From the Yellow Chair
From the Yellow Chair
The Missing Link Between Leads and Revenue with Kathrine Farris
What if your marketing wasn’t a stack of disconnected tools but a living system that turns attention into revenue every day? We sit down with Kathrine Farris of MarkeTecs to map the path from inspired ideas to measurable conversions, showing how creativity and technology can finally pull in the same direction.
Kathrine shares how a speaker-dependent business transformed into a scalable digital brand by productizing expertise: online courses, downloadable workbooks, and live-streamed events with recordings that kept earning. We unpack why a strong lead magnet beats a generic newsletter box, how to build a nurture sequence that actually fires, and the importance of a single message that stays consistent across your website, Instagram, Facebook, email, and SMS. When every promise is delivered on time, trust grows—and so do sales.
We also dive into AI where it truly helps. From knowledge-based chat and voice agents that answer real customer questions to responsibly disclosed AI “clones” that create on-brand video content, we explore how to remove bottlenecks without losing authenticity. Then we tackle platform sprawl. Katherine explains why HighLevel has become her go-to all-in-one: CRM, automation, funnels, scheduling, and reporting in one place, plus white-labeled templates that slash setup time. The result? Cleaner data, fewer logins, and real cost savings—like dropping from $1,700 a month to $300 while gaining more capability.
If you want a marketing engine that captures, nurtures, and converts—without burning your team out—this conversation lays out the blueprint. Subscribe, share with a teammate who’s drowning in tools, and leave a review telling us the one workflow you’re excited to automate next.
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We'll see you next time, Lemon Heads!
What's up, Lemon Heads? Welcome back to another episode of From the Yellow Chair. I'm Emily, and I'm so excited to talk to our special guest today. Um, we have Katherine Ferris from Markets, and she combines the creativity and strategic approach in marketing. So, how do we take our marketing efforts but then actually follow through and steal the deal with the lead? Because what is marketing if we're not actually getting revenue for it? So I'm so excited to chat with her today. Thank you for listening. Without further ado, let's sip some lemonade. So hi Catherine, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER_01:Hi, Emily. I'm well. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00:Good. So excited to have you. So why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about you and your company?
SPEAKER_01:Sure. Um, I own Markets and we have been a marketing agency for about 16 years. We help a lot of online entrepreneurs, coaches, and consultants. However, we have crossed over several times into assisting a few construction companies locally and a yard service company recently, which was a lot of fun, uh, retractable screens and things like that that I got to learn all kinds of stuff about.
SPEAKER_00:That's awesome. So, what has been um what do what do you think has been the biggest impact in the change in marketing? So you've been doing this a long time, like you said, 16 years. And when you got started, it was definitely not the same as where it is today. What do you think has been the biggest shift, or maybe one of the shifts that you're most excited about?
SPEAKER_01:Um, well, I think both of the answers to that question is the same technology. Uh I think I originally got started doing what I'm doing because I love technology. And the blend of the technical and the creative side is really just kind of where my passion lied. I have always been had a really good aptitude for tech, but I also just like, I don't know, making things come together even within tech. Like I think of it kind of like like architecture, how it's both beautiful and technical, right? And that's kind of how I see marketing.
SPEAKER_00:No, for sure. It's definitely that blend. And even when you talk with different marketers, you can tell like some of them definitely have a more strategic mind and like the numbers, the analytics, and like how do we push and pull this budget? And is it getting the ROI that we want? And then there's other marketers that are totally the creative side of it, like this would be a fantastic idea. And like, you know, maybe we don't know how to do the execution or like the fault, but like it's a great idea, and like it's super creative. And so marketing does have those two worlds, and so you really try to specialize and bring those two together, right?
SPEAKER_01:100%. Yeah, it's it's really it's been such an interesting journey in that too, because the tech in you know, 16 years has just come leaps and bounds. I mean, when I first started, things like MailChimp were revolutionary. Um, you know, I was so afraid of WordPress when we first started building websites, you know, and now I just I think of some of the stuff we're using now, some of the complicated systems or or automations and integrations that we're into now. And that's, I mean, every company out there could have an amazing backend system fully scaled that could take them from one client to a thousand clients. You couldn't say that 15 years ago. 15 years ago, that was big money.
SPEAKER_00:Sure. Or you had to have a team of a thousand people to do it for you. Like it's so manual and required so much human effort and manpower to do some of the things that we're now able to do a lot more volume with technology through automations and different systems that we can build now, right?
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. I mean, even my team has scaled down just in the last couple of years. I mean, we were a team of at probably at the height, a team of 10, and now we're doing the same amount of work with five. So, I mean, and and we do it all day long on tech.
