Years ago, I had the pleasure of being royally judged by a millionaire.

It hurt, but the silver lining was he revealed the #1 mistake most marketers make.

 I had just launched my business and somehow, someway booked a call with him. Now I was pumped —I didn’t have any customers yet, and to book a meeting with someone so high profile, I was on cloud nine. But as the meeting started —that’s when it all went downhill — fast.

I shared with him a link to my website, and I distinctly remember the millionaire’s face growing sour. His lips were pursed. His brow was furrowed, and I could see the confusion grow on his face like a weed in the sunlight.

And after several uncomfortable moments, he said a few words that changed my life. “People won’t understand what you do … and it’s a shame because you have a million-dollar business.” It pierced my heart, but he was right.

 I had made the #1 mistake most entrepreneurs and marketers make. I wasn’t clear with my marketing.

What is Clarity in Marketing?

Clarity in marketing is being crystal clear about what you do, who you do it for, and what the benefits are, so your future customers can easily understand. After all, when you think about how people shop, that’s exactly what they do.

They want to know who you are, what you do, and why you should care. Seems pretty basic right?

Why it Matters

Clarity matters because the more clearly you define what you do, the easier it will be to gain traction. The key word here is easier.

 If you look at human nature, your strategic go-to-market leader, you’d know that anytime someone has to think, there’s friction. So you HAVE to be easy to understand… your wallet depends on that.

Think of it like shopping. Let’s say you’re in a busy mall with one goal: buying a new pair of shoes. You’d be on the lookout for the first sign of a shoe store, reading signs, staring at windows, and bobbing your head up and down like a mother who lost her child.

But at this mall, there’s a problem…every store kind of looks the same. And after a quick lap, you think, jeeze, they don’t have a shoe store, let me go somewhere else.

Guess what: The online world works the same way. If you don’t immediately make it clear what you do, chances are, your future customers aren’t going to stick around to find out.

The problem most businesses face

 However, most companies and websites miss this foundational lesson. (I did too!) Often, websites are unclear about what they sell and who they benefit.

 The focus on making themselves seem smart, instead of focusing on the customer. In other words, they’re unclear.

For example, imagine walking into a bakery with a sign that reads: “Synergize your taste buds with our multi-faceted array of artisanal flour confections, crafted with meticulous precision and activated by the alchemy of our ovens.”

After you pick your jaw up from the floor, you’d probably only have a few *unpleasant* words: “What the fuuu…fudge is going on here?” And then immediately turn around and leave, with the doorbell still jingling.

 If the bakery was clear, it could have said, “Freshly baked bread, pastries, and cakes made with love. Find your perfect loaf or sweet treat today!” And boom, you and I are eating French Bread. But as many of you know, most marketers don’t do this. They say:

· Tech companies: “Leverage our cutting-edge cloud-based solutions to optimize your workflow and synergize your bottom line.”

· Consultants: “We help you reimagine your core competencies and navigate the paradigm shift for a paradigm shift.”

· Financial institutions: “Maximize your wealth potential through diversified asset allocation and proactive risk mitigation strategies.”

And even though the business owners may like the sound of that — your customers likely won’t understand what you do… at least initially. And if you’re in the business of making money and creating impact — that’s a problem.

It’s All About Clarity 

So what’s the solution? Well… it’s clear, (pun-fully-intended) it’s leaning heavily into the power of clarity.

 It’s you making things so simple to understand that it’s impossible to confuse. And that’s not really a bad thing — that’s what you have to do to sell and market your products.

Remember, your target audience isn’t just the people you’ve met in your life or the glamorous shots you see on social media. Your customers may also live in the middle of nowhere, where their neighbor is a cow-named-Bessie.

They all need to understand what you do.

From my expierence, many marketers incorrectly think to be simple is to dumb down your brand. But that’s fundamentally wrong. It takes extreme intelligence to make the complicated simple. After all, what did Albert Einstein say? “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, then you don’t understand it yourself.” — The man kind of has a point.

Use This Trick for Instant Clarity

So, Anthony, how DO you gain clarity for your marketing? Well…here’s my dead-simple trick: Pretend your only job is to explain what you do to a 5th grader.

 If you can get their eyes to light up as you name your best features and benefits, you’re doing it right. If not, well… you’re doing it wrong.

 This “explain it to a 5th grader” trick works because it forces you to strip away jargon, overcomplication, and anything that gets in the way of pure, simple understanding. And guess what? Adults crave that same clear communication too. We might have fancier vocabularies, but our brains still appreciate the ease of understanding.

Full Circle

 In the case of my business, the analogy I’ll use is I was marketing myself as a buffet when my ideal customer only wanted a steak. I could solve so many problems that I lost sight of the specific problem I solve: helping coaches and founders make money with their email list by leaning into clarity.

 So what did I do? I focused 80% of my messaging on the problem I solved and the result. More business.

That’s the power of clarity.

Please, like, comment, share and tell me what you think. Do you believe in the power of clarity?