Sent 15 cold messages on LinkedIn. 3 responded. 1 became my second client. $1,500 in my account 8 days later. Here's the exact message. THE PROBLEM WITH MOST COLD MESSAGES: "Hi! I build AI automation solutions that can transform your business. Would love to chat!" Generic. Salesy. Instant delete. THE MESSAGE THAT WORKED: "Hi [Name] - saw your post about spending hours on invoice processing. I actually just automated this exact workflow for a similar company. Curious if you'd be open to seeing how it works? No pitch, just showing what's possible. 10 minutes on Zoom?" Sent to 15 operations managers who posted about manual document work. 3 responded within 24 hours. WHY THIS WORKED: Specific pain reference - mentioned their actual problem Social proof - "just automated this for similar company" Low commitment ask - "10 minutes, no pitch" Show don't tell - "see how it works" beats explanations THE 3 RESPONSES: "Yeah actually, this is killing us. When can you show me?" "Interesting. What's the cost?" "We tried automation before, didn't work. What makes yours different?" Booked calls with all 3. Closed 1. Other 2 weren't ready but asked to stay in touch. THE CALL STRUCTURE: Minute 1-3: Asked about their current process Minute 4-7: Showed live demo of working automation Minute 8-10: Walked through implementation timeline Client signed same day. $1,500 setup + $250/month. WHERE TO FIND TARGETS: LinkedIn search: "[industry] operations manager" Filter posts by "past week" Look for complaints about manual work, data entry, document processing Found mine searching: "invoice" "manual" "time consuming" 15 relevant posts in 30 minutes. THE DEMO THAT CLOSED: Had working invoice automation ready. Used Make.com plus PDF Vector parsing. Showed email arriving, data extracted, posted to spreadsheet. Real-time. "This exact workflow could be processing your invoices by next week." Seeing it work beat any explanation. REJECTION HANDLING: Most said "not ready right now." I replied: "No problem. Mind if I check back in 30 days?"

Asked for referrals wrong way 4 times. Zero results. Changed one sentence in my ask. Got 3 referrals. THE WRONG WAY: Month 3 with happy client. Automation working perfectly. Me: "Do you know anyone else who might need automation?" Them: "Hmm, let me think..." Never hear about it again. Asked 4 clients this way. Zero referrals. THE PROBLEM: Too vague. They can't think of anyone on the spot. Then forget. THE RIGHT WAY: Me: "Who else in [specific industry] do you know that struggles with [specific pain]?" Them: "Oh! Actually, my friend John's company does the same thing..." Got 3 referrals from 1 conversation. THE FULL SCRIPT: Wait for right moment (after successful month, when they express how happy they are). ME: "Really glad this is working for you. Quick question - who else in [their industry] do you know that's probably dealing with the same invoice processing headaches you were?" THEM: Usually names 1-2 people immediately. ME: "Mind if I reach out and mention you referred me?" THEM: "Sure, I'll intro you." THE SPECIFICITY MATTERS: Generic: "Anyone who needs automation?" Result: Blank stare. Specific: "Who else in accounting firms processes lots of invoices manually?" Result: Names immediately. THE TIMING: BEST MOMENTS TO ASK: - Right after they rave about results - When they mention time saved - During quarterly optimization call - After referring to automation in conversation WORST MOMENTS: - First month (relationship new) - When troubleshooting issues - Randomly via email THE RESULTS: Client 4: Asked, got 2 referrals Client 6: Asked, got 1 referral Client 7: Asked, got 0 (but they keep mentioning me to people) Total: 3 paying clients from referrals Revenue: $4,500 setup + $750/month ongoing THE REFERRAL CONVERSION: Intro from happy client = 90% close rate They already trust referrer. You inherit that trust. Discovery calls are shorter. Less skepticism. Higher prices accepted. THE INTRO TEMPLATE: Ask client to make intro via email:

