Saturday, November 07, 2026

Chasing leads on five channels at once is why your evenings disappear. The Bullseye Channel Framework helps SME owners find the one channel worth their full attention.

You missed dinner again. Not because the business needed you to — because you were replying to a lukewarm enquiry from the one Facebook group you haven't given up on yet, on top of the ad you boosted, the cold emails you sent, and the networking breakfast you can't skip in case it's the one that pays off.

If you want to know why chasing leads is eating your evenings, here's the honest answer: you're working every channel a little instead of one channel properly, and "a little everywhere" is the most expensive way to sell anything.

I used to say yes to every opportunity that landed in front of me. It took me years to learn that saying yes to everyone else's request is how you guarantee you never get to your own.

"Spray And Pray" Isn't A Strategy. It's A Habit Dressed Up As Effort.

The villain here is the belief that more channels equals more sales. It feels productive — you're doing something on five fronts — but five half-tested channels usually convert worse than one properly tested one, because none of them gets the repetition, the budget or the attention it needs to actually work.

Leave it unfixed and the cost isn't just a thin pipeline. It's every evening and weekend you've handed over to "just checking" a channel that was never going to be the one, while the people who matter most to you get whatever energy is left over.

The Bullseye Channel Framework: Test Wide, Then Go All-In On One

Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares built the Bullseye Channel Framework to answer one question for founders drowning in options: of every possible way to find customers, which one is actually worth your full attention? Here's the SME version:

  • Brainstorm every channel that could plausibly reach your customer — referral, content, ads, partnerships, events, cold outreach. Write down all of them, even the unlikely ones.
  • Rank each one honestly on cost, reach and how fast you'd see a result — not on which one you enjoy most.
  • Run a cheap, two-week test on your top three only. Not five. Three.
  • Go all-in on whichever one actually produced a real conversation, and quietly drop the rest.

I block my own diary until midday Monday and mid-morning Tuesday every week, no exceptions, because the channel work and the thinking work only happen if they're protected before the week fills up with everyone else's urgent requests.

"Kevin is an absolute powerhouse! He doubled our business's profits in the first month alone with lots more of his recommendations still to be rolled out."

— Curtis Hacon, Give A Sh!t

Why "Just In Case" Beats "On Purpose" Every Single Time

The real obstacle isn't knowing which channel to test. It's that staying active on five channels feels safer than committing to one, even when the data says one is clearly working better. Fear of missing out quietly overrides the evidence sitting right in front of you.

A second pair of eyes — someone who isn't emotionally attached to the networking breakfast you've been attending for three years — is usually what it takes to make the call and hold you to it. This isn't for you if you want to keep every option open forever. It's for owners ready to pick one channel on purpose and protect the hours that come back.

You don't need to work harder at lead generation. You need to work one channel properly instead of five channels badly — and get your Tuesday nights back in the process.

Key Takeaways

  • List every possible lead channel before judging any of them.
  • Test only your top three, cheaply, for two weeks — not all of them, not forever.
  • Commit fully to the one channel the test actually proves, and drop the rest.
  • Protect fixed hours in your week for this work, before the urgent fires take them.

If your evenings disappear chasing leads on five channels at once, that's the first thing we fix.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

AI tools are making every small business sound the same. Here is the 3-step Distinctive Brand Assets method for standing out even when a machine wrote the first draft.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

The Entourage or Simple-Growth: who each suits, what The Entourage publishes on price and proof, and seven questions to ask before you apply. Checked 4 November 2026.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

A New Zealand owner connected her ERP, email, website and analytics to AI. What changed, what the early numbers show, what we do not know yet, and what you can copy this month. Checked 4 November 2026.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

The spreadsheet's been updated four times and nothing new has changed in three weeks. Here's why waiting for certainty is the real growth-killer, not the risk itself.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

The thought isn't "how do I grow this" anymore, it's "can I keep doing this." That thought isn't proof you're failing — it's proof you're carrying it alone.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

Twenty minutes at the kitchen table turns into two hours, again. Here's why willpower isn't the fix — and the one question that actually frees up your week.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

"I'm also talking to someone else." Most owners improvise an answer in that moment and sound like everyone else. Here's how to have the answer ready.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

Half your customer base needs chasing, discounting or managing. The fix usually isn't your delivery — it's who your marketing is attracting in the first place.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

You've run the numbers four times and still haven't decided. It's not the decision that's the problem — it's that you're making it with no one to pressure-test your thinking.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

An agency, a freelancer or doing it yourself with AI: who each suits, what one NZ agency publishes on cost, and six questions to ask before you pay anyone. Checked 4 November 2026.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

Scaling Up gives a leadership team a four-decision platform. Coaching finds the one constraint to fix first. Here is who each suits, what is public on cost, and six questions to ask. Checked 3 November 2026.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

Three self-paced programs at $97, $297 and $497. Here is the problem each one fixes, who it suits, who should skip it, and how to choose in five minutes. Checked 3 November 2026.

Monday, November 02, 2026

Strategic Coach, Tony Robbins Business Mastery or one-on-one coaching? A fair, source-linked guide for US owners, with a five-question test to match the format to your stage.

Monday, November 02, 2026

Research published by Adobe Acrobat in October 2026 shows 88% of UK business owners don't trust their own branding, even though 72% call it essential. Here's the gap, and the 3-step fix that closes it.

Monday, November 02, 2026

The New Zealand AI advisory pilot co-funds up to half of an AI plan for small businesses, capped at $15,000, and has been extended to mid-2027. What it is, what to check, and a practical first 30 days. Checked 2 November 2026.