SPEAKER_00:So Yeah. And that can be scary to some people, but how do you see it as a as a benefit to being able to do more or the same with fewer people?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I I think I've always valued efficiency, and that's kind of how I see this is I see it as us becoming more efficient, us being able to do more with less. I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. I think it's been a somewhat natural attrition as well. It's never been us letting anybody go. It's just kind of been that natural feel. And I think every business owner can really relate to that, to that fact of like, okay, you know, there's now a new widget out that does the job of two people instead of, you know, and it's it's just kind of how things work.
SPEAKER_00:No, for sure, for sure. Okay, so let's go back. We, you know, we kind of got started of okay, marketing is marrying these two, the creativity and the technological side. So let's talk a little bit about the creativity. So, what has been maybe one of your favorite creative marketing campaigns, or maybe something that you guys have been able to do for your client clients that you feel is like that's pretty creative. Like, hey, we're we're pretty proud of this one. Um, share us, share a little bit about that. So maybe we might could get some inspiration from that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Uh one that came to mind was actually during COVID, where we had a client that 90% of her business was actually public speaking in person, right? Doing things live, having to be there in front of her audience. And I think a lot of people can relate to that, having to be in person. Um, and right before COVID, I don't know, call it foresight, call it, call it whatever you want. Right before COVID, we had this sort of aha of like, all right, you're reaching X number of people live and in person. What if we put together something for all those people that can't make it to a conference? We put together some sort of online version of your material for people that just can't make it live and we discount it, right? And it's kind of that like DIY type theme, like the people that are trying to DIY something. And so we started building this out. And this was, I want to say like December 2019. We started with this idea. And then in March, COVID exploded, everything shut down in the US, sort of end of February and in March. And we were like, oh my gosh, we have the perfect pivot, right? And and I think that's what everybody looks for is like when when something goes awry, do you have that pivot? Do you have that, oh, we know exactly what to do next? And in this case, we did, and it was brilliant. We had to change a little bit of the marketing language because it now became instead of our backup plan, it became our front and center. But it was so easy to do to just say, like, oh, we're reenvisioning how you think about these things. And and this is what the whole campaign became because the whole world changed.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and that's so cool that your minds were even thinking in that way. Like, so I'm sure you guys weren't planning this of like, we should get this prepared because there's gonna be this virus that comes up. No, but you know, a lot of people can't travel to all these events, whether it's because of an expense thing, but then also it might just be not the right dates and stuff. So, how could your client of this speaker get her message uh to out to a lot more people and in a lot more affordable way, like you said, just efficiency way, so she can get her message out to so many more people in quarters of the time, probably. Um, I'm sure is that innovation that got you even focusing on that path. And then COVID just happened to be it also worked for that too. But it was that innovation and and how can we change this and imagine it for the future, right? That got you thinking even absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, well, and just a missed marketing opportunity is really what sort of brought it up was it's like, okay, we have all of these events that you're speaking at, and this is brilliant, but how much of the market is that? Is that 10% of your potential audience? How do we reach the other 90%? That's really, I think, where the idea even came from was just trying to reach more of a market audience. And so then it's mushroomed and then it just ended up being perfect timing.
SPEAKER_00:Then what did you guys do to reach that other 90% of the audience? Like what were some of the actual tangible and tactics that you implemented to reach this whole new audience?
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So in this particular case, again, she was a public speaker. So we had these um speaking topics and we had these whole scripts of hers. And so we turned it into online marketing and online content. So online courses, online uh agendas, different things that people could download, worksheets and workbooks, and just turned it into a whole online presence for her. And so that way people were able to get it sort of again, DIY. They could get it on their own. And then because of the shift and all of her conferences getting canceled, we also did online live events to sort of replace those in-person events, which we weren't necessarily planning originally. We were planning on it mostly being DIY type stuff. But with the live and then keeping the recordings after, and and you see it a lot now, and you see it a lot since COVID, where people will do a webinar or something, and maybe it's a free webinar, but if you want the recording, you have to pay$7 or whatever it might be. That was sort of the concept that we had ahead of the game, I would say.
