experience, let it be a growth experience. This is a nurture experience. So I actually don't pollute it with also making it a growth experience. I'm like, these are for the people right in front of me. What is helpful, though, is the timing that I do it. So to answer your question, earlier, you're like, Okay, so like, when do you, like, Do you have a bundle coming in? Like, where does this come but, like, when does that happen? Right? So my bundle people, they come in. In fact, almost any event I have now, people are gonna

really see what I'm doing here. Like, if I have a

bundle, I have something when we when we sign up, like, what's gonna happen now? But, yeah, I think you'll be more excited to see what's happening with yours. I'm gonna go check I was in your bundle. Yeah.

it up into segments, do you know what I mean, and do a Q and A day for each segment, so that people actually like, there's an opportunity for me to actually respond to them, right? But that's essentially like, how I kick things off with our relationship, right? I give them a heads up. I say, hey, it's like I per my promise, like it's been 30 days. I'm so glad you're here. You know you're going to be glad you stuck around, because I want to give you some free coaching. Here's how it works, right? Then, in my response, when they ask a question, I give like, I film videos for them. I audit their stuff. I tell them what I'm seeing. I do recordings, I give them free tools and resources, like, if I can answer that question right, it's gonna get answered. I'm not. It's not like silly, you know, cookie cutter responses, or even chat GBT responses, like I am answering that. Question, like, they are a client, right? I'm make I'm putting a lot of effort into it, and the reason is because, A, they're not used to that. B, we have an opportunity to build a relationship and see what happens every single time is they ask a question that fits with one of my offers. So I say, before I answer this, I want you to know like I have a program that speaks to this. So if this is what you're struggling with, like, you might want to investigate that. Let me know if you want the link, but let me answer your question. So I don't even give it to them unless they ask for it, right? But because my answer is so damn good, almost 100% of them are like, Yeah, can I see that link? Right? So that's essentially what I do, right? And then they have that link that they can keep forever if they want to keep referencing it, like, but I put time and energy into it, and I, like, I said, I had 100% conversion rate the first time I did this.

Ah, I'm loving this. And it's like, hitting at the like, perfect time for me, because I'm like, Oh, I think you just bridged, like, exactly what I was trying to figure out right now because I hosted a bundle 30 days ago, oh my god, also did not send them an email. I was like, that same reason. I was like, Yeah, I think we probably both followed the same Dallas Travers bundle plan. So shout out to her. Yeah for that. But yeah, I love this, and I'm always trying to get so I think there's one more thing to just like underscore here, which I'm hearing from you. So tell me if I'm hearing this right. Because I feel like I'm always trying to get people to ask me questions. I'm like, I'm here, but all the time, like, I'm all like, I've been trying this, like, Friday, one question email, like, yes every week, and I'll ask them one question. I just want the reply to that question. I was like, maybe I'll flip it and be like, this is Friday. You ask me a question and see what happens. Yeah, I think what you're saying is that, like you have this day, and you kind of make it more like an event, and there's that timeline urgency around it, that's probably what tips the scales.

It's the buzz, right? Because exactly you're turning this into event. It's not something that they can do it all the time. It's not even a call to action, right? There is a party happening. Like, do you want to come and party with me or not? Do you know? Like, that's the energy? Because I do think that's true. We're all asking questions, right? Like, we're like, why aren't people responding? To be honest, I doubt people even notice the question, because we're all doing it, there needs to be some kind of a pattern interrupt, right? And eventually, like, I've talked about my Q and A days on lots of podcasts, people ask me about them all the time because I do them. So if people ask me on a podcast, they're like, tell me about this Q and A Day strategy. Like, how are you putting all this effort into answering people's questions? Like, I can't, I can't find the time to do that. Like, whatever it is. So this comes up a lot. So there could be a point when even my Q and A Day strategy will need a pattern interrupt, right? Because that is marketing. We started this conversation talking about how things change a lot, right? So I'm not going to lie to you and say like every tip I share is going to work all the time. Everything needs a pivot. Everything is going to need a pattern interrupt. This one included, but the biggest Pattern Interrupt right now is that fucking CTA, because that shit don't work. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, it's like we have been told to add calls to action for the past 10 years, and there was a point when it worked, but now it feels almost like we're giving other people work, right? And I think now we have a much more solution oriented consumer base, largely because of AI, because we're going to AI with our problems, right? And they it's pumping out solutions, so we, the experts, have to a provide answers. But also, I think there's another argument here, where that I hear a lot, they're like, but that's not scalable, you

