Why I Moved to a Strategy-First Model

If you follow my posts and articles, you’ve likely seen me talk about tactics — stronger ad performance, better follow-up, and creative ways we’ve used content to move the needle.

But here’s an important distinction:
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Those results didn’t come from tactics alone.
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They worked because we had the strategy behind them.
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Two Hard Lessons That Changed Everything​

Not long ago, a client I’d worked with before asked me to generate leads for a new project.

We’d had great results in the past, so I said yes.

But this time, it was a different division. Different team. Different systems.
Leads came in… the team were thrilled... but months later only a handful of sales.

There was no follow-up structure. No visibility on where people were in the pipeline.
We had to stop and go back to square one.

Another smart, capable client who had a solid practice from networks and referrals didn’t want to build any social proof on his website or create any content for his company's social media presence. No content, no visibility, no effort to warm up the market.

So we ran ads anyway.
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The leads came in — but they were expensive and hard to convert.
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There was no ecosystem of trust to support the sale.

 The Shift to Strategy-First

I’ve learned the hard way that tactics without structure just create more noise — or worse, more cleanup.

Now, every project starts with strategy.

We define the audience.
Craft the message that resonates.
Shape the offer so it’s easy to say yes to.
And then — only then — do we turn on the tactics.
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That’s the system I now call The Actual Impact Method.

 Strategy Creates the Conditions for Tactics to Work

The case studies I share might focus on one win — a campaign, a follow-up fix, a positioning tweak.
But what made those things work was everything we did before that moment.

That’s the difference between random activity and actual growth.

If you’re profitable but stuck — if growth feels harder than it should — chances are you don’t need more tactics.
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You need a strategic plan.

Image by Quang Vu Ngoc from Pixabay