How should I start and run a speed-to-lead business: test 100 businesses with landing pages, measure lead response time, then pitch via cold emails—should I personalize based on gaps or send mass cold emails?
You can assume almost all businesses have speed-to-lead problems, so you don’t need to research each one. Instead, scrape leads and assume they have the problem; this works about 80% of the time and is much easier. By framing the issue as their specific problem, you can send cheap, high‑volume cold emails and still close deals.
The most valuable part of a lead‑gen system is its scale. In the past I had to door‑knock, walk to each business, deliver a pitch, and wait for a decision—maybe one or two minutes per prospect plus travel time, so I could only reach 50‑80 businesses a day. With cold email you can send thousands of messages in the same amount of time it takes to write one campaign, instantly multiplying your leverage. Once the email is written you can reach a million people, giving a much steeper rise‑over‑run curve than cold calling or manual outreach. After the initial setup, the results far surpass the effort of doing it yourself, especially when combined with AI personalization that makes each email feel one‑on‑one.
I started cold emailing around 2018‑2019 with my business partner Gurinder; those early attempts didn’t work well. I kept sending emails for about three to four years before I made any money, and it was probably closer to two years before I saw real revenue. The breakthrough came in roughly 2021 with what I called 'one second copy': I ran many cold email campaigns and offered free sample articles that were produced cheaply using AI, which hardly anyone else was doing at the time. That got me attention from big companies like Kixie. The best cold‑email strategy is to front‑load value—give the recipient more work or benefit than you’re asking for. Instead of asking for free labor, identify a problem they’re suffering from, solve it, and attach the results to your email. For example, I once rewrote 40 YouTube titles for a follower, provided a one‑click doc, and they saw immediate CTR improvements. That’s how successful, ‘rich‑people’ cold emails work: you save them time or make them money, not the other way around.
I've shown how to acquire 100 leads very cheaply—about 18 cents for 100 emails. They aren't the absolute best leads, but they're probably okay, and I'd run the process. (As a side note, it takes roughly 37.9 Loom videos to close a client.)
Your situation isn't really an issue—you're already using lead‑generation strategies that don't demand daily time. The biggest improvements in life come from doing the same thing consistently over a long period. I recommend a daily lead‑generation activity that requires you to articulate the benefits of your service, such as recording a video or leaving a voice note. Examples include sending DMs on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, or TikTok, or engaging in relevant communities. Talking to people in a social‑media style helps you get 1% better each day at explaining benefits and understanding needs. You can also create personalized icebreakers for large lead lists using tools like Ampify to automate the process.