2 builders who never spoke to each other

Ask one person at a time, every time

Recommending to one person is slower than broadcasting and converts far harder, so the ask belongs in the ordinary moments: the end of every podcast episode, the call where somebody asks what you use, the holiday conversation about what you are working on. Answer that last one with a real description rather than a shrug, since one such exchange produced a paying customer. Where status signalling is not who you are, looking after people individually accumulates the same authority a while later.

The method

1. 01

   Close every podcast episode with a direct ask for listeners to recommend the product to their peers. Kahl has run that ask at the end of every episode for years and says it works.

2. 02

   Recommending a product one person at a time is slow but converts harder than broadcasting to a crowd.

3. 03

   If status signalling is not who you are, build the same authority by looking after people individually, one after another, and letting the small acts accumulate.

4. 04

   Answer the what-are-you-working-on question with a real description of the product, since ordinary conversations convert: one person he told about it on a trip became a paying customer.

What it returned

• The suggested moments are colleagues, friends and clients asking which analytics you use, on calls, over email or face to face.

• Justin rejects posing with a Porsche to sell more books; his actual dream vehicle is a bicycle and he has downsized his house.

• A conversation during a six-week trip in Europe produced Scriv's third customer

Sources

• Why we buy from winnersJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · 3. Build authority the honest way · undated
• Balancing Multiple ICPs: Strategies for Solo FoundersArvid Kahl · thebootstrappedfounder.com · Different Marketing for Different Groups · 2025-09-19
• Best practices for promoting your affiliate links - Fathom AnalyticsPaul Jarvis · usefathom.com · Best practice #7: Tried and true word of mouth · 2022-08-09
• Introducing ScrivCory Zue · coryzue.com · The bull case for Scriv · 2023-08-03