4 builders who never spoke to each other

Do a slice of the work before you ask for anything

Audit their site, fix the fault, cut the clips, wear the shirt: arrive with the work already done and no request attached. It proves competence in a way a claim cannot, and it separates you from everyone whose first contact costs them nothing.

The method

1. 01

   Find a company with the exact problem you fix, fix it for them without asking permission, then show them the result publicly on social media.

2. 02

   Attach visible proof you already did work for the prospect before asking for anything.

3. 03

   Do the work before the pitch: audit the prospect's site unasked, then email what they are doing well plus five to seven specific improvements, with no hard sell attached.

4. 04

   Attach the relevant case study or breakdown to the outreach email, so the first contact carries proof rather than a claim.

5. 05

   Open cold outreach by doing a slice of the work unasked, for instance cutting short clips from the prospect's existing podcast, rather than sending a pitch.

What it returned

• 33%

  Cited as the reason her cold pitch close rate reaches 33%

• 80%

  Of the people who offer him an audit or a resource, he never hears from about 80% again.

• Ramp included a photo of its founder wearing a shirt printed with the recipient's own branding

• Kennedy described his niche as branding and storytelling for solopreneurs and sent over a Google Sheet of websites for Welsh to look through, then answered a follow-up question in detail.

Sources

• [Coaching: Brad #7] New Client in a Different Niche! 🎉 Trying a Cold Outreach Strategy + Upskilling with Video Editing - Double Your FreelancingZach Swinehart · doubleyourfreelancing.com · AI-Generated Summary: · 2024-01-19
• The Ultimate Guide to Building Client Relationships - Double Your FreelancingAustin Church · doubleyourfreelancing.com · Court your clients. · 2016-09-12
• What's in it for me?Justin Welsh · justinwelsh.me · A Simple Shift That Changes Everything · 2025-01-18
• The “best sales email ever” from a personalised t-shirt companyHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · The Pitch · undated
• The saleswoman closing 33% of cold pitchesHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · The saleswoman closing 33% of cold pitches · undated
• Designers Who Don't Talk Like Designers Get HiredGreg Kogan · gkogan.co · A Case Study: Two designers, two perspectives. · 2014-08-18
• You don’t need 10,000 followers to winTibo Louis-Lucas · tmaker.io · 4. Do what you said you'd do · 2026-07-09