125 - What We Fix First When a Client Feels Overwhelmed

Zac: Marketing can feel very overwhelming very quickly. Too many tools, too many tactics, and way too many opinions about what you should be doing. In this episode, we’re breaking down the first things we focus on when a client feels stuck.

Rich: Oh, so Zach, I’m overwhelmed. You know the feeling?

Zac: Too many options, too many opinions.

Rich: Too many things going on, not enough decision-making happening. And it’s not like we’re not working hard, right? We’re working really hard. But a lot of times that struggle with marketing is just because it’s way more complex than it used to be. You know: run a TV ad, run a radio ad, run a newspaper ad, rinse and repeat.

Rich: It’s all different now. So we’re going to talk about what happens when a client comes to us—especially a new client—and feels overwhelmed. How we slow things down, find the real issue, and simplify what needs to be simplified. I love this topic because it’s so common.

Zac: Everyone starts somewhere. Usually if you’re getting outside help for marketing, you have some form of issue that’s overwhelming you—or you just don’t have the time to do it. I’m excited about this episode. You’re right, it’s really common, and I think we’ll be able to help a lot of people.

Rich: Cool.

Rich: Before we get into it, let’s talk Cloister. Not like a nun or a convent or whatever it is—the monks who make whiskey—but a Cloister is a cocktail, right, Zach?

Zac: Yes—and it’s funny you say that, because it’s inspired by that. A Cloister is a classic gin sour that traces back to the Playboy Bartender’s Guide from 1971.

Rich: So we’ve got 1971, which is one of my favorite years. We’ve got the Playboy Bartender’s Guide. And then we’re throwing in the monks that make chartreuse—the Carthusian monks. Monks, Playboy, and the year I was born. I love this cocktail already. And chartreuse. Caitlin would hate it. I would love it.

Zac: Exactly. The name is tied to the monks that craft yellow chartreuse—made by Carthusian monks in southeastern France. This version is slightly updated, inspired by Jim Meehan’s PDT Cocktail Book from 2011. It adds simple syrup to soften the grapefruit and lemon—otherwise it kind of punches you in the face.

Rich: Sometimes I want to be punched in the face by a cocktail. Like you’re out and you need something to wake you up.

Zac: Simple syrup optional then.

Rich: Yeah, sure. And it’s only a quarter ounce, so it’s not a lot.

Rich: Here’s the build: 1½ ounces gin, ½ ounce yellow chartreuse—there’s a chartreuse shortage right now, by the way—½ ounce grapefruit juice, ¼ ounce lemon juice, ¼ ounce simple syrup. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Rich: Everything goes into a shaker with ice, shake, strain into a chilled coupe, garnish with the twist. This one’s from Punchdrink.com. Great little history and cocktail trivia.

Rich: And now we’ll get into feeling overwhelmed. I would not feel overwhelmed if I had two of these. I would feel… probably nothing.

Zac: Yeah. Let’s get right into the episode.

Rich: All right, Zach, before we get into overwhelmed—above me is one of my photos from Florence, Italy. There’s this carousel in the middle of the square. Everything’s kind of gray—it was December—and then you turn a corner and it’s just bright and colorful. It was really cool.

Rich: Okay. Client comes to us overwhelmed. First thing we do is what?

Zac: Well, let’s set the scene. You’re a client coming to us. You’ve got a big headache, you’re confused, marketing feels overwhelming. What’s the first thing we do?

Rich: Slow it down. That’s number one. Take a breath, take a beat, and pause.

Rich: We need to figure out what the actual problem is. Is it capacity? Time? Knowledge? Systems? It may be a combination—or none of those. We want the root cause, not the symptom. Same idea as treating a disease. You look beyond symptoms, find the cause, then solve it.

Zac: Because you might be worried about something that isn’t the real problem. Like social—people fixate on vanity metrics and say, “I don’t have enough likes,” when there’s a deeper issue that isn’t related to that at all.

Rich: Yep. Could be content, audience, targeting—who knows.

Rich: Another example: “Our click-through rate is dropping.” Okay, CTR is a fraction: impressions versus clicks. Then you look deeper and realize revenue is up. Impressions are up 80%. Clicks are up 40%. CTR drops, but performance improves. So CTR isn’t necessarily the issue.

Zac: It can be pretty deceptive.

Rich: Exactly. And if you start throwing tactics at it—just doing things to feel busy—you might waste money and push in the wrong direction. So breathe, pause the reactive stuff, and get strategic about the why.

Zac: Being reactive instead of sitting down and strategizing.

