Growth guide by Mark Parfenov, published 10 November 2026
When growth stalls, the natural reaction is to do more: more tools, more ads, a new website, another channel. Most of the time that spreads the same problem across more places. These are the mistakes I see most often, and what works better.
What it looks like. A new CRM, an automation tool or an AI assistant is bought to fix sales that keep slipping.
Why it hurts. Software copies whatever process you already have. If nobody agrees what a qualified lead is or when to follow up, the tool just records the confusion faster.
Do this instead. Write down how a lead becomes a customer today, step by step, and fix the gaps first. Then choose the simplest tool that runs that process.
What it looks like. Money goes into Google or Meta ads while forms, calls and bookings aren’t traced back to the click that brought them.
Why it hurts. You can see clicks and spend, but not which campaigns bring paying customers, so budget decisions are guesses.
Do this instead. Before spending, make sure every inquiry records its source and that you can follow it to a booked call and a payment. Then start small and judge ads on cost per qualified lead.
What it looks like. A new website is commissioned because inquiries are low.
Why it hurts. A nicer site doesn’t help if visitors still can’t tell what you sell, who it’s for, what it costs and what to do next.
Do this instead. Fix the offer and the message first: one clear customer, one clear problem, one next step. Often a few changed pages do more than a rebuild.
What it looks like. LinkedIn posts, cold email, ads, SEO, events and partnerships, all started in the same quarter.
Why it hurts. Each channel gets too little time to work, and you can’t tell which one moved the numbers.
Do this instead. Pick one or two channels where your buyers already look, give them enough time and budget to judge fairly, and add the next one only when those work.
What it looks like. Reports show visits, impressions, followers and opens.
Why it hurts. Those numbers can grow while revenue stays flat. They tell you about attention, not about sales.
Do this instead. Track a short chain: inquiries, qualified leads, booked calls, paying customers, and what each one cost. Review it monthly.
What it looks like. Most deals end with a lower price than the one you quoted.
Why it hurts. Discounts cut margin, train buyers to wait for a better offer and usually hide the real issue: the value isn’t clear.
Do this instead. Make it obvious what the customer gets and why it costs what it does. If you give something, ask for something back, such as a longer commitment or a faster start.
What it looks like. The founder is overloaded, so a first sales hire is brought in to “take over sales”.
Why it hurts. Without a written way of selling, the hire has to guess, results take months to show, and it’s hard to tell whether the person or the process is the problem.
Do this instead. Write down who you sell to, how you find them, what you say, how you price and when a deal counts as real. Then hire someone to run and improve that.
What it looks like. The pipeline is full of deals that haven’t moved in weeks, all marked as likely to close.
Why it hurts. Hope inflates forecasts and steals time from buyers who are actually ready.
Do this instead. Agree a few steps a buyer must take before a deal counts, such as a confirmed need, a budget and a date. Close out deals that stall past them.
What it looks like. Inquiries arrive by form, email, phone and messages, and some wait days for a reply. Some never get one.
Why it hurts. People who ask for help are usually asking others too. The first useful reply often wins.
Do this instead. Send every inquiry to one place, reply the same working day, and set a reminder for anything still open after 48 hours.
What it looks like. All effort goes into new customers, and past ones only hear from you when they need something.
Why it hurts. Repeat business and referrals are usually the cheapest growth you have, and they fade without a reason to come back.
Do this instead. Follow up after every job or purchase, ask satisfied customers for a referral at the moment they’re happiest, and give them a simple reason to buy again.
Diagnose before you spend. Fix the offer and the follow-up, make sure you can measure from first click to payment, and only then add tools, ads or channels. That order is cheaper, and it shows you what actually works.
The first call is free. The diagnostic (€950, fixed) finds where your leads and deals are lost and gives you the fixes in priority order.