In a recent LinkedIn post, jessie van breugel highlights a common yet often overlooked challenge faced by founders: the misconception of what truly constitutes “marketing” and the resulting struggle with consistency. Van Breugel, who has extensive experience helping founders secure clients on LinkedIn, points out that the focus is often misplaced, leading to inefficient workflows and a lack of sustained effort.
The core of Van Breugel’s argument stems from a series of client conversations. “I spoke with 6 of our clients in the last week. Not one person asked me for more leads on LinkedIn. Every one of those calls landed on the same question: ‘What happens to my marketing on the days I don’t touch it?'”, she writes.
Deconstructing the Marketing Effort
Van Breugel proposes an exercise for founders to re-evaluate their marketing activities by splitting them into two distinct buckets. The first bucket, she explains, contains tasks that only the founder can perform. “The part only you can do — approving what goes out in your name, replying to the conversations that matter, taking calls,” she outlines.
The second bucket, however, encompasses the vast majority of operational marketing work that does not require direct founder involvement. This includes drafting content, building target lists, sorting inbound inquiries, and preparing call documents. Van Breugel argues that founders often mistakenly treat all marketing tasks as belonging to the first bucket.
The Root Cause of Inconsistency
According to Van Breugel, this misclassification is the primary reason behind inconsistent marketing efforts. “Bucket 2 is where almost all your hours go, and none of that work actually needs you. And, that’s exactly why you’re unable to stay consistent with your marketing,” she states.
Van Breugel’s experience, gained from working with over 200 founders, led her team to shift their approach. Instead of providing clients with curricula—which often felt like more homework for time-strapped entrepreneurs—they began building the necessary systems for them. “So we build it instead,” she explains. “Every part of bucket 2 — built once, written down, handed over.”
The Solution: Delegable Systems
This shift in strategy focuses on creating a complete, transferable marketing system. Van Breugel details that building such a system from scratch could take approximately 200 hours. Once established, maintaining it requires only about four hours per week for the founder’s direct involvement (e.g., being the face of the operation, taking calls). The documented system is designed to be easily picked up and managed by a virtual assistant or a salesperson.
While Van Breugel’s firm is currently not taking on new clients, she is distributing a “21-day playbook” to their email list. This playbook covers essential elements like positioning, content engine development, and the direct message (DM) system they implement.
Concluding her post, Van Breugel offers a final piece of advice: “Don’t worry about getting more leads on LinkedIn if you don’t have a system in place yet.” This underscores her belief that a solid operational foundation is paramount before focusing on lead generation tactics.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by jessie van breugel on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on August 4, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →