Too many businesses fight for attention like they’re begging for scraps.
They push out random content, shout about their offers, and wonder why their competitors still dominate.
It’s not because they have better products. It’s because their messaging is designed to win the mental battle before the buying decision even happens.
This week, inside The War Table Mastermind, we worked to eliminate weak messaging from our brands and rebuilt it with a strategic framework that forces attention, nurtures trust, and makes buying feel almost automatic.
This isn’t a comment on persuasion theory. This is our favorite system for leading your audience from confusion to commitment – turning cold strangers into raving, loyal customers who wouldn’t dream of buying from anyone else.
Let’s get into the trenches.
The Fatal Flaw: Why Most Businesses Lose Before They Even Sell
Most businesses lose leads not because their product is bad, but because their messaging is **out of sync with where their prospects are mentally**.
They either:
❌ Speak above the prospect’s level of awareness, confusing them.
❌ Assume too much, pushing for the sale before trust is built.
❌ Fail to differentiate, making themselves just another “option” in a crowded market.
If your messaging doesn’t **meet your audience where they are**, they **won’t** take action. The best marketers in the world don’t just throw offers at people. They **guide the buyer’s mind** so that by the time the offer is presented, it feels like the only logical choice.
This is what we dissected and rebuilt during this session.
The Core Strategy: Mapping Messaging to the Buyer Awareness Stages
The battle for market dominance isn’t won at the offer stage—it’s won in how well you move prospects through the five awareness stages. This model shows the strength of Nic von Schneider Market Awareness Messaging framework, matching messaging structures to each of the buyer stage so their progress isn’t left to chance.
Here is our version of the Awareness stages that actually consider the high level of saturation in the market:
1️⃣ Unaware – They don’t even know they have a problem yet.
2️⃣ Problem Aware** – They feel the pain but don’t know the solution.
3️⃣ Solution Aware** – They know solutions exist but haven’t picked one.
4️⃣ Comparison Aware – They know there are multiple contenders that promise similar solutions.
5️⃣ Action Aware – They’re ready to buy but need the right push.
Winning Strategy: Aligning Your Messaging to Each Stage
Businesses that dominate their market do NOT speak the same way to someone who is “Unaware” as they do to someone who is “Action Aware”.
Imagine finally getting people to know the solution exists and then suddenly, they choose a different offer because you didn’t both to differentiate your solution! We can fix that in 5 stages of messaging – each to carry the prospect forward.
The Unaware Stage → Problem Messaging
Your prospect doesn’t even know they have a problem. If you start pitching, you lose them. Take them to the next stage with Problem Messaging that exposes the problem.
Your Move: Create content that sparks curiosity or agitation.
Example: A fitness coach writes *“Why High-Intensity Workouts Might Be Killing Your Gains”* (targeting those who don’t know they’re training wrong).
The Problem Aware Stage → Solution Messaging
Now, they know they have a problem—but they don’t trust you yet. You have to show them there is light at the end of the tunnel. Solutions exist and the right outcome will take them to the next stage.
Your Move: Address the pain, then educate them without selling.
Example: A consultant posts *“The 3 Silent Sales Killers That Are Slowing Your Growth”*, giving value before introducing solutions.
The Solution Aware Stage → Invalidation Messaging
They know options exist, but they’re skeptical. Show them why your solution is superior by invalidating the solutions of other brands. This isn’t about attacking competition, but showing that the industry fundamentally can’t give them the outcome they need.
Your Move: Make comparisons and then create distance between them and you. Highlight why your approach is different.
Example: A SaaS company writes “Why Most CRM Systems Fail Sales Teams (And How We Fixed It)”.
The Comparison Aware Stage → Conversion Messaging
They see your offer, but they hesitate. This is where your offer comes in to held lend process and repetition to your brand. The goal is to satisfy their correct choice in you.
Your Move: Remove friction, overcome doubts, show proof.
Example: A coaching program posts “How We Helped 93% of Our Clients Double Their Revenue in 6 Months”.
The Action Aware Stage → Reinforcement Messaging
They’re almost ready. Make growth through action inevitable. Now, you need to give them a reason to buy now.
Your Move: Use urgency, introduce buyer safety, risk-reversal, and incentives.
Example: A service provider emails “Last Chance: Prices Increase at Midnight”.
Buying is the result of a nurtured process, not a single interaction. If your messaging hits every stage, your conversion rates will skyrocket.
Creating a Messaging Machine That Converts on Autopilot
Once you map your messaging across awareness stages, you need to **turn it into a system, not a guessing game**.
This is where most brands drop the ball—they create content **randomly**, instead of **strategically** engineering a buyer journey.
Inside the mastermind, we broke this down into three execution moves:
1. The “Hill to Die On” Challenge: Lock in Your Core Message
Weak messaging = weak positioning. So we ran a battle-tested clarity exercise: Define the one belief you are willing to defend, no matter what.
🔥 What’s the biggest industry myth you disagree with?
🔥 What’s the #1 mistake your competitors keep making?
🔥 What do you do differently that no one else does?
The strongest brands take a clear, unapologetic stance.
Example: Alex Hormozi aggressively pushes the idea that “great leads are manufactured, not found.”
Example: Apple has always stood by its belief that *design and user experience trump everything.*
If your brand is neutral, you’re forgettable.
Mastermind members were challenged to post their “Hill to Die On” message across social media this week—and the engagement numbers? Through the roof.
2. Lead Generation: Turning Messaging into Revenue
Your messaging is your customer acquisition engine.
We discussed lead magnet strategies to capture buyers without screaming “BUY NOW”:
✅ Turn old blog posts into PDF guides
✅ Use video messaging for higher lead conversions
✅ Leverage client failures as case studies to highlight superiority
Marketing isn’t just content, it’s bait for the right buyer.
3. Evergreen Authority: Building a Content Bank That Works 24/7
Want to control your market? Own the perception of expertise.
Members committed to creating one strategic authority piece per month: a blog, podcast, or webinar that positions them as the undeniable expert in their space.
Why?
🔹 60% of buyers consume 3-5 pieces of content before making a decision (source: Demand Gen Report).
🔹 Brands with consistent long-form content generate 67% more leads than those without (source: HubSpot).
If your content builds trust before the sales conversation, selling becomes effortless.
Controlling the Narrative
Most businesses are playing checkers while their competitors play chess.
Selling doesn’t start with a pitch—it starts with controlling the perception of value long before the buying decision happens.
If your brand isn’t growing like it should, your messaging is the bottleneck.
Inside The War Table Mastermind, we don’t just talk about branding and marketing strategies—we execute them, optimize them, and dominate markets.
If you’re tired of being “just another option” and want to become the ONLY choice, apply to join the mastermind.
There’s still room for those serious about scaling. Let’s build your market dominance—brick by brick.
Ready to claim authority? Join The War Table today.