Relationship-Driven Marketing That Actually Works for Local and Mobile Businesses (with Jen Neitzel)

Guest Bio

Jen Neitzel is a public speaker, business coach, and author of On the Move, a relationship-driven five-point marketing solution built for mobile business success. After leaving the mortgage industry in 2017, she built a six-figure notary loan signing business by replacing “middleman” work with direct relationships and a repeatable system.

Episode Overview

This episode is a masterclass in Relationship-Driven Marketing that feels refreshingly non-hype. Jen’s story starts where a lot of real entrepreneurship starts, getting pushed out of a stable lane, realizing you either adapt or stay stuck, and choosing the uncomfortable option. She left the mortgage industry, became a notary loan signing agent, and quickly saw the trap: signing services as the middleman, taking a big cut. The answer was simple but not easy, build direct relationships with the people who can refer work consistently.

Jen spent a year doing what most people avoid: walking into offices, introducing herself, and building trust in person. She calls these “pop-ins.” She also admits she made a ridiculous number of mistakes, from bringing half-baked muffins to saying the wrong things, to not collecting business cards, to not following up. The difference is that she documented the mistakes. That created patterns. Those patterns became a five-pillar system that is now the core of her book and coaching.

The five pillars are: the initial connection (the pop-in), follow-up, a monthly touchpoint (her “shout out”), social media, and networking, in that order. I love this order because it’s the opposite of what most small businesses do. Most people go straight to networking without a plan, then wonder why it feels awkward and doesn’t convert. Jen’s point is that networking works when you’ve already built the muscle of connection, follow-up, and staying visible.

A big theme of the conversation is fear, resistance, and the stories we tell ourselves. Jen is direct about it: a lot of “I’m an introvert” talk is really just fear wearing a clever costume. Introversion doesn’t mean you can’t do Relationship-Driven Marketing, it just means you need recovery time after being “on.” She also frames follow-up as business-critical, not a sales task. Your handshake means nothing if you do not follow up. That’s where trust compounds.

She also challenges the “digital-only” approach. You cannot hide behind a screen and expect to build trust quickly. Jen shares a blunt reality: building relationships takes significantly longer if you only email, and most new business owners don’t have years of runway to wait. The real win is combining in-person trust-building with a digital presence, staying top of mind, and making it easy for the community to choose you when the need arises.

Key Takeaways

• Relationship-Driven Marketing is a system, not a personality trait. The process is learnable, even if you are introverted.
• The follow-up is the real work, not the pop-in. A great first impression without follow-up is wasted motion.
• A monthly touch point keeps you visible without being spammy, if it’s genuinely useful and community-focused.
• Social media is free distribution, but it requires a realistic timeline and consistency, not quick-hit expectations.
• Networking belongs at the end, after you have a plan for connection, follow-up, and ongoing visibility.

Favorite Quotes

• “That handshake means nothing, that collecting that business card means nothing, dropping off that gift means nothing if you don’t follow up.” (08:13)
• “Most folks think when you start a business, the first thing you have to do is get out there and start networking. But if you don’t have a plan for how to network properly, what are you doing?” (12:58)
• “I consider the follow-up not a sales task, but a business critical task.” (09:58)
• “Research shows that it takes about 20 times longer to build relationships and trust when you hide behind a computer and only send out emails.” (19:34)
• “Entrepreneurship is not just about learning business tactics. It’s about working on yourself.” (26:21)

Playbook: How to Apply

1. Start with five pop-ins per month, not per day
   Jen’s pacing is smart. If you over-prescribe activity, people freeze. Start with five per month, then review what felt hard, what went well, and add volume gradually (5, then 7, then 10). The goal is consistency, not hero mode.
2. Build a follow-up system inside a CRM, then treat it like operations
   After each pop-in: log the contact, send a short “great to meet you” note, restate who you are, and put the focus on them, not your offer. Your follow-up cadence is where Relationship-Driven Marketing becomes real. No follow-up means no compounding.
3. Add one monthly “shout out” that earns attention
   Keep it simple and valuable: a local event, a helpful tip, a “favorite spot” recommendation, a community highlight, something that makes the email feel like it belongs. The goal is to become a familiar, trusted name, not another auto-delete.
4. Use social media to reinforce the same relationship story
   Set expectations correctly: social is free reach, but it’s slow. Commit to a year of consistent posting. Share local relevance, client education, and behind-the-scenes proof of trust. This is how your offline relationships get amplified online.

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🎧 Listen to the full conversation with Jen Neitzel on Making BIG Shifts—available on YouTube and Spotify.

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