Devon is a military veteran with a simple idea. Help high level business owners get booked on top podcasts as a cheaper alternative to paid ads.
We built the whole structure in about two hours. Within 60 days he went from nothing to $175,000 a month. The principles are the same ones I used to reach $115M in sales.
Here is how we built it.
Start with the three pillars
Every offer I build starts with three pillars. They answer two questions: why should a business do this, and why should they hire you?
The most important factor is financial ROI. If a prospect cannot see a clear return, they will not buy. These prospects are skeptical, so the offer has to be strong. It also has to show they cannot easily do it alone. If they think they can do it themselves, they will not pay.
- Why a podcast: it cuts lead cost. Ads buy attention. A podcast puts you in front of a relevant audience, often for free. For experienced owners, brand building beyond their industry is the main pitch.
- Why you: customization. Anyone can browse YouTube, but most people only watch a handful of shows. The agency researches the market and builds a curated list based on the client’s audience, needs and goals.
Guarantee what you can prove
Devon cannot guarantee downloads, because podcast download numbers are not public. So I told him to guarantee placement instead.
Third party ranking sites tier shows into the top 5%, top 2% and top 1% out of roughly 3.5 million podcasts. Devon can guarantee placement in the top 2%. That is specific, verifiable and believable.
Price it off the client’s return
Devon’s goal was $100,000 a month by October of the following year. My logic on pricing: a client paying $5,000 a month needs to see more than $5,000 back. Any podcast spend they do on their own counts against that ROI too.
We split it into two models:
- Done with you for beginners with smaller budgets. Start at $5,000 a month and raise toward $10,000 as sales go well.
- Done for you for established businesses doing at least $1 million a year, about $100,000 a month. About $15,000 for a three month commitment.
The done for you buyer only pays when they can see the math. Agencies charging close to $5,000 a month are hard to sell because the client could hire a full time person instead.
So the structure I recommended: Devon does the work for three months, then trains the client’s team to run it in house. Training a team takes about a month, so three months covers delivery and handoff. You lose recurring revenue later, but high level clients love that best of both worlds pitch.
And make the decision for the client. Do not hand them a menu of options.
Sharpen the pillars for beginners
For the done with you offer, we named the pillars so they stick:
- The infinite faucet system. Most people live on referrals, which are inconsistent, or ads, which are expensive. Ads run about $20 per thousand impressions, so a million impressions costs $20,000 a month. A podcast with similar downloads costs about a tenth of that.
- Client infiltration. Get clients onto top 1% to 2% shows, verifiable through a ranking site. Most agencies keep clients on retainer forever. Devon’s pitch is to show the whole process so the client can fire the agency if they want.
To build credibility fast, offer a few free placements. In return, the client lets you name them as a reference in your emails. Referrals from known names are powerful. A headline like “I’ll get you on three top 1% podcasts for free” does the work. The core hook is the same audience for about 10 times less than ads.
The outreach script that books calls
Here is the structure I walked Devon through:
- Open with a genuine compliment on something specific, like a cover photo or a piece of content. A soft line like “hope that’s not weird to say” makes it feel less salesy.
- Ask a question. Statements end conversations. Questions get replies.
- Build rapport with light questions about their business, goals and how the year is going.
- Find the problem. What are they struggling with, what have they tried, have they had a coach before?
- Bring in the podcast angle as a way to get leads about 10 times cheaper without complicated funnels.
- Create curiosity. “I show people how to get leads 10 times cheaper without funnels.” Then ask if a call would be worth their time.
Where Devon was getting in his own way
- Messages too long and too slow. Voice notes and overthinking every word. Efficiency matters.
- Applications too complicated. A four minute application full of multiple choice frustrates people. Ask open ended questions about monthly profit, not “how much can you invest,” because people pick the lowest option. Skip one to 10 scales.
- Pitch too vague. Jargon kills it. I used the example of a fractional CFO who described himself as “bridging the soul and the science of money.” Nobody knows what that means.
- Two step processes. Business owners want a direct path to a call. They understand sales calls. Long, drawn out processes lose them.
If someone does not buy on the call, they may just lack the money. A pre call qualifier filters out people who are not serious.
Going after high level prospects
Experienced owners do not want long back and forth. Skip the process and go straight to the pitch. Comment on a post, then send a short DM: a free top 1% podcast spot, leads 10 times cheaper, and a direct question about interest. Follow up right away with “here’s how it works.”
The takeaway
Build the offer on clear pillars that answer why this and why you. Price it off the client’s ROI. Run a done with you and a done for you version. Make the decision for the client. Keep outreach short, personal and direct, and use free placements and referrals to earn trust.
Want to know what’s capping your agency right now? Take my free 90 Day Ceiling Plan. Answer 18 questions and get a written plan, built on your own numbers, that names the one thing holding you back and what to fix first.
