Grow The Show – Episode 259

Why You're Not Getting More Clients and Sales from Your Podcast

Host: Kev Michael (Kevin Schmidlin)
Date: February 24, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kev Michael addresses a frustration many business podcasters face: why their podcasts aren't driving more clients and sales, despite significant effort. Drawing from real coaching conversations and deep experience, Kev demystifies the client/customer journey and provides actionable strategies to connect podcasting efforts directly to revenue growth. The central lesson: Your podcast is a powerful lead nurturing tool, but it cannot replace your lead generation tactics. Kev walks listeners step-by-step through the stages of marketing needed to turn listeners into loyal customers, and shares practical ways to integrate those steps so sales become far easier.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Frustration with Podcast Results

• Many business podcasters feel stuck—tons of effort, yet low growth and few clients.
• Kev reassures listeners: they are not as far from a solution as they might think.
  Quote:
  “You are closer to having an easier time making more sales and growing your business via your podcast than it feels.” (01:02)

2. The Big Misconception: “My Podcast IS My Marketing”

• Real-world example of a business owner stuck at 50 downloads per episode for 3 years.
• Kev’s blunt diagnosis:
  “You're not marketing your podcast. The little marketing that you're doing to promote your podcast is salesy and pitchy. It's just a LinkedIn post that's like new episode available now. I'm really glad I made this episode. You should listen to it. And nobody wants that.” (03:54)
• The mistake: Treating the podcast as a comprehensive marketing tool when it's only one vital piece.

3. Understanding the Full Client Journey

Kev breaks down the multi-stage journey from stranger to customer, using a detailed example (06:31–08:40):

1. Initial Awareness: Stranger sees your brand (ad, post, recommendation).
2. Multiple Touchpoints: They see the messaging several times before engaging.
3. Content & Social Consumption: Check out your social, then your podcast.
4. Lead Magnet/Email: They opt-in to your freebie and join your email list.
5. Repeated Email Nurturing: Emails keep them engaged, perhaps for months.
6. Sales Opportunity: Timing aligns, they enter your sales funnel or book a call.
7. Objection Handling and Follow-up: You reach out, offer a bonus, they finally convert.

Key Idea:
“There are multiple stages and functions of marketing and sales that have to happen in order for strangers to become customers. And they are not all the same thing that can be accomplished with one fell swoop, one activity that you do that does all of it.” (05:31)

4. The Four Stages of Marketing and Sales

Kev’s framework for moving strangers to customers:

1. Lead Generation (13:04)

   • How strangers discover your business.
   • Examples: billboards, social media posts, ads, referrals.

2. Lead Nurturing (14:28)

   • Building trust through content; podcast plays a primary role here.

3. Retargeting (16:40)

   • Reminding leads you exist, nudging them back into engagement.

   Memorable Moment:
   “Think about a podcast that you used to listen to on a regular basis, but you really don't anymore... You stopped listening to it because at some point you forgot about it, right?... That is a show that did not retarget you to remind you that there has been a new episode every single week since the last time you listened.” (17:39)

4. Sales (18:55)

   • The specific process of making the offer, handling objections, closing the deal.

Summary Quote: “No marketing tactic can cover all four of those functions, as far as I know... you need multiple things in tandem that work leads down the path of becoming a customer.” (20:05)

5. What Most Podcasters Get Wrong

• Most treat their podcast as lead generation.
  Reality:
  “What it is primarily—now and forever—is a lead nurturing mechanism. This is why your podcast hasn't brought you a ton of new customers, but the ones that it has brought you have been amazing. Easy sales. They're excellent customers.” (21:27)
• Breakthrough Insight:
  Podcast = Lead Nurturing
  Something else (ads, social, guesting, YouTube, etc.) = Lead Generation

6. Best Lead Generation Tactics to Fill Your Funnel

Kev lays out practical options (23:58–26:47):

• Organic Social Media:
  Text, short-form video (LinkedIn, X, Threads).

• Podcast Guesting:
  Going on other shows to reach their audiences.

• Show Collaborations:
  Partners suggest your show to their listeners.

• Paid Ads:
  Run ads to lead magnets or opt-ins.

• Cold Outbound:
  DMs/emails pitching value, works but can be spammy.

• Organic YouTube:
  “Yes, organic YouTube is the place where your podcast can be two for one. It can generate leads and nurture them, which is why YouTube is so powerful... But what's also true is that it's not for everybody. It is expensive. And there is a skillset that is involved in learning how the YouTube algorithm works.” (27:13)

7. How to Connect Lead Generation to Your Podcast

• Don’t keep your podcast siloed—tie it directly to your lead generation activities (social, ads, email).
• Example Process:
  1. Ads generate leads → people opt for freebie or call.
  2. Automated emails nurture these leads and always include links to relevant podcast episodes.
  3. Result: “Now that your leads are consuming your podcast content, they come to the call being like, I can't believe I get to chat with you... It's just a way easier sale and it's way easier to grow your business.” (31:40)

8. Actionable Takeaways for Podcasters

• Shift your mindset from “Podcast = Marketing” to “Podcast = Lead Nurturing.”
• Master at least one other lead generation method and connect it to your podcast.
• Use set-it-and-forget-it tactics (esp. email sequences) to drive new leads to your podcast content consistently.
• If you do YouTube, focus as much on learning the YouTube algorithm as on creating good content—without both, even excellent shows may fail to attract new leads.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On common misconceptions:
  "My podcast is my marketing. Why do I have to market my marketing?"
  — Frustrated business owner, recounted by Kev (04:34)

• On the need for multiple marketing functions:
  "No business can grow and be sustainable for the long term without all four of those things, I think." (19:21)

• On nailing what podcasts do best:
  "Your podcast, and it needs to be hooked up to a separate lead generation mechanism. That's where you market your marketing." (22:30)

• YouTube’s unique potential and challenge:
  "It's just that creator, that entrepreneur, has not yet learned the other skill of the YouTube algorithm." (28:12)

• On the reward of integrating podcast in your marketing system:
  "You're going to notice how much easier your sales become because now that your leads are consuming your podcast content, they come to the call being like, 'I can't believe I get to chat with you.'" (31:46)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–01:02 — Frustration and hope for business podcasters
• 03:54 — Why “salesy” podcast promotion doesn’t work
• 05:31–09:40 — Mapping the full customer journey
• 13:04–19:21 — The four essential marketing and sales functions
• 21:27–22:30 — Your podcast as a nurturing tool, not a lead machine
• 23:58–28:12 — Best lead generation channels (social, guesting, YouTube, ads)
• 28:12–31:46 — How to connect lead mechanisms and nurture with your podcast
• 31:46–32:19 — The “easier sale” benefit and next steps

Summary

Kev Michael pulls back the curtain on why most business podcasts fall short as client acquisition machines: the misconception that “the podcast is the marketing.” By examining every stage from stranger to customer, Kev demonstrates that while a podcast can powerfully nurture leads, it cannot generate them consistently on its own. True podcast-driven growth demands integration with outside lead generation strategies—be that social media, ads, guesting, or YouTube. Once the podcast is correctly positioned within a full marketing ecosystem, it transforms from a hobby into a business asset that pre-sells clients—making sales calls frictionless and scaling revenue much easier. This episode offers clarity, tested strategy, and a motivating call to action for any podcaster seeking more impact (and more sales) from their show.