You’ve gotten clear on your positioning. You’ve built a solid offer. You know what you’re selling and who it’s for.

And then nothing happens. Or at least, not much happens. Maybe a few people buy here and there, but it’s not consistent. It’s not predictable. And it definitely doesn’t feel like the business is actually working.

In part one of this series, we talked about brand positioning and your offer suite—getting clear on who you serve and building offers that actually work together instead of being a collection of random things.

But here’s what I see happen all the time. A yoga teacher does all of that work and then still struggles to make consistent sales. And the reason is usually one of two things. Either their messaging isn’t actually selling, or they don’t have a sales process that runs in the background.

Today we’re diving into those two shifts, because you can have the best positioning and the most beautiful offer in the world, but if people don’t understand why they should buy it or there’s no clear path for them to take that next step, you’re going to stay stuck.

The ceiling of word-of-mouth marketing

When you’re making $2,000 or $3,000 a month, you might be relying heavily on word of mouth, on the people who already know you and trust you. Like with their first online course launch or online membership, most yoga teachers sell it to their existing students. The people who’ve already been in your classes, who already know what it’s like to work with you.

And that can work for a while. But it also has a ceiling. Because at some point, you’ve sold to everyone in your immediate circle. And if you want to grow beyond that, you need to be able to attract and convert people who don’t already know you.

That’s where messaging comes in.

Shift three: Your messaging

To get to $10K months, your messaging needs to sell. Not in a pushy or manipulative way, but in a way that naturally leads people to want to work with you.

And I think this is where the disconnect happens for a lot of teachers. We’ve been told that if we just show up and share value, people will eventually buy. But that’s not actually how it works when you’re trying to reach people who don’t already know you.

What messaging that sells actually looks like

Messaging that sells speaks directly to a problem someone is experiencing and shows them that you understand it. It makes your offers visible and relevant instead of hidden or implied. And it invites people to take a next step instead of just consuming your content and moving on.

This doesn’t mean every piece of content has to be a sales pitch. It just means that your content needs to connect to your offers in a clear and consistent way.

Let me give you an example from my own business. When I write an email or create a piece of content about building your first small digital offer, I’m not just giving general advice. I’m speaking directly to a teacher who’s been thinking about creating something but doesn’t know where to start. I’m naming the confusion they’re feeling. I’m showing them what’s possible. And then I’m letting them know that if they want step-by-step support with this, I have something that can help.

That’s it. I’m not manipulating anyone. I’m not creating false urgency. I’m just being clear about what I help with and how they can work with me if they’re ready.

People don’t buy programs, they buy transformation

I’ve had yoga teachers tell me, “I post on Instagram every day. I share valuable content. But no one ever asks about my programs.” And when I look at their content, it’s lovely. It’s inspiring. But when they do mention their offers, they’re talking about features. “Join my six-week program.” “I have a new course available.” “Book a one-on-one session with me.”

But people don’t buy six-week programs or online courses or one-on-one sessions. They buy transformation. They buy certainty that they can get the result they want.

So your messaging needs to focus on the outcome, not the container. What changes for someone when they work with you? What becomes possible that wasn’t possible before? What does their life actually look like on the other side?

When I talk about the Blissful Biz Academy, I’m not just saying “it’s a six-month group program with weekly calls.” I’m talking about what it means to finally have a business that supports the life you actually want to live. To stop feeling invisible in a crowded market. To have launches that fill without you having to convince anyone. To show up as the leader your students are already waiting for.

That’s what people are buying. The certainty that this transformation is possible for them, and that you’re the right person to guide them there.

And the way you create that certainty is by consistently speaking to the problem they’re experiencing, showing them what’s possible, sharing stories and examples that prove it works, and making it clear that you understand exactly what they’re going through and how to help them get to the other side.

That’s very different from just mentioning your offer more often.

Shift four: Your sales process

The fourth shift is about your sales process, and this is the piece that creates consistency.

When you’re making $2,000 or $3,000 a month, you can wait for people to come to you. You can post on Instagram, send occasional emails, and hope that someone reaches out when they’re ready. And sometimes that works. Someone will message you, you’ll have a conversation, and they’ll sign up.

But to get to $10K months, you need an actual system that consistently enrolls clients without depending on hope or perfect timing.

