If you’re showing up consistently in your business but still not seeing the traction you deserve, this episode is for you. Today, Lori walks you through two critical stages of your client journey: Engage and Invite – the bridge between curiosity and commitment.
You’ll discover why engagement isn’t about likes or views, but about readiness, connection, and trust. Lori shares how to shift from simply creating content to actually guiding your audience toward a next step – without feeling pushy or “salesy.”
She also breaks down the four business stages – Figure It Out, Work It Out, Rock It Out, and Boss It Out – and how engagement looks different at each level. You’ll learn why clarity beats persuasion, and how a clear invitation can turn effort into real momentum.
Lessons Learned
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Engagement is a filter, not a goal.
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Clarity beats persuasion every time.
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Each business stage engages differently.
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Invitation is leadership, not selling.
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Momentum requires direction – trust needs somewhere to go.
Book your Profitable Path Blueprint Call at TalkWithLori.com
Chapter Index
- 00:00 – When Effort Isn’t the Problem
- 01:03 – Welcome Back to the Midlife Business Academy
- 01:29 – Why Engage and Invite Matter
- 02:13 – What Engagement Is Not
- 02:23 – What Real Engagement Actually Is
- 03:16 – Engagement as a Filter, Not a Goal
- 04:31 – How Engagement Changes by Business Stage
- 06:01 – The Work It Out and Rock It Out Stages
- 07:27 – The Boss It Out Stage Explained
- 08:17 – Why Effort Isn’t the Issue, Efficiency Is
- 08:55 – What Invite Really Means
- 09:31 – Why Invitation Feels Uncomfortable
- 11:16 – The Engage to Commit Path
- 13:37 – Activity vs Engagement
- 15:16 – Reflection Questions and the Next Step
Transcript with Chapters
00:00 – When Effort Isn’t the Problem
If you’re putting in real effort in your business, showing up consistently, doing what you’re supposed to do, and the results still feel uneven or unpredictable, then this episode’s for you.
Because at this stage, the problem is not visibility, it’s not motivation, and it’s definitely not effort.
The problem is that your audience doesn’t know what to do next.
And without that, momentum stalls.
01:03 – Welcome Back to the Midlife Business Academy
So welcome back to the Midlife Business Academy.
If you’re done spinning your wheels, done starting over, and ready to build real momentum in your business, you’re in the right place.
I’m Lori Lyons, hoarse voice and all.
I cannot get rid of this.
But today we’re continuing our client journey series, combining two stages that are often misunderstood but they’re absolutely critical if you want real traction.
We’re talking about engage and invite.
01:29 – Why Engage and Invite Matter
If you’ve been listening and following along, we’ve already covered the discover and the connect stage.
Being findable, creating resonance, making sure the right people recognizing themselves in your message.
Engage and invite are where things shift from awareness to momentum.
This is where your effort either starts compounding or it quietly leaks out the sides.
And if you have ever thought, I’m doing a lot, but I don’t feel it should be this hard, then this episode is going to put language around exactly why.
02:13 – What Engagement Is Not
So let’s clear up something right away.
Engagement is not likes.
It’s not comments.
It’s not open rates or views.
Those are signals.
They’re not outcomes.
02:23 – What Real Engagement Actually Is
Real engagement is when someone mentally leans in and begins participating in the conversation you are creating.
They reply.
They don’t scroll.
They think instead of just consume.
And they start connecting the dots to their own business.
Hey, this is me.
She nailed my problem.
Wow, how did she know that I was doing that?
Engagement is the bridge between curiosity and trust.
And trust is what allows people to move forward.
If your engagement is shallow, you won’t have momentum, no matter how good your content is.
03:16 – Engagement as a Filter, Not a Goal
So let’s look at as engagement as a filter, not a goal.
Because one of the biggest mistakes I see business owners making is chasing engagement instead of using it as a filter.
They broaden their message, they soften their language, and they try to appeal to more people.
You’ve heard that all saying, oh, I want to work with everybody.
But what you get is attention from people who aren’t ready to act.
And that can kind of feel encouraging at first, but then nothing happens.
Real engagement is not about volume.
It’s about readiness.
It’s about your clients or your potential clients being ready.
04:31 – How Engagement Changes by Business Stage
And engagement looks different depending on where you are in your business.
If you’re a regular listener, you know, I’ve already talked about how business growth tends to follow four stages, the figure it out, work it out, rock it out, and boss it out stages.
And each stage will engage differently with your audience.
And each stage needs a different kind of direction.
06:01 – The Work It Out and Rock It Out Stages
In the figure it out stage, your engagement is exploratory.
People are watching, they’re listening, they’re testing ideas.
They’re asking broad questions and you’re looking for reassurance.
This stage is about orientation.
It’s not about traction.
And while it’s a very important stage, it’s not where sustained momentum is built.
The next stage is work it out.
And this is where most of you are.
Most of you listening to this podcast are probably in the work it out stage.
You’re not asking, can I do this?
You’re asking, why isn’t this working the way it should?
07:27 – The Boss It Out Stage Explained
So let’s move to the boss it out stage.
This is where your business becomes a movement.
Your engagement here is all about leadership, community, and scale.
While this stage requires a different focus, and many of you aren’t there yet, and some of you may not ever aspire to be that, and that’s okay.
It’s important to recognize that the boss it out stages exist because you could be doing boss it out stage activities that are twirling you deeper into a hole that you aren’t aware of.
08:17 – Why Effort Isn’t the Issue, Efficiency Is
Because here’s the thing, most of you don’t struggle with effort.
You struggle with efficiency.
You engage by teaching.
You engage by explaining and by sharing, but you stop short of guiding.
Insight without direction feels good, but it doesn’t create movement.
People leave thinking, huh, that makes a lot of sense.
Not, I know what to do next.
And that gap is where your traction disappears.
08:55 – What Invite Really Means
So this is where invite comes in.
It’s the real purpose of the invite stage.
It’s not an invitation.
It’s not a pitch.
It’s not pressure.
An invitation is direction.
Invite answers the questions your engaged audience is already asking.
What now?
What’s next?
What’s my next step?
09:31 – Why Invitation Feels Uncomfortable
So why does invitation feel so uncomfortable?
Inviting someone forward requires clarity and confidence.
It requires you to say this is the next step.
And that can feel uncomfortable to a lot of you if you value relationships and integrity.
You feel sales are yucky.
Selling tries to convince.
Inviting assumes that you’re ready.
11:16 – The Engage to Commit Path
Engage in invites, follow a simple progression.
It’s not a funnel.
It’s not a formula.
It’s a clear path that supports readiness instead of rushing.
People consume your ideas and they recognize themselves.
They engage and they start interacting.
They take a decision call to get clarity.
And then they commit to a direction and you move forward.
13:37 – Activity vs Engagement
So are you engaging or are you just doing busy work activities?
Are you getting ready to get ready to get ready?
Activity is one way, but engagement is two way.
So if you’re always creating, but you’re rarely listening, you’re active, you’re not engaged.
15:16 – Reflection Questions and the Next Step
So I want you to ask yourself, where am I creating engagement without direction?
Where am I hesitating to invite?
Do my calls to action assume a commitment?
Or am I asking for a commitment?
Engage and invite are not tactics.
They’re decision tools.
If you’re done guessing, done tweaking, and ready for traction that matches your effort, the next step is getting clear.
And that’s what my Profitable Path Blueprint Call is designed to do.