May 20, 2025
If you’ve spent a lot of money on ads and didn’t get the sales you expected, the problem usually isn’t the ads themselves. When ads fail, it’s usually because one of the three C’s is broken. In this episode of Bringing Simplicity Unfiltered, Greta and Judy break down connection, conversion, and commitment, which C breaks down most often, and how to fix it.
Fair warning: Judy also coins the term “constipated buyer.” It’s unfiltered for a reason.
Any time we look at the success of an ad, or a business in general, we look at three things:
When our campaigns go well, it’s typically because we’re focused on all three.
When people come to us after spending a ridiculous amount on ads with no results, Judy most often sees the conversion C broken. People aren’t asking for the sale. They think they are.
Posting on your story that you have three spots left is not the same as personally reaching out and saying something like, “Based on everything you’ve told me while we’ve been connecting in DMs for the last five months, I’d love to support you. Are you ready to make this commitment to yourself and work with me?” That reach-out can happen through automation or one-on-one DMs. Test different methods until you find the one that works for your program.
Greta focuses on marketing and Judy on sales. The funnel after a pitch is a crossover between the two, and Judy pushes Greta to really ask for the sale in emails, because Greta’s natural tendency is to nurture.
A lot of coaches sell by listing everything they’ll do: “Week one we’ll do this, then I’ll give you this resource.” Judy calls this creating a “constipated buyer.” You bloat them with so much information that they freeze and can’t make a decision. They start thinking, “When am I going to find time for that?” or “I already did that in another mastermind and it didn’t help.”
Listing every step is like selling a trip by describing how dreadful TSA is, reminding people to get to the airport early, and warning them to weigh their bags. Selling the vacation is talking about how excited you’ll be when your 10-year-old walks through the gates of Disney World for the first time. You’re selling the emotion, the outcome, and what’s in it for them. There’s no price you could put on that moment, so when you share your price, it’s a no-brainer.
You can’t jump straight to selling the vacation if you haven’t built the connection first. If no one has ever had a magical Disney moment with you, it feels inauthentic. The more you connect on social media and show the real outcomes of your work, the less your pitch feels like the first time you’ve said it, and the less salesy it feels.
Judy shared an idea from a book she was reading: you connect with each person based on their wants and needs. If someone were selling software to Bringing Simplicity, they’d sell Greta on whether it gives her the data she needs to make quicker decisions. They’d sell Judy on how easy it is for the team and how much more productive it makes everyone. You have to know who you’re talking to.
Are you committed to posting at least three times per week? Are you committed to showing up even when your launch isn’t selling? Launches flop sometimes. You still have to ride it through, because it builds momentum for the next one. You either earn or you learn.
The natural response when no one comments or buys right away is to shrink and hide, assuming it’s a you problem. It’s not. You have to stay committed regardless of the outside response.
Your audience can tell when you’re about to launch something, because you suddenly start showing up. Judy pointed to how you can often spot a celebrity brand partnership coming because the celebrity starts appearing in that world months before the announcement. Are you only showing up when it’s convenient and you’re about to make money? The people Judy wants to work with show up even when they have nothing to launch, because if they can show up for themselves, they can show up for her.
A lot of media buyers won’t have these hard conversations with you. It’s easy to say “just run ads and you’ll get sales,” and sometimes you will. But the people who come to us afraid to run ads again usually had a horrible experience because no one talked about showing up when it isn’t fun, having real conversations with potential clients, or rewriting emails until they resonate.
Bringing Simplicity brings the simplicity, but there’s no easy button for entrepreneurship. It’s simple, but it’s not easy. Having a community that supports you and tells you the truth makes it worth it.
Most often the conversion piece is broken. You may not be directly asking for the sale through personal outreach, emails, or sales conversations. A story post about “three spots left” isn’t the same as a direct, personal ask.
Connection (how you interact with and provide value to people), conversion (your funnels, emails, texts, automation, and sales sequences), and commitment (showing up consistently, even when you’re not getting sales).
Sell the emotional outcome your client wants, not a detailed list of every module and task. Too many details overwhelm buyers so they don’t make a decision.
We recommend at least three times per week, and continuing to show up even when you’re not launching.
If your ads are bringing in leads but not sales, see how we help coaches with ads and funnels or reach out to us.
Want more? Watch every episode of Bringing Simplicity Unfiltered on our YouTube channel.
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Bringing Simplicity is a full-service marketing and Meta Ads agency helping established online businesses scale proven offers through paid advertising, stronger systems, and smarter strategy.
