Episode Overview
Marketing advice is everywhere. Optimize this. Automate that. Scale this and that. What if the very things we’re told will fix our marketing are actually the reason it feels completely stuck?
In this episode of Marketing Snacks, Alison Knott sits down with Joel Kelly of Kelford Labs for a refreshingly honest, mildly spicy conversation about optimization, perfectionism, and resistance. And why all three love to quietly sabotage B2B and service-based businesses.
As Alison says early on, this episode is “part reality check, part validation that it ain’t you, it’s the way we’re being told to market.”
Featured Speakers
- Alison Knott is the founder of Alison K Consulting, where she helps B2B and service-based businesses market complex, nuanced, or sensitive work with clarity and confidence. She’s known for cutting through marketing noise with warmth, wit, and a dose of reality.
- Joining her is Joel Kelly, founder of Kelford Labs. Joel works with advisors and communicators who want better clients without hiding behind busywork that feels productive but doesn’t actually move the needle.
What We Talk About in This Episode
Optimization as procrastination (yes, we said it out loud)
Joel doesn’t tiptoe around this one:
“Optimization is most often procrastinating on selling one person on your service offering.”
Oof. But also… accurate.
Chasing 1,000 clients feels safer than talking to one actual human. Mass marketing is less awkward. Less personal. Less “what if they say no?”
But here’s the truth bomb: Scaling isn’t the hard part. Proving people want what you’re selling is. As Joel puts it:
“That dial’s not attached to anything until you have a sale to be able to scale.”
You can’t optimize something that doesn’t exist yet.
The takeaway: Before you tweak tools or platforms, ask yourself:
- Have I actually talked to real prospects?
- Do I know why someone buys from me?
- Can I trace a sale back to something specific I did?
If not, optimization isn’t a strategy. It’s an avoidance with better branding.
Perfectionism: polite, professional… and paralyzing
Perfectionism loves to dress up as professionalism.
“It’s not ready yet.”
“It needs one more pass.”
“What if this isn’t the best version of me?”
Alison says it plainly:
“If you’re taking forever to make something perfect, it never gets published.”
And when nothing gets published, nothing can work, fail, or even give you mildly useful data. Joel nails it:
“Marketing is a performance. It’s not for you. It’s for other people.”
If no one’s seen it, you can’t improve it. Period.
The takeaway: Treat your marketing like an experiment, not a personality test. Publish sooner. Learn faster. Yes, there may be typos. No, the internet police will not arrest you.
The “go big or go home” trap
Another classic stall is believing your marketing has to be huge to be worth doing. Joel drops this gem:
“You cannot succeed at something you don’t finish.”
Big launches sound exciting, until they drain your energy, your budget, and your confidence in one go. When they don’t magically “work,” marketing gets labeled a failure. But Alison reminds us:
“Marketing doesn’t really fail. Most marketing fails because it stops.”
Most successful brands didn’t start off being big. They started with being consistent.
The takeaway: Instead of asking, “How big should this be?” try:
- What’s the smallest version I can test?
- What makes me try again next month?
- What can I actually sustain?
Resistance isn’t the villain here, it’s actually a helpful clue
Resistance shows up as hesitation, second-guessing, or that immediate “nope.” Alison hits the nail on the head:
“Resistance is fear, but it’s also a superpower if you notice it.”
Joel adds:
“Marketing is not a button we push. It’s personal. It requires creativity and emotion.”
Especially for service-based and B2B businesses, marketing isn’t mechanical. It’s human. Which means resistance is part of the deal.
The takeaway: When resistance shows up, pause, get serious, and reconnect to what you’re actually trying to do. Resistance doesn’t mean stop, but it does mean pay attention.
So how do make sure we’re spending our energy wisely when it comes to marketing?
Marketing progress comes from contact, not control. Talk to the people you wish to attract. Publish imperfect ideas to get feedback faster. Let the market respond so you can have a dialogue instead of a one-sided conversation. Alison gets it:
“Darlings! Your time and energy are so precious. Spend it on making connections.
Ready to stop spinning your marketing wheels and get moving?
If you stall your marketing, not because you don’t care, but because you care too much, you don’t need another tool. You need clarity. Confidence. And a plan that fits real life. At Alison K Consulting, we help B2B and service-based businesses move forward without burning out, over-optimizing, or waiting for perfect conditions. Book a discovery call.
Because progress beats perfection. Every. Single. Time.