Recorded a simple Loom video. Sent to prospects instead of long emails. Booking rate jumped from 12% to 64%. THE SETUP: Loom free account (no cost) Screen recording + webcam One template video Personalize intro for each prospect THE VIDEO STRUCTURE: SECONDS 0-10: Personal intro "Hey [Name], saw you're processing invoices manually at [Company]" SECONDS 10-40: Show the magic Screen recording of automation working Real invoice → Extracted data → QuickBooks No explanation. Just show it working. SECONDS 40-70: Paint their future "Imagine this running for every invoice you receive" "No more manual data entry" "Get those 8 hours back weekly" SECONDS 70-90: Clear next step "If this solves your problem, book 15 minutes here" Show calendar link on screen "If not, no worries" SECONDS 90-120: End with context "I've built this for 23 similar businesses" "Most are live within a week" "Looking forward to showing you more" Total time: 2 minutes max THE TEMPLATE VIDEO: Record once with generic example Re-record just the personal intro (10 seconds) for each prospect Keep the demo portion same Change company name in closing THE LOOM BENEFITS: They see your face (builds trust) They see it working (visual proof) They watch on their schedule (convenient) They can replay (process information) You track if they watched (qualify interest) THE OUTREACH SEQUENCE: Day 1: Send personalized 2-minute Loom Subject: "Quick video for [Company]" Day 3: Follow up if they watched "Saw you watched the video. Thoughts?" Day 5: Follow up if they didn't watch "Might have missed this. 2-min video showing how we eliminate invoice entry for [industry] companies" THE RESULTS: Videos sent: 37 Videos watched: 31 (84% view rate) Discovery calls booked: 14 Conversion rate: 45% of viewers book OLD EMAIL APPROACH: Emails sent: 37 Response rate: 12% Calls booked: 4 NEW VIDEO APPROACH: Videos sent: 37 Response rate: 45% Calls booked: 14 THE MESSAGES I SEND: "Hi [Name], noticed you're handling [pain point] manually. Made you a quick 2-min video showing how we've solved this for [similar companies]. Link: [Loom]"

Started giving away automations for free 3 months ago. Sounds crazy. Here's what happened. THE OFFER: "I'll automate one document process for free" No strings attached. No payment required. Completely free. THE CATCH: Just two requests: 1. Let me use your project as a case study 2. Introduce me to one similar business if it works That's it. THE RESULTS IN 90 DAYS: Free projects completed: 6 Paid referrals from those projects: 11 Average referral deal size: $2,100 Total revenue from free work: $23,100 THE FIRST FREE PROJECT: Local dental office Patient intake form automation Built in 2.5 hours Saved them 4 hours weekly Two weeks later: "My colleague wants this. Can I connect you?" That referral: $1,800 paid project THE SECOND FREE PROJECT: Small law firm Contract data extraction Built in 3 hours Saved them 12 hours weekly One month later: 3 referrals from that attorney Total value: $6,400 THE PSYCHOLOGY: People are skeptical of paid services from unknowns People trust their peers' recommendations completely One successful free project = Multiple paid referrals Your first 6 clients fund the next 60 THE FREE PROJECT CRITERIA: Must be straightforward (under 4 hours build time) Must be a document process you can template Must be a business that knows other similar businesses Must agree to intro if they're happy THE CONVERSATION: Prospect: "How much?" Me: "First one's free if you meet two conditions" Prospect: "What conditions?" Me: "Let me document the results, and introduce me to one similar business if it works" Prospect: "That's it?" Me: "That's it. I need case studies more than money right now" THE PROJECTS THAT WORK BEST: Invoice processing (every business has this pain) Form automation (dentists, gyms, real estate) Contract extraction (lawyers, consultants) Receipt processing (accountants, small businesses) THE TIMELINE: Week 1: Find free project opportunity Week 2: Build and deliver Week 3: Document results Week 4: Get testimonial and intro

Built the same automation 8 times last month. Total time: 3.2 hours. Total revenue: $6,200. THE OPPORTUNITY: Every business receives invoices Most process them manually Same pain, different industries Perfect template opportunity THE TECH STACK: Make.com - Workflow automation ($9-29/month) PDF Vector - Invoice data extraction (free-$25/month) Google Sheets - Temporary staging Client's accounting software - Final destination Total cost per client: $9-34/month THE TEMPLATE FLOW: STEP 1: Invoice arrives via email Gmail watches specific folder Triggers when new invoice arrives Passes to document parser STEP 2: Data extraction PDF Vector extracts all invoice fields Vendor name, invoice number, date Line items, subtotal, tax, total Output: Clean structured data STEP 3: Validation Check for required fields Flag if anything missing Send to client for review if incomplete STEP 4: Integration Push to QuickBooks/Xero/their system Create vendor if new Match to purchase order if exists Mark as pending approval STEP 5: Notification Slack message: "Invoice processed" Include vendor, amount, status Client approves or rejects Total automation time: 90 seconds per invoice THE 8 CLIENTS LAST MONTH: Restaurant (42 invoices/month) - $1,800 setup Construction (65 invoices/month) - $2,200 setup Retail store (28 invoices/month) - $1,400 setup Consulting firm (18 invoices/month) - $1,200 setup Law office (35 invoices/month) - $1,800 setup Real estate (22 invoices/month) - $1,400 setup Gym (15 invoices/month) - $1,200 setup Dental practice (31 invoices/month) - $2,200 setup Total setup revenue: $13,200 Template deployment time per client: 24 minutes average THE PRICING FORMULA: Base price: $1,200 Add $200 for 30+ invoices monthly Add $300 for multiple locations Add $400 for custom approval workflows Add $500 for multiple accounting systems Monthly maintenance: $120-180 THE VALUE PROPOSITION: For 30 invoices monthly at 15 minutes each: