Nobody's buying what you're selling because your building your funnel backwards

Roman Mbaka

18d • 💬 Chat

First of all

If you know me too well, you know that my post is always long-form

so if you have what i call "Tiktok Brain"....sorry but this is not for you because it's damn long

But if you're a business owner or a freelancer who wants to make the most out of his/her biz

then stay with me. because this is Gold (it took me about a week to put togerther)

and there's no pitching here (haven't done that before)

So I was on a call with a buddy of mine. A Skool creator sometime ago.

He's got this whole funnel mapped out just like every business owner out there.

Awareness stage. Interest stage. Consideration stage. Decision stage.

Facebook ads driving traffic to a landing page. Lead magnet. Seven-day email sequence.

Webinar. Application form. Sales call. backword

Textbook customer journey.

Been running it for four months.

Spent $8,000 on ads.

Booked 12 calls.

Closed 2.

I asked him one question.

"What does someone who's ready to buy from you actually look like?"

Silence.

Then: "Uh, I guess someone who's been through the whole funnel?"

That's the problem.

He built a funnel based on where people START, not where they END UP.

And that's backwards.

Here's what nobody tells you guys about customer journeys.

The traditional model says start at awareness and work your way down to the sale.

Awareness. Interest. Desire. Action.

Makes sense on paper.

But in 2025/2026, consumers aren't driving a straight line anymore.

They're buzzing, hopping, swiping, streaming, buying, pausing, searching, and sharing all at once.

They don't move through stages.

They jump around.

They research on YouTube at 11pm, see your Instagram ad the next morning, forget about you for three weeks, then see a comment you left in a Skool community and suddenly they're in your DMs asking how to work with you.

There is no journey.

There's just a bunch of random touchpoints that either add up to trust or don't.

And if you're building your funnel from the top down, you're guessing at what those touchpoints should be.

Here's what actually works.

If you’re doing consulting or selling a course program.

Start with the person who bought.

Not the person who just heard about you.

The person who already gave you money

Ask yourself: what did they believe about their problem before they bought?

Not what YOU think they should believe.

What did THEY actually believe?

What words did they use to describe their situation?

What objections did they have that you had to overcome

What was the thing that finally made them say yes?

That's your buyer profile.

And once you have that, you work backwards.

Here's how this works in practice and practice it yourself.

Let's say you're a consultant who helps other consultants scale to $30k a month.

And you’re selling a $5,000 program.

Most people would build their funnel like this:

Top of funnel: awareness content about "how to grow your consulting business."

Middle: lead magnet about "the 5 steps to $30k months."

Bottom: sales call where you pitch the $5k program.

Sounds logical.

But let's reverse engineer this.

Start with someone who actually bought.

Why did they buy?

They were stuck at $12k a month for eight months.

They'd tried everything. Worked 60 hours a week. Couldn't break through. They were frustrated and starting to think maybe they just weren't cut out for this.

Then they saw your content and you diagnosed the exact problem they were having in a way that made them feel understood for the first time.

You then told them it wasn't a hustle problem, it was a business model problem.

And now, they realized you actually knew what you were talking about.

So they booked a call. You diagnosed their specific situation. And they bought.

Now you know what a buyer looks like.

Someone who:

- Is stuck at a specific revenue level ($10-15k)

- Has been there for months (not days or weeks)

- Is working way too hard for the results they're getting

- Thinks the problem is them, not their system

- Needs someone to reframe the problem for them

Now you build your funnel backwards from that.

The content you create isn't "how to grow your consulting business."

It's "if you're stuck at $12k a month and working 60 hours a week, your problem isn't what you think it is."

See the difference?

One is for everyone.

The other is for your EXACT buyer.

Your lead magnet isn't "5 steps to $30k months."**

It should be like this

"take this two minute assessment and find out if you're in the capacity trap."

Because you know your buyers think they need to work harder when they actually need to work different.

So your assessment helps them self-diagnose that.

Your emails don't educate them on scaling strategies.

They reframe the problem.

Email one: here's why you're stuck and it's not what you think.

Email two: here's what people at $30k do differently and it's not more hustle.

Email three: here's how someone just like you made over $50k within 4 weeks.

By the time they get on the call, they already believe what you believe.

They just need you to show them how to apply it to their situation.

That's when you sell.

This is completely backwards from how most people build funnels.

Most people start with: who's my audience?

Then: what content will attract them?

Then: how do I nurture them?

Then: how do I sell them?

That's forwards thinking,

And forwards thinking creates generic funnels that convert at 1-2%.

Reverse thinking starts with: who bought from me or from this guru and why?

Then: what did they believe that made them ready to buy?

Then: what content would create that belief in someone who doesn't have it yet?

Then: what micro-commitments would move them from that content to a call?

You're not guessing anymore.

You're working from a blueprint of what already worked.

Let me give you another example.

Fitness coach selling a $200/month program for busy dads who want to lose 20 pounds.

Forward-thinking funnel:

Ad: "Want to lose weight? Join our program."

Lead magnet: "Free 7-day meal plan."

Emails: Tips about nutrition and exercise.

CTA: Join the program.

Conversion rate: 2%.

Reverse thinking funnel:

Look at the dads who actually joined.

What did they have in common?

They'd tried diets before.

They'd lost weight then gained it back.

They were tired of feeling like shit.

They didn't have time for hour long gym sessions.

They just wanted something that actually worked and didn't take over their life.

The thing that made them buy wasn't the meal plan or the workout routine.

It was that you understood their actual situation and you had a system that fit into their real life.

Now rebuild the funnel:

Ad: "You've lost the same 20 pounds three times. It's not because you're lazy. It's because every diet you tried wasn't built for a dad with two kids and a full time job."

Lead magnet: "Take this two minute quiz and find out which diet mistake is sabotaging you."

Emails: Reframe the problem like “It's that you're following a system designed for someone with six hours a day to meal prep.

CTA: Book a 15 minute call and I'll show you a system that actually fits your life.

Same offer. Different approach.

One talks to everyone.

The other talks to the person who's actually ready to buy.

Guess which one converts at 8%?

Now my friend,

Here's why this works.

From what I noticed in 2025

B2B buyers in 2026 don't follow a linear path.

They zigzag between research, internal discussions, demos, and indecision.

They're not progressing through your funnel in order.

They're jumping around based on what they need in that specific moment.

So if your content is designed for "stage one awareness," you're missing everyone who's already at stage three but just happened to see your stuff.

When you reverse engineer from the buyer, your content works at every stage.

Because it's not stage-based content.

It's belief-based content.

And beliefs don't follow a linear path.

Someone can go from never hearing about you to ready to buy in 48 hours if the right piece of content shifts the right belief at the right time.

Here's how to actually do this.

Step one: Interview your last five buyers.

Not customers.

BUYERS.

People who gave you money.

Ask them:

- What was going on in your business/life when you decided to buy?

- What had you tried before that didn't work?

- What made you think I could actually help you?

- What almost stopped you from buying?

- What was the moment you decided yes?

Write down exactly how they describe things.

The words they use. The emotions. The timeline.

That's your buyer blueprint.

Step two: Identify the core belief shift.

What did they believe BEFORE they bought that was different from what they believed AFTER talking to you?

Example:

Before: "I just need to work harder and hustle more."

After: "I need to change my business model, not work more hours."

That belief shift is what your content needs to create.

Step three: Build content that creates that belief.

Not tips. Not how-tos.

Content that challenges what they currently believe and replaces it with the belief that makes them ready to buy.

Example:

"You're stuck at $12k a month because you're in the capacity trap. Here's what that means and why hustle won't fix it."

Step four: Design micro-commitments that qualify them.

Not "download my free guide."

"Take this two minute assessment and find out if you're in the capacity trap."

The assessment does two things:

One, it helps them self-diagnose.

Two, it tells YOU if they're actually your buyer or not.

Step five: Build emails that reinforce the belief and move them to a call.

Three emails over three days.

Email one: Here's what's actually wrong.

Email two: Here's what people who fixed it do differently.

Email three: Here's how someone like you made the shift.

Each email reinforces the belief and makes the call feel like the logical next step.

This is completely different from traditional funnel building.

Traditional funnels are built on assumptions.

"I think my audience is people who want to grow their business."

"I think they need education about scaling strategies."

"I think a lead magnet will nurture them."

Reverse funnels are built on evidence.

"My buyers were all stuck at this revenue level."

"They all believed this thing that was wrong."

"This piece of content shifted that belief."

"These micro-commitments loved them to a call."

One is guessing.

The other is engineering.

And here's the thing nobody wants to hear.

Most B2B buyers are expected to follow the company's sales process instead of a buying process that works for them.

Your funnel is designed for YOUR convenience.

Not for THEIR buying process.

You want them to wnload the lead magnet, read the emails, watch the webinar, fill out the application, then book a call.

Because that's the system YOU built.

But they don't care about your system.

They care about solving their problem.

And if your funnel doesn't match how they actually buy, they'll leave.

When you reverse engineer from the buyer, you're building for THEM.

Not for you.

Here's what is going to changes when you do this.

Your ad spend goes down because you're targeting the exact person instead of a broad audience.

Your conversion rate goes up because your messaging matches what your buyers actually believe.

Your sales calls get easier because people show up already believing what you believe.

Your close rate goes up because you're not convincing anyone of anything. You're just showing them how to apply what they already want to their situation.

You stop guessing and start engineering.

Final thought from the desk of Roman

If you're building funnels from the top down, you're building based on who you THINK your customer is.

If you're building funnels from the bottom up, you're building based on who your customer ACTUALLY is.

One is theory.

The other is reality.

And reality converts.

So here is my question for you

Do you know what belief your buyers had to adopt before they were ready to buy from you?

If you can't answer that in one sentence, that's your problem.

Figure that out first. Then build your funnel around it.

P.S. If you've been running ads and getting traffic but no sales, it's not your offer. It's that your funnel is designed for the wrong person. You're attracting browsers when you need to attract buyers. And those are two completely different people with two completely different beliefs. Fix the belief first. The funnel will follow.

If you have any question about how to do anything just feel free to ask me.

This took me a week to put togerther becuase of holiday with family

But as Always

I am rooting for you

-Roman Mbaka

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