Let’s be honest. If one more person tells you to just post consistently or engage more on Instagram, you might actually lose it.

I’ve heard that advice for five years. And honestly? Felt.

Because here’s what nobody is saying: Instagram can get you those sales. I should know. I’ve gotten almost all of my paying work off Instagram DMs.

But the way most people are teaching you to use it? Just post more and show up more? That’s how you quickly burn out on Instagram.

So today I’m breaking down the actual system that helped me go from no leads, no engagement, no nothing to getting the right people in front of my business in 90 days. And you won’t be living on your phone to do it.

Why Most Instagram Strategies Are Failing You

Most people are stuck on the content treadmill. You post, post, post with absolutely no strategy behind it. You just know you have to get your videos in front of people.

People keep saying it’s a numbers game. You just have to post and get really bad results first, and then you get better and better as you see what works.

And yeah, that’s one way of growing. But you’re not going to be getting the right people in front of you.

There is no reason to be posting when your posts are for everybody. When you’re not speaking directly to the people you’re wanting to serve and who you’re called to serve in your business, you won’t be seeing those paying results.

You might get likes. You might get some comments. You might even get shares. But it does not matter how many views you get if you can’t turn those views into people who actually pay you.

The Buyer’s Journey: Why You’re Leaving Money on the Table

The reason you’re posting and not seeing results? You’re posting for the middle of the buyer’s journey, not the beginning or the end. You’re skipping the two most important parts of your message.

There are three stages to the buyer’s journey:

Problem Awareness. This is where you make it aware that ‘Oh my God, this is the problem I have. This is something I’m struggling with. Wow, I didn’t even know I was struggling with this.’

These are the people who are just scrolling and looking for answers. You come on and tell them, ‘Hey, you have this problem and this is why you have this problem.’ That’s the problem awareness stage.

Consideration. This is where everybody is posting. You’ll see the carousels, the reels, the reruns. This stage is where you tell people what you do and what makes it easy for them to say yes.

If you’re only sticking to explaining what you do over and over until you’re blue in the face, you’re leaving a whole bunch of money on the table.

Decision Making. This is the moment where people have seen your stuff and gotten to know you. Now you start talking about what makes you different.

This is when you say, ‘This is who I am. This is what I’ve done. And this is why I’m the yes solution to your problem.’ You start talking about how you do it by sharing where your people were before and where they are after. You bring up testimonials and case studies.

A lot of people are afraid to share those. I don’t know who put it in anyone’s mind that you shouldn’t. But people need to feel like they know you.

The decision-making stage is where you start to answer ‘Why you?’ You could have the same framework as someone else, but what sets you apart is when you start talking about yourself more online.

The 90-Day System That Actually Works

This system took me from no connections, no leads, no DMs to getting the right people consistently reaching out. Here’s how it breaks down:

Month 1: Build Your Foundation

The first 30 days are about creating your playbook. You need to understand who it is you serve, what your people actually say, what problem you’re solving, what makes you different, what type of content resonates with them, and how you can speak directly to them.

That all starts with getting your people’s words. Their testimonials. Screenshots. Whatever you’ve got from actual conversations.

One of the key things people miss is they’re not talking and speaking the language that their people are saying. They’re assuming what their person wants to hear. But until you stop and actually talk to somebody and listen, you won’t be able to meet them where they’re at.

You need to figure out three things:

What is the core problem you’re helping your audience with? Just one thing.

What is your offer positioning? What are you selling, who is it for, and what result can you get them?

What are your content pillars? I don’t do five pillars. I just focus on the buyer’s journey. If you can solve a problem, tell them how you solve it, and tell them why you solve it and what makes you different, that’s the only amount of content pillars you really need.

Month 2: Build Momentum

The second month is about engaging with people consistently and talking to your audience. You’re going to engage and be intentional about how you’re engaging. Make sure you’re showing up in the right places, being proactive.

I always nurture and get to know someone first. If they feel like my stuff vibes with them, we’ll connect. We’ll talk about business. But it might take longer than what most people are teaching. And I’m not going to burn a bridge just because I’m like ‘Hey, buy myself, buy myself.’

As you’re creating content and following, liking, and engaging with your people, they’re going to see your content. The more you talk to that one person, they’re going to say, ‘Ooh, I want to follow her. I understand what she’s saying.’

People need a lot of touches before they start to trust you. Especially right now when trust is really low. They want to see, ‘Is this somebody trustworthy?’

Month 3: Turn Leads Into Sales

By month three, you should be building connections and having people in your email, in some kind of challenge or masterclass where you can ask them questions and engage with them and be there for them.

When I did this, by month three I started seeing consistent action. I started getting massive DMs, massive connections. And then a month or two later, the ball was rolling. It was sale after sale after sale, back to back every single month.

That’s because I gave it time to build. Everything takes roughly 90 days when it comes to a strategy. So give it time and don’t get desperate.

The 3 Mistakes Killing Your Results

Mistake 1: Trying to be everywhere. Pick one. If it’s Instagram, be on Instagram. If it’s Threads, be on Threads. If it’s blogging, be a blogger. Just be somewhere. One place. Go all in.

I’m mostly on Threads and Instagram. I repurpose to my podcast, my blog, my emails, YouTube. But where I’m most active is Threads and Instagram. And I have help. So when you’re able to be in multiple places, great. But you want to go all in on one and be very strategic about how you’re going to show up there.

Mistake 2: You aren’t being specific enough about who you serve. You can’t just say, ‘I help entrepreneurs grow.’ That’s not enough. We want to know who do you help? What problem do you solve? And what results do they get?

That last question is what a lot of people completely miss. They don’t talk about results. They don’t share results, even if it’s their own. You have to at least share results so people can see you know what you’re talking about and you have expertise and a position on that.

Mistake 3: You’re waiting for everything to be perfect. You just gotta be messy with it. When I started this podcast, I didn’t know what I was doing. I just hit record and saw what happened. And we’re at episode 19 now. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve grown. You just have to do it, get specific with your people, go out there and talk to people even if it’s messy, and get that language so your content gets very clear.

Your people are out there. They just need to hear the right thing from you first.

Ready to stop reinventing the wheel every time you sit down to post? Join the free 5-day Spark the Conversation Challenge and learn how to get the exact words your people use: www.lisbethgraham.co/freechallenge