Rich: Yep. And sometimes the issue is obvious. Tool sprawl is a big one: “We have a system for this, a system for that…” Then we ask: do they talk to each other? What’s the source of truth?

Zac: And if different tools are telling you different analytics for the same thing, it gets really confusing. That adds to the overwhelm.

Rich: Exactly. HubSpot and Google define things differently, so you’re never going to get perfect 1:1 matches. If it’s off by 40%, something’s broken. If it’s off by 4–10%, that’s normal.

Rich: It doesn’t always mean you need fewer tools—but you do need clarity on which tools matter most and what each one is for.

Zac: And tools are only one part. Processes and priorities matter too. If your priorities are off—like you’re evaluating metrics that don’t matter to your business—you can convince yourself there’s a problem when there isn’t.

Rich: And you can over-process things. Too much rigor kills creativity and momentum. That Oreo “you can still dunk in the dark” moment wouldn’t happen with heavy, slow approval processes.

Zac: Complexity kills momentum. The more complex it is, the harder it is to execute.

Rich: Less is more. You need processes where they matter—especially for secure data and compliance—but don’t overkill it.

Rich: And priorities: you can’t have 50 priorities. If I ask for top three and you give me eight, we need to talk about the number before we even talk about strategy.

Zac: Yeah. Likes, followers… those often come from doing the right stuff. They’re not always the priority.

Rich: Exactly. Click-through rate versus revenue—what actually matters?

Zac: Have you run into a lot of clients with messed up priorities? Like they don’t know what they want?

Rich: I see “too many” more than “messed up.” Everyone cares about revenue. But then the question becomes: can we actually optimize for revenue? Is your system connected? That’s where it gets wild.

Zac: What’s one of the most common issues you see when someone’s really struggling?

Rich: They’re doing a ton of stuff, but it’s not having the impact they want.

Zac: So they’re throwing tactics at the wall.

Rich: Yep. Their tactics, KPIs, and goals don’t line up. And sometimes their funnel is misaligned.

Rich: A big one we see is hammering bottom-of-funnel only. That’s like walking into a bar and going, “Who wants to marry me?” People are going to look at you like you’re crazy. You have to introduce yourself first. Same with customers.

Zac: And disconnected campaigns. Like promoting a white paper with paid ads but not supporting it with top-of-funnel content. You need a full plan so things connect.

Rich: And organic and paid should work together. Content can move from one side to the other. There shouldn’t be a hard wall.

Rich: Focus matters too. We’re all distracted. If everything is a priority, nothing is.

Zac: And if you don’t know what you want, you jump from problem to problem—SEO, content, then another issue. Break it down. One thing at a time. Build intentionally.

Rich: And sometimes it’s right people, wrong role. Great people, just misaligned. We’ve seen that with roles evolving—Caitlin shifting from project management to account service, Isaac moving from social to writing.

Zac: And the same goes for focus—maybe you’re doing good tactics, just in the wrong place. Maybe a channel isn’t right for you. You can reprioritize.

Rich: Totally. Platforms change. Audiences change. Twitter/X is a great example—it’s not what it used to be. You have to re-evaluate.

Zac: So if we had to simplify it down: if someone’s overwhelmed, what should they do?

Rich: Slow down and figure out why you’re overwhelmed. That’s number one. And ideally get someone outside your business to help you see it clearly—like therapy, but for marketing.

Zac: If people come to us, we’d be honest about what needs to change. Not your therapist—but your marketing therapist.

Rich: If you buy me drinks, I’ll be your therapist. I’m just not licensed.

Rich: But yeah—slow down. Look at tools, processes, priorities, people. See what’s misaligned. Reduce complexity where you can.

Rich: I hit a point a few years ago where I was pushing “fewer tools” hard because we were paying for stuff we didn’t need—especially when HubSpot kept adding features.

Zac: And we’re actually doing an episode next week on how to choose the right tools and cut bloat—so stay tuned for that.

Rich: Yep. And I won’t go deeper.

Rich: Also look at goals, tactics, and funnel alignment. But again: breathe first. Identify the real issue. Then treat it.

Zac: Awesome. I think that’s an episode. You can find our agency at antidote71.com and all of our socials are there as well. If you have a question you’d like to send our way, head to ctapodcast.live to shoot us an email—or even better, leave us a voice message on our hotline at 402-718-9971. Your question might make it into a future episode of the podcast. And I say “might,” but it will. It will.

Rich: All right, sounds good. Next week—or the week after, whenever that is—we’re going to be talking about tools and choosing the right tools.