SPEAKER_00:Very cool. Love it. And then how did you guys so you know the creativity there and how to pivot and how to reach these other markets and stuff? And then, like, what is your guys' follow-through? Or like, how do you implement technology at this point to um further maximize those marketing efforts?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I mean, so that comes from every point that that you would engage with people online, whether it be uh Instagram DM, whether it be a Facebook message, whether it be a form on your website. Uh, we most of our clients have what we call lead magnets. So something that people are going to engage with. Nine times out of 10, if somebody goes to your website, they're not going to just sign up for your newsletter. Like you're not probably that interesting. If you are, kudos to you. But nine times out of 10, it doesn't happen. There has to be something to entice them. Whether they're gonna get it. There has to be, you know, if you were selling clothes, it would be 20% off or free shipping. We've all seen that. And that little widget that pops up that says free shipping. Yes, exactly. You know, so that little thing that pops up that says free shipping, put in your email address. That's the stuff that we build. And then there's a whole back-end system around that, because if they put in their email address and then don't get the email with the code for free shipping, guess what? They're never coming back. You know, so all of that stuff does need to be built out on the back end and it all needs to be the same across platforms. So on your Facebook page, if you have 20% off in your Facebook header, it needs to work the same way. Same thing with Instagram, if you're putting messages out there. And this is where having sort of an all-in-one system can be really helpful. And these systems have become super affordable. And this is what we build. So we build these systems that all the places, all the landing pages, all the websites, all the outreach says the same thing, and it all comes back to one automated workflow so that when somebody puts their contact information, they get that message. They get that 20% off, they get that booking link to get a free consultation, they get whatever it is that you promised them. Um, you know, download all of our materials about the best stone for your walkway, whatever it is, right? And so they get those details and then they get follow-up after that. So you can say, okay, wait 24 hours and now send them this message, wait three days and now send them this message. And it's a whole nurture campaign. And that's all very typical. Like in our world of marketing, that would be baseline. Like everybody should have that in my mind. They should have that core lead magnet, that pain point solver, and then they should have a nurture campaign after it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And, you know, kind of going back to that efficiency thing, and we're talking about, you know, how by implementing technology and kind of remove some of those human elements is like you also remove a lot of errors and then also making sure that all of the pieces get done. So, like, you know, if you had physical humans that were responsible for telling everyone, okay, you get 20% off, or you get free shipping, but then like, oh, well, so-and-so forgot. And they told them 15% off or 5% off, or hey, we've instructed them on this nurture campaign. So, like, we want them to send an email, you know, immediately and then eight hours and then 24, whatever it might be. Well, like, oh yeah, I forgot that one, or I got busy, or you know, my kid got sick, you know, to where it leaves lots of holes that could happen and like bits and pieces might be happening, but like not everything is firing on all cylinders or in the same manner. So when you take the time to invest in these systems and processes and automations, it ensures that everything is consistent. I mean that everything happens the same way every single time.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. I couldn't have said that better. That is for sure. I was like, I was like, there is no way I'm gonna have a real person sitting on the back end tracking how long someone's been here and when they gave us their email. And let's send another message out in three days. That um, there's such a better way to do that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and then it also just creates human capacity to do the things that humans can do better, like that creativity aspect or that dreaming big, or that like when you do need that personal face-to-face interaction um or you know, real phone call interaction and stuff that let them focus on that where we can alleviate some of these other things that still have to get done that are still crucial to our business, but that can be automated through technology.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and we're even getting to the point where some of the stuff you just mentioned can be automated through technology. So building AI chatbots and voice AI agents, this is all almost mainstream.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I mean, and we were chatting a little bit before, like you're implementing some new things that are very creative and forward-thinking with AI, right?
SPEAKER_01:I am, yeah. I was saying um my weekend project this past weekend was creating my own AI clone to help me with content.
SPEAKER_00:Possibly it sounds scary, like freak some people out, but it could also be very beneficial. So tell us a little bit about this AI clone.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So, I mean, so there's so AI voice and AI chat are different than what I'm talking about here. Like AI voice and chat would be somebody goes to your website, calls your phone number, and and and we always very clearly say this is, you know, Sarah, so-and-so's AI agent or whatever. Like we we're not trying to trick anybody here, just to be clear, right? And they can answer questions about your business from a knowledge base that you've uploaded. So that's like the AI voice and AI chat stuff. What I'm talking about is an actual like AI version of me that looks like me, talks like me, pretends to be me. I still disclose that it's AI, but pretends to be me, and all I have to do is give this AI a script of what I want it to say, and it the videos are created. I don't have to actually sit in front of the camera and create that content.
SPEAKER_00:So saves you a ton of time. Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. And and then what is the main thing for women that you mentioned?
SPEAKER_01:I was saying for us women, one of the biggest reasons that we don't get in front of the camera quite often is I didn't do my hair and makeup, right? Yes, yes. It seems probably silly, especially to some men, because they just throw the camera on and they don't think about it. You know, their car hearts and their baseball hat, and it doesn't matter to them. But we tend to be a little more self-conscious, not all of us, but a lot of us. And it can actually be something that holds us back from creating content that's super valuable. So this is sort of breaks down that excuse.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, do your hair makeup one time, um, and then you can tell it to, you know, generate all the information that that you want it to do in a cool video way. So wow, that is super interesting. So um how, so okay, if you're putting out all this content and and you're trying to, you know, position yourself as the authority in the space and putting up content that people want, like that they can find value in. But then, like, what are some of the specifics of how you actually do those follow-ups? And like, you know, there can be like all these different systems, and like that's I think what sometimes gets overwhelming to people is like, uh, well, I gotta go over here on social media, and then I gotta go over here and like in my email, I'm like, I told someone else this. Like putting all of those things together can be one of the main challenging parts, and again, where those holes happen. Yeah, how would you address and and maybe have some solutions for that?
