Episode 487: #Tashmas Day 2: My tough-love statement that quadrupled her best month

As far as business coaches go, I’m known for being pretty gentle. I know what it’s like to juggle chronic illness, care for a loved one, and just navigate the chaos of everyday life. But in this episode of the Heart-Centred Business Podcast, I’m sharing the story of how a little bit of tough love transformed one of my Take Off students’ business—and led her to quadruple her best-ever income month.

Even though this sounds like “tough love,” I promise I’ll keep it gentle, full of practical advice, and, as always, heart-centred. Plus, today’s #Tashmas gift is a juicy discount!

Wait… What is #Tashmas?

I do it for both my birthday (1-12 March) and pre-Christmas (1-12 December) every year! Every day up to the 12th of December, there will be a new daily podcast episode, with a hot tip or practical strategy as per usual… but you ALSO get a gift! The daily gift could be a freebie, a special offer, a competition… but there will be something for YOU every single day.

Let’s dive in!!

EPISODE 487: Listen using the player below, or click the links to your fave platform to subscribe and listen over there:

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SpotifListen on YouTube

Why Your Business Needs You to Be Proactive About Leads

Let’s go back to April, when I ran a special event for my Take Off program students. From time to time, I host intensive coaching sessions whenever I spot a common challenge in the group. This time, I noticed a lot of people were struggling with getting consistent leads—those folks who are actually interested in working with you, a step away from buying your offer.

Before you get hung up on follower counts or mailing list size, remember: those numbers don’t directly correlate with your sales. Having people to talk to, asking them questions, and really finding out what they need—that’s what leads to income and refines your messaging as well.

The Tough Love Moment

During my Leads at Speed workshop, a phrase just popped out of me (those genius moments, right?). Here it is:
“If the only leads you’re getting are people asking you, then you’re not being proactive enough about drumming up leads in your business.”

That lesson landed hard for my Take Off students, and it can be confronting. Too often, as online business owners—especially those relying on content marketing—we fall into the trap of thinking that if we just put out enough posts, the leads will magically roll in.

That’s only the tip of the iceberg. Our real job is to actively find the hot leads in our audience, especially when things feel slow or stagnant.

Following Up With Old Leads: The Not-So-Secret Sales Booster

The first thing we did in the Leads at Speed event was gather up every lead that might exist—from the past and the present. Even cold leads! And we built out a solid, proactive follow-up process.

Here’s what I see all the time: People ignore their existing leads, and that’s the fastest way to dry up your fresh leads. If you don’t tend what you already have, you end up starting from scratch over and over.

How One Student Quadrupled Her Income—Without Doing More Content

Let me share what actually changed for one student who’d previously had a $1,500 month as her best ever. After implementing just four practical strategies from Leads at Speed, she made $6,000 the following month—without having to write tons more social media posts, launch some aggressive email campaign, or embrace a brand-new tactic. She simply shifted her lead generation and follow-up strategies.

Here’s what she did differently:

1. Lowered Her Lead Bar (It’s Easier Than You Think)

Instead of waiting for people to ask directly about her packages, she started identifying potential leads everywhere.

• Someone replied to a mailing list email? Lead!
• DM conversation on socials? Lead!
• Anyone actively engaging with her content? Lead!

She didn’t wait for a direct “How do I work with you?” anymore. She started combing through her past DMs and emails, spotting anyone she’d responded to but never followed up with again. Every interaction was flagged as a possible lead and added to a tracking system (a spreadsheet works just fine!).

If you’re worried this follow-up work will take forever, honestly, it’s the time that has a direct impact on sales—unlike content creation, which can just float out there into the internet void.

2. Built a “Nurture to Invite” Bridging Strategy

I’m always shouting from the rooftops about the client attraction process:
Reach, Nurture, Invite, Convert.

What I see often is nurturing interactions not progressing to invites—the moment you clearly identify your hot leads. So, we built a bridging strategy for her:

• Created ten qualifying questions she could use in 1:1 conversations (DMs, emails, comments) to understand where someone’s at, keep the convo going, and be genuinely helpful.
• For example: If someone requests your blog, don’t just send the link and walk away. Ask, “How old are your kids?” Or if you’re a parenting coach, “What’s the hardest time of day to be gentle?” It opens up the relationship, gets to the heart of their struggles, and helps you tailor your advice.

And here’s an extra trick—she created a one-to-one nurture freebie, like a five-minute screen-recorded review for web developers. If someone says yes to that offer, they’re probably worrying about their website and could use your help ASAP. Even if a sale doesn’t happen immediately, they see you in action, can refer others, and continue engaging.

We also defined the “green flags”—the little signs someone is keen to buy, like asking details about programs or talking through their objections. That way, she could spot them quicker and respond accordingly.

3. Delayed Automation and Ads—Focused on Connected Conversations First

She was working really hard on funnels and Facebook ads but not seeing enough one-on-one lead generation. When we looked at her funnel messaging, it wasn’t resonant or specific enough. That’s a sign you need more one-to-one sales conversations to really refine your message.

So, she agreed to pause automations and scaling until she could consistently generate ten leads a month via connection-based strategies, spending 20-30 minutes a day, three times a week. Once that system was streamlined, she’d get back to growing her audience, confident her lead gen was working.

Here’s the thing—a hundred new mailing list sign-ups can feel impressive, but those five DM conversations are almost always more valuable. Most of us have more leads than we think—we just need to lower the bar and take action.

4. Reengaged With Old Conversations—Gold Mine of Leads!

She did a database sweep—emails, Facebook DMs, calendar appointments. Anywhere there’d been a previous exchange that fizzled out, she circled back and reignited the conversation. Starting with three connections a day, she saw several sales come directly from this process.

What surprised most people in the Leads at Speed event was how grateful folks were for the follow-up. People are busy! If you don’t check back in, you’re leaving that connection hanging and missing potential income.

Here’s what she did, in a nutshell:

1. Lowered her definition of a lead and created a clear, repeatable tracking process.
2. Built a nurture to invite strategy with qualifying questions, 1:1 freebies, and a “keen to buy” checklist.
3. Delayed automation and scaling until her basic lead gen was working and streamlined.
4. Reengaged cold leads and prior conversations in every digital nook and cranny.

Lead Generation Changes Everything

This might feel a little confronting, but here’s the truth: If the only leads you get are people asking YOU, you’re not doing your job properly. I know it’s tough love, but lead generation is mission-critical—and I’ve now added the Leads at Speed process to my Heart-Centred Business Accelerator, so even established business owners don’t forget this.

Your Day 2 #Tashmas Gift!

It’s day 2 of #Tashmas, and I’ve got something special for three lucky listeners—a $500 discount to join me at the Lead Gen Penthouse Retreat in February 2026!

This will be on the Sunshine Coast, right after the Heart-Centred Virtual Business Conference (which is also all about lead gen). If you want to be in the room, connecting and implementing powerful lead gen strategies with fellow ambitious and heart-centred business owners, check out all the details of this spectacular and productive retreat at tashcorbin.com/leadgenretreat.

And if you want to jump in for $500 off, simply comment RETREAT on the Day 2 #Tashmas post over on my FB page, and we will DM you a coupon code to get your discount! SO EASY!  

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.