I was like, Whoa. Did I get off that soapbox? I feel like I just stayed on. I. Was just, we just hopped from soapbox to soapbox, but actually it was just like, you just summarized this entire conversation so beautifully there. Because it's not like, it's about following, it's not about trends, like, I can't even that's not even the right way to say this. It's about being aware of what's happening in the world, but also focusing so much on the relationships that you build, because that's sweet. Like, I think a lot of the time we filter the strategies that we hear when we're looking for help with marketing. We filter that through, like, I get, yeah, the idea of scaling and making the easy, and don't provide access to yourself, because that should be $25,000 and it's like, no, it shouldn't, like, yeah, where do we get off with the audacity to believe that that's what we should be charging. Because back to what you said before about being burned by coaching. That's what we paid somebody. Yeah, then in the past, and now we're like, oh shit, yeah, all of this, like, all of this is so so good, and I love and thank you for being so transparent and providing like, so much. Like tangible there. Like someone could listen to this episode and definitely see how to apply that. And I just want to also underscore, like, the idea about scalability. I was in like, a local incubator for startups and like they think about things differently. These are like businesses that want to like grow and get investment and like sell. So they're building their business differently. And when we're used to like what's been talked about in the online space, we're thinking about a different way. And I could not even like the fact the first day in there, the thing that I took away was you're not scaling yet. Like, you're just not like, don't even think about scaling. Do all the things that are not scalable. Like that is actually what's going to make you stand out, being willing

to do that. And here, because this also is so in alignment for me, like building relationships is so key to the key dealing with that trust recession that you talked about, which is for real, and, you know, establishing yourself as the authority and area that you're an expert in, and also showing why you're you're valuable, regardless of the role of AI in the world. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's the little bow for everything that we just talked about. Amazing, amazing, amazing. And make sure, Sophia, that you tell us all where to get all the things and more of you, and says everyone's gonna be in love with you and want to come in all your stuff now.

Oh my gosh, I love it. Okay, so Well, I do have a podcast called Marketing unfiltered. Kelly was just on it. Her episode's not out yet, but it'll be soon. I freaking love marketing unfiltered. So if you do like a podcast, which I guess you do, because you're listening to this one, like we have a lot of fun over there, and Kelly's episode is great. So marketing unfiltered, I also, I will say, because I walk through the Q and A strategy, I have a, like, this private podcast. It only has 10 episodes. It doesn't get added to it's just those 10 episodes that I had guests to, but like, join me on it as well. So you can learn, like, 15 minute strategies, not just for me, but from other people as well. But I share that because I actually outline every single step of the Q A strategy I have, like, email templates, like exactly what to say in your email with the invitation, how to respond, like, all the things. So if anyone's like, I do want to try that, like, you'll hear all my tips and tricks inside of that episode. So I'll give you the link Kelly, so you can put it inside of your show notes. Yeah. And then what else? What else? Oh, and you can follow me at Sophia para and on Instagram, I was like, Wait Where?

Oh, and I feel like we need to end with a fun fact that I learned because of Instagram, which is that you're married to Bradley rose,

yes, oh my gosh. Do you know Bradley?

Oh, I'm a big peloton fan, so I'll make sure that I get a Bradley workout in here. I think I did one recently before. I love him when he's like, like, your little what does he say about he's just so funny. Whoever loves twinkle toes? Twinkle Toes, that's it.

Yeah, we have because we just had a baby, as I mentioned earlier. And so we have a new song that we sing to Grayson every night. And it's, this is so lame, I can't believe I'm doing this right now. Probably it's literally gonna be like, Why did you do that? It's what we say daddy on the bike goes clickety clack, clickity. And then we say it again with daddy on the bus goes twinkle toes, Twinkle and we just kind of like play with him as we sing a song. It's so lame.

You love it. That is what we do. Thank you for sharing. Oh, thank you so much, Sophia.

Oh, thank you so much for having me.