SPEAKER_01:So, my number one solution, especially recently, and I will say that this has shifted over the years, right? I've had favorite platforms many different times. But starting in like 2023, 2024, especially, the number one platform for me has become high level. And I actually have devoted a good portion of my business at this point to training people on high level and teaching about high level. I sort of kicked up my YouTube channel this year. Um, I've been doing weekly tutorial videos specifically on high level. Wow. And it is an all-in-one platform, and I would say it's the first all-in-one platform that I've ever chosen to get behind. Um, and I really learned it because clients came to me asking for it. And so we have retainer clients that have been with us for over 10 years, right? And I had one come to me and go, Hey, have you heard of high level? And I'm like, no, it's one of those all-in-ones. I don't love those all-in ones. They always fail at something.
SPEAKER_00:Right. They're the jack of all trades, the master of none.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly, exactly. And I was like, I was like, I don't think so. But this was a very tech savvy client. So when she said you need to look into it, I listened because I mean, we have like really close relationships with our clients and we're very honest about everything and all of this. So I'm like, all right, I'll take a look. She goes, Because I'm switching and you're gonna learn it. And I was like, okay. And so I dove in head first, helped her migrate all of her stuff. And I think within two weeks, I called her up and I was like, Oh my gosh, you're right. Like, this is awesome. She's like, I told you, you know, and it was, and so then sort of the by the end of 2024, we actually like right after she called me, I had two other clients call me and go, Have you heard of high level? And I was like, surprisingly, yes, let's talk.
SPEAKER_00:Funny that right.
SPEAKER_01:And it's it's sort of like another one of those kismet moments, if you will, right? And so we migrated two more. And then I think I had three more clients come to me at the end of like or beginning of December. Have you heard of high level? And I said, Okay, give me a minute because I gotta do something different with this. Because one of the things that high level actually allows you to do is what they call white labeling. And so as an agency, I can actually take the base high-level platform and pre-build everything I recommend and then give that to my clients. And so when I realized that, that was when I was like, okay, I want to take this and do something sort of bigger and better with it, not just keep migrating people to high level, but actually take them and build stuff specific for them that I can kind of use as templates, if you would.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and to maximize all the capabilities that it has. Because again, sometimes it can be daunting to take advantage of all the features. It's like when you buy the Cadillac, but you only needed the features of the Honda, or you're not getting all the benefit the bells and whistles that could be.
SPEAKER_01:Um plus it streamlines what we're building. If I can start somebody out in an account that already has 15 templates and we just have to put their name in, how much faster is that than having to build everything from scratch? And that was sort of what I realized. So that is what we shifted to in 2025. We started at the end of December, beginning of January. We launched for our clients first, was what we call Markitech's engine. And it is our version of high level. And so that's really been our focus this year. You know, just like any other company, we had to pivot, right? And so that's been our focus this year is really talking about high level, talking about Market's engine, digging into just this better way of keeping everything all in one place. And we did. I mean, I have so many clients that have literally gotten rid of five programs and gone down to one. And they're saving. I mean, one of my clients was spending$1,700 a month for HubSpot just for HubSpot. She had other programs too. And now she's spending$300 a month for Hub for high level, and it does more than HubSpot did.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. Tremendous time and money savings there. Absolutely. Well, that is so interesting. And And um yeah, well, such a wealth of knowledge here, Catherine. And so if someone wanted to get in touch with you, or if they want to find out a little bit more about how you can marry the creativity with the technological side, or maybe even a little bit more specifically about high level, how could people get in contact with you?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so Marchitex.com is all of our information. And we do, we talk about the software. We have tons, like I said, tons of tutorials and links there. Um, and where Markitex on YouTube as well, where you're going to find all of our contact information. So I'd love to have people check it out.
SPEAKER_00:That sounds fantastic. Well, Catherine, thank you for joining me today. I really appreciated our conversation and thank you for listening to another episode of From the Yellow Chair. From the Yellow Chair is powered by Lemon Seed Marketing. We are your home service strategy and branding experts. So if you are needing help marrying all the pieces, um, check us out and check out Market Text. They're doing great things as well. So thanks for listening.