The problem with traditional funnel advice

And I want to be really clear about what I mean by a sales process, because I think a lot of yoga teachers have seen examples of this that feel really off.

When I first started learning about evergreen funnels, that’s what everybody was teaching. Use expensive tools like Deadline Funnel or WebinarJam. Set up fake countdown timers. Use tricks like not letting people forward a video, or making them wait before the buy button shows up. Create individual deadlines for every subscriber so they think they’re getting a special limited-time offer, when really it’s just automated.

And none of that ever felt right to me.

Tools like Deadline Funnel let you give an individual deadline to every subscriber, and after the deadline is over they get redirected to another sales page with a higher price. So that’s not strictly lying, but it also feels off because we all know it’s an automated funnel and you can simply sign up again with a different email address. For me, that’s not aligned, feel-good marketing.

How I built an aligned evergreen system

So I decided to create my own evergreen system that doesn’t use any of that. Something simple that feels good and yes, actually works.

Instead of using expensive funnel software for my evergreen free training, I host the video on Vimeo. You can also use YouTube for free. And I embed it at the top of my sales page. When someone signs up for my free training on my website, they get added to a strategic email sequence where I share the link to this page so they can watch the training.

In those emails, I share value, I share stories, and yes, I also invite them to join my program. But I don’t use timers and I don’t lie. I don’t say things like “you have only five days to get this discount” if that’s not true, if it doesn’t actually go away.

Using marketing psychology the right way

Now, I still use marketing psychology. Because it’s not enough to just put your online course on your website and hope that someone will buy it.

People procrastinate. We all do. We think “oh, this looks interesting, I’ll check it later,” and then we never do. Or we think “I’ll do this when I have more time,” and that time never comes.

So your job is to help your potential clients take action. Not by lying to them or creating fake urgency, but by reminding them what’s at stake. What it would cost them not to do this. By inspiring them with case studies and examples of what’s possible. By giving them certainty that you are the right person to help them get to the result they want.

That’s what my email sequences do. They build a case over time. They address objections. They share stories. They remind people why this matters. And they make it easy to say yes when someone is ready.

What this looks like in practice

Let me walk you through what this looks like.

Someone finds me through my content, maybe a blog post or a podcast episode or Instagram. They’re invited to sign up for a free training that addresses a specific problem they’re dealing with. When they sign up, they immediately get access to that training. It’s right there on the page, no tricks, no waiting.

Then over the next week or so, they receive a series of emails. Some share additional value related to the training. Some share stories from my own journey or from clients I’ve worked with. Some address common questions or objections. And yes, some invite them to take the next step and join my program or buy my small digital offer.

At the end of that sequence, if they haven’t bought, they move into my regular email list where I continue to show up, share value, and make offers when it’s relevant.

That’s it. No fake timers. No pressure. No manipulation. Just a clear, consistent path that makes it easy for someone to work with me when they’re ready.

Why this creates predictable income

Most yoga teachers don’t have anything like this. They might have a free download on their website, but there’s no follow-up sequence. Or they have an email list, but they only email when they feel like it or when they’re launching something.

And here’s what happens when you don’t have a system. You end up doing all the selling manually. You’re constantly thinking about what to post, what to say, how to get people to buy. You’re relying on individual conversations or perfect timing. And that’s exhausting. It’s also not scalable.

When you have a system, people are moving through your process all the time. Some will buy your small offer. Some of those people will move into your bigger program. And you’re not doing anything except showing up consistently with your content and letting the system do its work.

That’s what creates predictable income. That’s what allows you to stop worrying about whether this month is going to be okay financially and start thinking about how to grow and expand.

Where to start

So those are the two shifts we covered today. Your messaging and your sales process.

You don’t need expensive software. You don’t need complicated funnels. You don’t need to do anything that feels manipulative or off. You just need clarity about what you’re offering and a simple system that guides people from discovering your work to actually working with you.

In part three, we’re talking about the final shift: leadership. Because all of the strategy in the world won’t matter if you’re not showing up as the leader your audience is waiting for. And that’s often the hardest shift of all, but it’s also the one that ties everything else together.

If you’re feeling stuck, like whatever you do nothing really moves the needle, and you’re ready for strategic support, applications are open for the Blissful Biz Mastermind. This is a six-month high-touch coaching experience where we work through all of these shifts together. You can learn more and apply at susannerieker.com/mastermind.